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Possibly the fastest rallycross cars in the world were in Calgary recently to show what they can do: slide down an ice rink at breakneck speed and land huge jumps with big studded tires.
And they’re all-electric, too – a conscious choice by the organizers of the Nitro RallyCross racing series.
“We see racing as a proving ground and really a stage for people to see what’s coming next,” general manager Chip Pankow told The Weather Network.
Fans were ecstatic as some of the best rallycross drivers in the world took to an ice rink in Calgary. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
This is the first season for the FC1-X, which took two years to design.
“This vehicle that we were developing should be the fastest electric racing car in the world,” said Pankow. “And that’s what we built: it’s got 1070 horsepower, it’s got four engines and it’s faster than any other rallycross car that’s ever been – petrol or electric.”
According to organizers, the cars need a slightly different driving style because the power and torque are so instant – from 0 to 60 km/h in around 1.4 seconds. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
Nitro RX isn’t the only racing organization going electric, but the 10-lap championship series, which travels across Europe and North America, has a global stage to show what the future may hold not only for professional drivers but also for everyday commuters .
“We thought about really grabbing people’s attention and getting them to sit in their seat,” Pankow said.
The fastest rallycross vehicle ever created is delighting car racing fans around the world and showing others what electric vehicles can do. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
The vehicles were not only designed for extreme performance, but also for extreme weather, as races take place everywhere from the Arctic Circle to the deserts.
“They have excellent cooling systems and the hot weather batteries. Because if you take energy from a battery so quickly, it heats up quickly,” says Pankow.
The electric vehicles are not only designed for speed but also for safety as they skip the vehicles even when racing on ice. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
And in the cold, the batteries, which are recharged between races to maintain peak performance, drain a little faster, but not in the way they thought.
“What we noticed is that the discharge on our first lap is higher than expected. And then it goes on as normal … or even a little better than normal,” says Pankow, adding cold air helps to cool the battery.
Riders exit the paddock set up at the Calgary Stampede Grounds, which usually hosts a fair crowd of horses during the annual 10-day festival in July. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
He says drivers were “blown away” by the car’s performance. Initially, they had concerns about the running costs, but were positively surprised in this regard.
“That was the biggest realization of the year,” said Pankow. “That’s a fraction of the operating costs of an internal combustion engine.”
A racer waves to the crowd gathered for the ice races on February 5, 2023 in Calgary. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
This is mainly because there are fewer moving parts.
“It was very interesting in Calgary. When you got to the paddock on Saturday night… after we were done, maybe 8:30 or 9 at night, all the electric cars were charged and [the drivers] were all gone for the night. The only ones that worked were these [NRX Next] development class or cars with combustion engines.”
A worker injects one of the massive studded tires used for ice racing. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
In addition, they produce no emissions when running. And it’s not just less pollution, it’s also less noise pollution. The fans should have gotten used to that, says Pankow.
“It’s quieter,” he said. “We have a kind of piece of music that we play to cheer people up.”
Travis Pastrana poses with fans after the finals in Calgary. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
But he says the real excitement of changing ICE vehicles comes for fans when they discover just how fast the cars are.
It’s something that participants in the next doubleheader for the series will experience in Glen Helen, California in March as they wrap up this season’s championship.
The winners pose for the cameras after the Superfinals in Calgary. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
Thumbnail: Nitro RallyCross wanted to be an early adopter to accelerate the shift towards an electric future. (Rachel Maclean/ The Weather Network)
