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• Two test mules are being used to gather kilometres, data as well as study battery loads and temperature management in rally conditions.
• It retains the 136PS/260Nm 50kWh setup from the Corsa-e, but gets three driving modes among other performance upgrades.
• A prototype will be used as a basis for customer vehicles, with 20 units being produced.
• 15 of these units will be allocated to customer teams to compete in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup 2020/2021 season
• Orders for the cars and registrations for the championship are open.

After introducing the world’s first electric rally car, the Corsa-e Rally, at the German Rally Championship finale in October, Opel has now revealed that testing has commenced for the rally car. Two prototypes are being tested with the objective of covering as many kilometres as possible as well as gathering data for further development. The carmaker will also study the battery loads and temperature management in rally conditions.  Once testing is completed, a reference car will be built for customer vehicles. Around 20 units will be produced with 15 of these allocated for customer teams to compete in the upcoming ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup 2020/2021 season that starts with official testing in August 2020.

The Corsa-e Rally uses the same 50 kWh front-wheel drive electric motor from the production-spec Corsa-e, with a power output of 136PS and 260Nm of torque. Its battery gives off a WLTP range of 337km. However, the battery gets three driving modes to optimise its range.

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The first mode, ‘Competition’, enables the full use of the Corsa-e Rally’s power and torque. Since this is a rally-spec car, it gets a ‘Rain’ mode, which adapts the torque for slippery conditions. The ‘Eco’ mode can be used by the teams for energy saving between stages and driving to service stations. Other upgrades in the Corsa-e Rally include a rally-spec suspension, integrated roll cage, rally wheels and a funky livery. 

Orders for the electric rally car opened on December 12 while registrations for the C ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup commenced on December 15. Can electric rally racing revolutionise the rally segment the way Formula E did with single-seater racing back in 2014? We’ll know only once the cars hit the stage in August 2020. 

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