Manfred Stohl had a successful first functional test under race conditions in his recently completed all-electric 4WD rally car, despite heavy rain.
After initial trouble with tires, top laptimes were set outside of the competition at the Race of Austrian Champions in Greinbach. Based on a S2000 Peugeot 207 the HIPER MK1 is a four wheel drive machine, developed by STARD, has the equivalent of 544hp and 760nm torque, and can run at maximum power for 15 minutes.
Despite a strong showing, with continual improvement, the first functional test under racing conditions was heavily influenced by a strong rain and the aforementioned tire conditions. Whilst Stohl was unable to set a qualifying time, the car’s powertrain piqued interest in the paddock.
The car’s competition debut follows the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship’s announcement of an all-electric category within its formulas, catering for all-electric vehicles.
“Of course it is not a coincidence that prominent rallycross series have set clear actions towards EV racing right after our announcement of HIPER MK1,” said Michael Sakowicz, STARD CEO. “For quite some time we are already working on a dedicated pure rallycross car with over 1000hp and 4 motors, 1 driving each wheel, with full torque vectoring. Since January 2016, we have been cooperating in a 3-year research project with the Technical University of Vienna to develop control strategies for 4-wheel torque vectoring. In addition to this, we are now very familiar with the EV system, and are focussing on the development of a tailormaded and optimised chassis and suspension system for that purpose; whereas with HIPER MK1 with have just adapted the existing S2000 system to suit the EV format. The technical vehicle concept is signed off already and matching is performing in line with existing WRX supercar chassis. We are evaluating various possibilities and are in discussions with some potential partners already.”
