NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Tesla electric cars, which have a passionate following around the world, will soon have their own racing competition, a global sports organizer said on Thursday.
Electric GT Holdings said the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motorsports’ governing body, has approved circuit races for the Tesla Model S P100D.
“The Championship is the first all-electric circuit race series in the world and heralds the dawn of a new electric future,” Electric GT said on its website.
Last week, the race-prepared model passed its official FIA crash test required for competition, it added.
Tesla founder Elon Musk has billed a model S P100D with “Ludicrous mode” as the third-fastest accelerating production car ever made, capable of going from zero to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 2.5 seconds.
That is slower only than the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder two-seaters, according to Tesla.
No date for the races has been announced, but they will involve 20 international drivers racing for 10 professional teams, according to Electric GT.
They will be organized in two rounds of 38 miles (60 kilometers) each, one in the day and another at dusk, after a three-heat qualifying round.
Competition for 100-percent electric vehicles has grown. Formula E, which bills itself as the world’s first fully-electric international single-seater street racing series, brings competition to 10 cities around the world.
Since it began in 2014, the series has drawn an increasing number of automobile manufacturers. The 2018-2019 season will include Mercedes, Porsche and BMW.
Volkswagen on Wednesday said a 100-percent electric prototype, driven by Frenchman Romain Dumas, will join the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States in June.
After winning Pikes Peak three times, Dumas aims to top the best time realized by an electric car in the race, the American Rhys Millen’s 8 min 57 sec 118/1000, which is also the third best of all times.
Dorna, which runs the MotoGP World Championship of motorcycle racing, is preparing for an electric motorcycle championship in 2019 when the RallyCross championship prepares to become the “E-WRX” in 2020.
© Agence France-Presse
