The Opel Corsa-e Rally gets in shape for its debut

The racing car begins its development and fine-tuning in preparation for its manufacture and its debut in competition

For a rally lover, like the one who signs this article, it is strange to see a racing car rolling without limitations in the absence of the roar which, until now, was inherent to the nature of racing cars.

The thermal engines that animated the rallies seem destined to extinction and proposals such as the Opel Corsa-e Rally are clear examples that, in order to keep the races alive, due to legal regulations and marketing, the brands involved in the development of competition saddlesn are betting on the total or partial electrification of their cars.

Recently we have learned that the FIA ​​has finally taken the pulse of the situation and has set a date for 2022 as the year in which the World Rally Championship, from its acronym in English, WRC, assumes hybridization as the leitmotif of the mechanics of the cars that participate in the top category.

But beyond that, builders like Opel is already betting on single-brand cups from production vehicles.

The electric Opel Corsa goes rallying

We already knew about the German brand's commitment to officially return to the most demanding discipline in the world, rallying. The demands experienced in the timed sections mean that the races carried out on asphalt or dirt roads normally used for open traffic, are even more complex than those of any street vehicle can live in ordinary traffic conditions

Therefore, the response of a rally car must offer greater adaptability and, to do so, experience is essential. The biggest problem of this new era is the lack of previous references and, in this situation, the need to test In situations as similar as possible to those experienced when the clock starts ticking, testing and development units can be put on the road, as Opel is doing.

Ahead of the debut in a test of the Opel Corsa-e Rally, scheduled for July 2020, the manufacturer plans to manufacture 20 units, 15 of which will be available for the first round of the single-make cup that will be named ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup.

At first, although the Opel Corsa-e delivers 100 kW, equivalent to 136 HPWith the 142 hp produced by the 1.6-litre petrol engine of the Opel Adam Cup, the electric vehicle already has more torque than the combustion engine offered.

On the other hand, the car will have the same battery as any of the production Opel Corsa-e, a 50 kWh accumulator which, for the street model, offers up to 337 km of autonomy.

Given the use of energy in competition, the Opel Corsa electric rally car It will have three electricity delivery modes: Competition, as its name suggests, for racing situations, Rain, which offers a more progressive and optimized torque delivery for slippery road conditions, and Eco Mode, which can be used for driving on open roads, like any production electric car.