The FIA on Friday released the first technical regulations for a new electric racing class.
Called Electric Sport Vehicle (ESV), the new class is the first sanctioned by the FIA for electric race cars derived from road cars. It's intended to serve as an entry-level class for electric racing at the national and regional levels, as well as enable manufacturers to offer turnkey electric race cars, according to an FIA press release.
Taking its cue from the Group N category for internal-combustion cars, ESV will allow only minimal modifications from road-going production models. It's open to "grand touring cars and four-door, coupe-shaped sports sedans," with a chassis-height limit of 57.4 inches. That would exclude the many electric crossovers currently on the market. A standard U.S.-spec Hyundai Ioniq 5, for example, stands 63.0 inches tall.
FIA Electric Sport Vehicle class
As a production-based class, manufacturers will have to build a certain number of road cars to homologate EV models for ESV. At the outset, the requirement will be 300 units over the first 24-month period from homologation.
ESV is open to rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles, with a minimum power output of 410 hp. Bodywork must remain mostly unchanged, but the rules allow for fender flares to accommodate wider tires and additional cooling ducts. Certain components, including doors, rear hatches, spoilers, and diffusers, can be replaced with lighter-weight versions maintaining the stock shape.
To help organizers group cars competitively, the FIA will also apply its Performance Factor methodology from hill-climb racing, which creates a value based on factors such as weight, power, and aerodynamic performance. There is also an allowance for teams to view real-time energy consumption through onboard data loggers.
FIA Electric Sport Vehicle class
While the FIA has backed the Formula E single-seater series and an electric rallycross category, this is the organization's first concerted effort to back a production-based electric racing class for tarmac circuits.
The FIA previously offered support to the Electric GT series, which aimed to use modified Tesla Model S race cars (with no apparent support from Tesla). It also announced an electric category in 2021, promising performance similar to current GT3 cars, but neither effort materialized.