Electric RaceAbout test run leads to the second-fastest EV time on Nordschleife

06.11.2014

The Electric RaceAbout team believes that there is still potential for a much faster lap time. Nürburgring, Germany, 24 October 2014. Photo: Ville Eskelinen.

Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) built by Metropolia University ran the annual tests on the notorious Nordschleife track in Nürburg, Germany, in late October, setting its personal record on 24 October with 8:01.41 on the 20.6 km long, so called Sport Auto lap.

The testing period in late October led to the second-fastest lap around the Nordschleife track in the street legal electric vehicle group.

Last year, E-RA did the track in 8:23.56. Since then, an active wing control and ABS brake system have been added, and the Torque Vectoring motor control system that was already there has been improved.

This time E-RA was driven by Jesse Krohn, a young Finnish VLN-series professional driver. “The drivability of the vehicle was good considering its weight, and the acceleration from 100 to 200 km/h was very convincing,” says Krohn, who drove the vehicle for the first time.

The unpredictable Eifel mountain range climate did not help the testing and E-RA was on the track only three times in four days.

“The low number of laps did not help me get accustomed to the vehicle,” says Krohn, explaining also that he had to start every lap with cold tires and brakes.

During the fastest lap, the vehicle battery heated up more than the team had anticipated, so the battery power had to be restricted halfway through. Additional laps would have helped to optimise the vehicle setup, so there is still potential for a faster lap time.

The street legal EV track record of 7:56,2 remains with Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS Electric Drive.

Additional information

Project Manager Sami Ruotsalainen, tel. +358 50 528 8648, firstname.lastname@metropolia.fi

Electric RaceAbout

Electria - Electronics Research and Development Unit

Metropolia UAS’s Research, Development and Innovation

Automotive and Transport Engineering