The championship will be called the Electric GT World Series
Tesla’s Model S is one of the best EVs around, and now the FIA wants to give the all-electric sedan its own racing series. The championship will be called the Electric GT World Series, and it could start as early as 2017.
The series will use an untouched version of the rear-wheel-drive P85+’s powerplant – but that’s still capable of producing 416hp. Much like touring car championships, the World Series will allow teams to modify the aerodynamics and remove excess weight from each car. The result? The Teslas should be significantly faster than their road going counterparts – with the same power.
According to Agustin Paya, a professional racing driver and one of the people behind the new series, the Model S has already been tested on the Barcelona F1 Circuit, and was able to benefit from its lower centre of gravity and massive torque.
Organisers are shooting for a seven-race calendar, but unlike Formula E, which takes place on street circuits in capital cities, the Electric GT World Series will use purpose-built tracks such as Mugello, Donington, Barcelona and Estoril.
There are currently ten teams signed up to the Series. Each will run two modified P85+s, but organisers hope other cars will be allowed to race in the future.
Will it work?
Formula E is the most obvious thing to compare the new series to, and while Formula E is certainly popular, it hasn’t captured the public’s imagination in the same way as MotoGP, for example. However, in its second year, Formula E is allowing technical differentiations between the teams – and that’s already making races far more interesting.
While the idea of Teslas racing each other is certainly interesting, I expect the World Series to truly come into its own when other manufacturers are allowed to participate.
