Subaru STI E-RA Concept: An Electric Record at Nürburgring?
This page is translated from the original post "Subaru STI E-RA Concept : un record électrique au Nürburgring ?" in French.
- 20/01/2022 10:29
With its 4 electric motors totaling 1088 horsepower, the Subaru STI E-RA aims to beat the best time for electric cars on the Nordschleife. Well, maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that…
Japanese manufacturers never miss the opportunity to showcase themselves during the Tokyo Auto Salon, a show traditionally dedicated to automotive tuning and sports cars.
At Subaru, the attraction of the booth features four electric motors and develops a total power of 1,088 horsepower, a figure never seen before in the company’s history.
While the brand has just launched its very first electric model on the market, the compact SUV Solterra, derived from the Toyota bZ4X, Subaru sets itself a challenge: to run the Nordschleife in less than 6 minutes and 40 seconds, the famous Nordschleife loop at the Nürburgring, an essential benchmark for sports cars.
This figure is not insignificant as it would beat the record for road-legal vehicles, currently held by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Racing in 6 minutes 43 seconds and 33 hundredths. A time under 6 minutes and 40 seconds would also beat that of the Nio EP9, another electric supercar (coming from China).
One motor per wheel
To achieve its goals, the STI E-RA (for “Electric Record Attempt”) relies on a highly sophisticated torque vectoring system between the four wheels, each driven by a motor. This technology allows to optimize traction and agility thanks to advanced electronic management. However, the car is equipped with batteries with a capacity of only 60 kWh, probably to limit weight (which will inevitably impact range during extreme driving).
Subaru will first test the STI E-RA on circuits in Japan this year, before sending the car to the green hell of the Nordschleife by 2023. There remains a small issue: unless Subaru plans to homologate the vehicle for road use, a time under 6 minutes and 40 seconds will not be enough to beat the absolute record for electric cars on the German circuit. Remember, in 2019, the Volkswagen ID.R prototype (forbidden on the road) managed to lap the Nürburgring in just 6 minutes and 5 seconds. So, will this record really be a record?
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