Photo: ACCIONIA / Jesús Renedo
It’s the first time in 37 years of Dakar Rally history that an all electric vehicle completed a stage of the world’s toughest challenge. The ACCIONA EV driven by Albert Bosch and Augustin Paya finished the special 175 km stage in 2 hours and 27 minutes with not a single problem to report.
Designed and built by the Spanish civil engineering firm ACCIONA, the car wrote history this week as the first all-electric car to set tracks in the Dakar Rally. And to make it even interesting, the EV dune rider is built from scratch.
Power comes from a 300 hp electric motor fed by four lithium-ion batteries totaling 140 kWh. That roughly means more than what two standard Tesla Model S provide, which is enough to complete a 200+ mile stage.
But don’t you simply imagine they have to sit and wait for them a century to get recharged, because the packs are interchangeable, operation that can be easily done once the team reaches a checkpoint.
Speaking of the toughest rally, last year there were 431 vehicles that took the start, but only half of them managed to fight through and reach the finish. High temperatures, rocks, sand, fine dust and 2 days without access to service vehicles are the drivers’ biggest enemies.
Will the ACCIONA manage to reach the final destination? It would be a miracle, but even if it bails out half way through the race, we can still consider it a major step for the electric automotive side. All teams will get a short break after today's bikes and quad trials.
Power comes from a 300 hp electric motor fed by four lithium-ion batteries totaling 140 kWh. That roughly means more than what two standard Tesla Model S provide, which is enough to complete a 200+ mile stage.
But don’t you simply imagine they have to sit and wait for them a century to get recharged, because the packs are interchangeable, operation that can be easily done once the team reaches a checkpoint.
Speaking of the toughest rally, last year there were 431 vehicles that took the start, but only half of them managed to fight through and reach the finish. High temperatures, rocks, sand, fine dust and 2 days without access to service vehicles are the drivers’ biggest enemies.
Will the ACCIONA manage to reach the final destination? It would be a miracle, but even if it bails out half way through the race, we can still consider it a major step for the electric automotive side. All teams will get a short break after today's bikes and quad trials.
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