The Booming Market of Electric Motorsports: A New Era of Racing
In recent years, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) has experienced significant growth, with sales increasing by 66 percent last year alone. Manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand, and this trend is not limited to consumer cars. The motorsport industry is also feeling the effects of the growing interest in electric powertrains, with a whole load of new events and championships emerging.
One notable example is Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, which was launched in 2014. The series has gained significant popularity, with top drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Jenson Button competing in teams that are also involved in other motorsport disciplines. The success of Formula E has inspired the development of an all-electric GT series, which promises to bring a new level of excitement and technological innovation to the world of motorsports.
The first car to be unveiled as part of this new series is the BT01, an electric GT race car created by BWT's e-technology. The car features a design that is reminiscent of both Aston Martin and the mid-engine Corvette, with a stance that suggests it is built for speed. According to its developers, Spark Racing Technologies, the BT01 has been designed to be a stripped-down racer, with every component selected to optimize performance on the track.
The BT01 boasts an impressive 400 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-62 in just 3.8 seconds, with a top speed of 130 miles per hour. While these figures may not seem particularly headline-grabbing compared to more established sports cars like the Porsche 911 Turbo, it's worth noting that the BT01 has been designed with a specific power-to-weight ratio, which is expected to make it considerably quicker around the track than its road-going counterparts.
One of the key features of the BT01 is its lack of sound insulation. Unlike regular EVs, which are often designed to minimize noise and maximize comfort, the BT01 is built for speed and performance. This means that it produces a much louder sound, with an instantaneous torque delivery that makes it feel like a traditional internal combustion engine. However, this also means that drivers must be more aware of their surroundings and modulate the throttle carefully to avoid losing control.
Spark Racing Technologies has worked closely with the Williams F1 team to develop the battery system for both Formula E and the BT01. This collaboration has resulted in a car that is not only fast but also highly reliable, with over 50 sensors recording every conceivable piece of data about its performance. The BT01 is essentially a high-speed EV development lab, with data being made available to the entire motor industry to accelerate the development of EVs for everyone.
One of the key areas of focus for Spark Racing Technologies is improving the drivability of the car, particularly in situations where there is excessive torque delivery. To address this issue, the company has developed 10 power modes that allow drivers to adjust the car's behavior according to their driving style. In Mode 6, which was used during the testing period, the BT01 feels responsive and has decent stopping power, with a touch of understeer that is actually desirable in an entry-level GT car.
The BT01 is not just a fast car; it's also a serious tool for developing new technologies. Spark Racing Technologies plans to make all the data collected by the car available to the entire motor industry, which will help accelerate the development of EVs for everyone. The company is already working on innovative ways to cool batteries, with a goal of reducing charging times and increasing the overall range of electric vehicles.
The BT01 has been unveiled ahead of its debut in an all-electric GT championship in France next year. While it's still early days for this new series, it promises to bring a fresh level of excitement and competition to the world of motorsports. With cars like the BT01 leading the charge, it's clear that electric powertrains are set to play an increasingly important role in the industry, both on and off the track.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwith last year's sales of evs growing by 66 percent manufacturers can't release new models fast enough to grab a slice of this booming market but it's not only consumer cars that are sparking electric interest because now there are a whole load of motorsport events which are also going purely electric formula e the world's first all-electric racing series held its first season in 2014. in fact yours truly was on the grid back then and that's recently been followed by an off-road championship called extreme e formula one legends such as lewis hamilton nico rosberg and jensen button all have teams with all this momentum building up it wasn't going to be long before somebody devised an all-electric gt series in other words a racing championship using the sort of sports cars that we're used to seeing on the roads and this is important because the technological advances that the manufacturers develop for the track evs will filter down to their road cars i've traveled to france to get an exclusive look at the first of this new breed to break cover the bt01 an electric gt race car created by beltware's e-technology and it's a good-looking car too at the back i see a bit of aston martin and around the front it looks a bit like that mid-engine corvette that we got now and it should go well too because the bt01 has been designed by spark racing technologies who are the company behind both xtremi and the formula e cars spark racing developed the battery system for both formulas with the williams f1 team as i'm trusted to drive their fleet of priceless historic f1 cars beltois reckon i should be a safe pair of hands with their one million pound prototype so let's look at that stance 400 horsepower not to 62 in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 130 mile an hour they're not exactly headline grabbing however what we got to keep in mind is that this beltway bt-01 has got the same power to weight ratio as a porsche 911 turbo so does that mean it will be as quick around the track as porsche's benchmark sports car no it should be considerably quicker unlike the road-going porsche the beltways is a stripped-down racer every component has been selected to make it go around a track in the shortest possible time that's why the bt01 is much louder than a regular ev sound insulation just adds weight and that's not the only thing beltois have left off the car with no abs or traction control it's all down to the driver the torque delivery is instantaneous as is with all electric cars but it does mean that you're having to modulate the throttle and really balance propeller delivery this makes for some entertaining moments particularly on a greasy track and that is something that beltway recognized they need to work on they need to work on the drivability of it just because there's so much torque being instantly delivered with regular axles to help you keep the 400 brake horses from galloping out of control there are 10 power modes last fall i've been driving around in mode 6 just slowly trying to get a feel off the car but i think now we're getting some speed going it's a bit of roll in the chassis but it is responsive it's got decent stopping power and actually the downforce in the fast corners feels pretty good it's just got a touch of understeer in it but i think as a as an entry-level gt car that's what you want you want a car that inspires confidence and this does but it's fun but there's also a very serious side to this car packed with over 50 sensors recording every conceivable piece of data about the car's performance the bt-01 is a high-speed ev development lab beltois will make this data available to the entire motor industry helping to accelerate the development of evs for everyone they're already working on innovative ways to cool the batteries to reduce charging times which is good news because operating at race pace the beltway's current battery can only run for 10 minutes before it's time to hit the pits belton plan on running the first championship for these cars here in france in 2023 and by then they should be capable of doing 25 minutes of racing on a single charge as for a road car that's still a few years away in the meantime if you want the track version it's going to cost you around 200 000 pounds on the whole even though this is just a working prototype i've been really impressed with what i've seen today i can't wait to see what they come up with in a couple years time you\n"
