7:22.329 seconds. Nürburgring lap records are notoriously unofficial but that time puts Toyota's electric powered EV P002 in the top ten on most lists. That's faster than an Nissan GT-R, a Porsche GT2 RS or even a Maserati MC12. Impressive.
The Radical based P002, developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne and driven by Jochen Krumbach, smashed TMG previous EV record by over 25 seconds and is the second EV success for Toyota this year following the record set at Pike's Peak by Monster Tajima.
“Since our Nürburgring record last year, we have developed our electric powertrain to deliver more power, more consistently, over a longer distance by managing the temperature of batteries, motors and inverter." Ludwig Zeller, General Manager of Electrics and Electronics at THG. "Pikes Peak was a clear illustration of the improvements and we have now reinforced that at the Nürburgring. But this achievement is not only about on-track performance; we are also very proud of the DC Quick Charger which again provided a reliable power supply in a remote location. This is an aspect of electric motorsport which has not been discussed at length but it is very significant; electric race cars need to be charged and it is a challenge to have the right infrastructure at race tracks, particularly temporary street circuits. Together with our partners at Schneider Electric, we have developed a solution to charge a race car literally anywhere in the world. This, along with the TMG EV P002 powertrain, represents a major step forward for electric motorsport.”
The EV P002 is powered by electric motors delivering a nominal 350Kw of power and 900 Nm of torque, that's 469HP and 663 ft/lbs. Top speed is is listed at a relatively low 150 mph, curious because the Radical SR8 is good to 170 plus. I wonder what the limiting factor is, weight, gearing? Certainly looks faster than 150 in the video .An impressive result though, to really win over fans, EV racing still have to develop what may be impossible, a seductive sound.
Sounds like limited gearing is the top speed issue. Def. left a few seconds on the table in some of the longer stretches. I'm curious as to if this hing has regenerative braking, or traditional w or w/o ABS. Not sure what 'formula' they're aiming for here, if it's just a test platform they've got a good start...
ReplyDeleteAlso, that's a legit full lap of the ring, not BTG which is how some of those fast times are recorded. That final blast up the straight really could have used another high gear, what with all that torque available.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the specs say only one gear, again, not sure that the issues are as far as fitting more gears to an EV
DeleteGranted, there aren't too many tracks with extended straights like the 'ring. This EV would shame most ICE formulas at most other tracks for shorter sprint races. Only a matter of time.
DeleteLove the leftover Toyota F1 steering wheel being used on it... total overkill as they don't need the gear change paddles, shift lights, gear indicator and clutch paddles :D
ReplyDeleteWere the cars parked on the side to allow for this run? Is that the policy?
ReplyDelete