An inside look at the CUPRA e-Racer

SEAT has recently been on a mission to create the world’s first fully electric competition touring car, and have named it the CUPRA e-Racer. With a year to go until its launch, the CUPRA e-Racer is an environmentally friendly yet powerful racing car and is equipped with innovative technology and performance focused design to make for an impressive track-focused car.

At the CUPRA e-Racer’s core is a 450kg battery that accounts for a third of the sports car’s total weight. The head of engineering at the new sports car brand CUPRA, Xavier Serra, stated, “The battery determines the entire design and position of the remaining elements. It is located as low as possible so that the centre of gravity is closer to the ground and enhances the car’s dynamics”.

The battery is made up of 23 panels with a total of 6,072 battery cells, generating the same power as 9,000 mobile phones connected at the same time. These are mounted over the rear axle and deliver 680 hp. The CUPRA e-Racer has a single gear that “gives us wonderful acceleration, from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 270 km/h”, explains Xavier.

SEAT’s new race car features an energy recovery system that harnesses energy from braking and decelerating. The steering wheel of the CUPRA e-Racer has a display panel that the driver and engineers can monitor and transfer a full range of vehicle performance data in real time while driving for efficient energy management.

Regardless of whether the car is equipped with an electric or a combustion engine, the goal is “to be the fastest and cross the finish line in first place”. The new CUPRA e-Racer will compete for the first time in the new ETCR Racing format in 2020.