Extreme E’s ODYSSEY 21 Set for Dakar Rally
21 November, London: Extreme E’s cutting-edge electric SUV will line up in the Dakar Rally this January, as the ODYSSEY 21’s development continues apace with what will be a first outing on a live motorsport stage.
The car will be driven during shakedown for the legendary off-road endurance event, set for its 30th host country in Saudi Arabia for 2020, with the E-SUV also taking to the final competitive stage on the rally-raid route, alongside participants in comparable ICE and hybrid vehicles.
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “I can’t wait to see the ODYSSEY 21 in action at one of the motorsport world’s most historic events.
“The Saudi stages will provide a real test, and a relevant one with the country taking up a berth on our Season 1 calendar. It will be a unique opportunity for the guys at Spark to gather data and learn about our E-SUV, driven hard and in its ‘natural environment’ with a little over a year until we get underway.”
David Castera, Dakar Rally Director, said: “We are delighted that the Extreme E E-SUV will be accompanying us throughout the forthcoming Dakar.
“It represents a real-world opportunity to promote the new technology that Extreme E embraces, and this kind of initiative is entirely in keeping with the mood of the times and the course of history.
“We have begun to encourage the participation of hybrid and electric vehicles on the Dakar, with the mid-term objective of introducing a specific class for them.
“Extreme E’s presence in January’s event convinces us that we are heading in the right direction with this project, and inspires us to go even further and faster in its implementation.”
The ODYSSEY 21’s public unveiling came at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed back on 5 July, with Spark Racing Technology – the constructors of Formula E’s Gen 1 and Gen 2 machines – completing the initial build of the prototype just a week earlier.
An intense testing schedule has followed that initial display run, with Official Tyre Partner Continental Tyres putting the car and its bespoke rubber through their paces with a comprehensive week-long test programme in the south of France at the Château de Lastours proving ground – a site regularly chosen by Dakar and FIA World Rally Championship entrants aiming to put their machinery through the ringer.
In Saudi Arabia, the E-SUV will be tasked with traversing and navigating a range of landscapes and surfaces, from sand dunes to canyons and mountain ranges in what will be a stern test at a relatively early stage in the car’s development cycle, just over a year out from Extreme E’s inaugural round, set for February 2021.
The radical new racing series will highlight the impact of climate change on some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems across its five-race voyage, promoting the adoption of electric vehicles and sustainability while raising awareness of the issues facing our planet and the degraded environments in which Extreme E will race.
The ODYSSEY 21’s peak 400kw (550hp) output is capable of firing the 1650-kilogram, 2.3-metre wide car from 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, at gradients of up to 130 percent.
Each vehicle comprises a common package of standardised parts, including a powertrain manufactured by Spark Racing Technology with a battery produced by Williams Advanced Engineering. The chassis encompasses a Niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame, as well as crash structure and roll cage, whilst tyres to suit the extreme conditions will be supplied by Continental Tyres.
Teams, should they wish, will be able to select areas of bodywork, such as the engine cover, front and rear bumpers, side skirt and lights in a bid to replicate the look of everyday car models.
Extreme E will be unveiling its final confirmed location in the coming weeks, with a provisional calendar unveiling and further announcements on teams, drivers and partners also on the horizon. The driver set to get behind the wheel of the ODYSSEY 21 at the Dakar Rally will be announced in due course.
VNR footage:
Extreme E testing
Sources: Extreme E PR