At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, the ETCR Championship and the Cupra e-Racer were presented together. In September 2019, Hyundai also entered the championship with the Veloster, just ahead of the Italian team Romeo Ferraris, which built an Alfa Romeo Giulia in accordance with the applicable regulations. Due to the Covid pandemic, the championship did not start until 2021 and Cupra was able to put its name at the top of the list of winners for the first time, with Swede Mattias Ekström of the Cupra-EKS team at the wheel. In 2022, the series received FIA approval and became a world championship, contested over six rounds. Cupra EKS repeated its success, this time with Adrien Tambay at the wheel.
On this October morning, somewhere near Munich Airport, it is Tambay of all people who takes on the role of luxury riding instructor to show us his racehorse a few laps on a test track. The Cupra e-Racer has a peak power of 500 kW (680 hp) and 960 Nm on the rear axle alone, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and has no ABS. Another special feature is the weight, which varies from 1750 to 1800 kg, while the combustion engine cars competing in the TCR class weigh a maximum of 1100 to 1250 kg. So this is the starting point. I’m intimidated and all sorts of questions swirl through my head.
Coveralls and helmet on, it’s time to wriggle through the bars of the cockpit and drop into the bucket seat. At 1.82m, I feel a little cramped in this world, and the seat cushion, which has been moved back at center pillar height to keep most of the weight in the center of the car, offers a confusing perspective: your eyes are almost level with the lower part of the windshield. The mechanics buckle and tension the harness, install the folding steering wheel and make final adjustments. My lifeline will be the voice of Adrien, who will be on the radio with me, reassuring me and giving me final instructions. Then the chief mechanic stands in front of me and signals to me that everything is fine. The electric blankets are removed from the wheels and the car is lowered back down from the pneumatic jacks. It’s time to start the engine.
I press the start button, only a second green light on the dashboard indicates that the ignition is on. No booming exhaust systems, no vibrating engines. With my foot on the brake, I shift into “D” mode for forward gear. There is no shifter, nor is there a clutch, which is often touchy and difficult to operate. A final thumbs up from the mechanic, who I acknowledge with the same gesture before giving a blast of gas…sorry, electrons out of the box. The first lap of the track is an orienteering drive, led by Adrien Tambay, who takes turns explaining the track from a lead car. The first feelings come up. The half handlebar rotates 180°, lock to lock. That’s enough to make it through the twists and turns of this track, which, while small in size, is full of challenges when you go full throttle. I try to include as much information as possible: the main thing is not to fly out, damage the car or hurt yourself …
Once alone on the track, the beast must be tamed. It’s like a go-kart: left foot on the brake, right foot on the accelerator. The latter is also very sensitive, but you get used to it quickly. Gradually I gain confidence, the torque is immediately present and the power also reveals itself as the pace increases. Adrien says, “Very good, your line is perfect, hit the throttle!”
I’m so focused on my feet and the road that I can’t even find the “radio” switch to answer it in the sea of buttons on the steering wheel. Does not matter. I step on the gas. The steering wheel isn’t quite straight, though, and although traction control is engaged, albeit at a very generous level, the Cupra e-Racer responds without warning with a forceful rear-axle swerve. oops! It feels like you’re walking on eggshells when it comes to metering out the unassisted brakes. The heavy weight and overall limited grip of production tires for a racing car – one of the characteristics of the ETCR regulation – require constant attention and fine-tuning during the transitional phases.
A few laps follow, the car, the wheels and the driver reach operating temperature, the fear slowly gives way to lightness, but the consciousness remains. The speed when driving through corners increases, the laps become more energetic. The Cupra e-Racer then unveils a very stable and steering front axle, which helps to get the 1800 kg of the beast smoothly into the corners. All this in an acoustic atmosphere dominated by the whistling of the electric motors and an empty body that functions as a “sound box”. Different sensations than a combustion engine racing car, but the feeling remains the same: exciting, exciting, you want more of it – like a child in the amusement park.
Although the e-Racer is based on a Leon Cupra, in the end it only has its silhouette. As a true racing machine, it demands a constant commitment from its driver, who must not give up for a moment during the race. For me, it’s the fourth TCR race car I’m driving, the first “real” electric car, apart from a Formula E test in the simulator. The memories of that day will always stay with me.
The Cupra e-Racer does not have to avoid comparison with its combustion engine colleagues. Moreover, it shows that the electric drive deserves a place in racing more than ever, in all vehicle categories.
