Just a month after the RAC announced that it is to run a second Future Car Challenge following the success of the inaugural event, the list of alternative fuel entrants is already looking impressive.
The RAC Future Car Challenge (FCC) takes place on Saturday 5 November 2011, the day before The Royal Automobile Club’s famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. It is a reverse-run of the London to Brighton drive which the RAC runs for veteran cars and is open to all alternative fuel cars including electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuel cells as well as low emission combustion cars (below 110g/km CO2).
First entries for the 2011 event includes striking line-up of EV sports cars from Radical, Tesla, Delta , Vortex and Vince Nemesis.
The Radical SRZero supercar EV entry is from Imperial College London. In 2010 a team of Imperial undergraduates, postgraduates and alumni drove the all-electric Radical from Alaska, down the Pan-American Highway, finishing at Ushuaia in Argentina, the world’s most southerly city, passing through 14 countries in 140 days.
Meanwhile the Delta E4 Electric Coupe features a high-tech carbon fibre design and is capable of over 200 miles on a single charge, carrying up to four people and can accelerate to 62mph in less than five seconds – all with zero tailpipe emissions. The Delta E4 will be launched next month at its birthplace, Silverstone Circuit – The Home of British Motor Racing.
Although the first confirmed entries are all electric, the RAC Future Car Challenge is also open to hybrid, hydrogen and low-emission internal combustion engine cars and light-commercial vehicles. Last year’s entry list included one-off prototypes and future production vehicles from manufacturers such as Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Vauxhall, BMW, Skoda and Volkswagen, as well as current production cars offering the highest levels of efficiency regardless of their powertrain.
The challenge requires entrants to cover the 60-mile route from Brighton to London and finish on London’s Regent Street. The winners judge in six categories according to their fuel type, are those which use the least energy possible within the 2hrs 45min minimum and 3hrs 30min maximum time permitted to complete the journey.
More information: http://www.futurecarchallenge.com/.
