The Spanish automotive marque admitted a year ago that it would like to participate in the FIA Extreme E racing series, and as it now turned out, it had been working with ABT Sportsline all along to make it a reality.
The video here shows the e-Cupra ABT XE1 running its season preparation tests at the MotorLand Aragón Raceway and its vicinity, crossing from asphalt to off-road and back again.
The vehicle is 4.4 meters (14.44 feet) long and a whopping 2.3 m (7.55 feet) wide while weighing 1.65 metric tons (3,637 lbs). Its single electric motor sits within the 3-meter (10-ft.) wheelbase and churns out 400 kW (544 PS / 536 hp). This is the highest power allowed by the racing regulations, and it is enough to get the car 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 4.5 seconds.
All Extreme E series cars utilize the same chassis provided by Spark Racing Technology, which is based in France. The particular model used here is called Odyssey 21, and it comes with a stainless-steel tube frame and a Williams Advanced Engineering traction battery. As for the engine and transmission, participants are invited to borrow these from existing Formula E designs or coming up with their own. The rest is largely non-regulated.