What most surprises spectators watching the Andros Electric Trophy ice races is the noise, or should it be, the lack of it. As the Andros Car 03 Evo 2, used by all drivers in the event, slides round the icy track, all they can hear are its tires crunching across the ice and the occasional wine of the electric motor, as is clear in this video on YouTube.
The Andros Electric Trophy series is the world’s first contest featuring 100% electric concept cars and is intended to contribute to the “electrification” of racing vehicles, highlighting the value of electric propulsion by emphasising the performance of the vehicles (power, speed, manoeuvrability).
What is clear is that the 800-kilo Andros Car certainly provides entertainment. Thanks to its 320 V 24 kWh lithium-ion battery and a Siemens-built asynchronous motor delivers a maximum of 122 HP and a torque of 200 N.m at constant revs of 5,000 RPMs, the cars are able to effect 17 course laps of 2.5 km at a very competitive speed.
The overall electronic management of the competition cars was developed by Segula Technologies Matra and the eight racers themselves were developed and built by Exagon Engineering at Magny-Cours (France).
“Several months of close technical collaboration with the Saft teams made it possible to build high performance vehicles that were well suited to the Andros Electric Trophy ice race, which is a particularly demanding discipline. Despite the cold and humidity, Saft provided us with products of the utmost quality and security in record time”, says Luc Marchetti, General Manager of Exagon.
Meanwhile, Fréderic Gervoson, President of the Andros Food Group, and the creator – along with Max Mamers, former French road rally champion – of the Trophy series, sees the Electric Trophy as “a tremendous opportunity for electric vehicles… The races on ice lend a different image and a tangible reality. The competition has always been a laboratory for technology that leads to real progress”.
During the two first competitions, the cars reached 100 km/h in less than six seconds with potential top speeds of over 160 km/h. The power of the Li-ion components supplied by Saft enabled the cars to deliver full power under acceleration, permitting them to equal the skating performance of racing cars with thermal engines.
This year is not the first time electric vehicles have featured in the event. During the 2006/2007 series, the Andros Trophy played host to electric propulsion for the first time, with the entry of the electric sprint car, the Andros Car 01. The 2007/2008 season at Isola 2000, saw a second electric sprint car the Andros Car 02, driven by Franck Lagorce, walk home with a first-time victory over the thermal-powered vehicles, while in the 2008/2009 series, the Trophy competition was marked by the appearance of the Andros Car 03 and the electric motorcycle Quantya as part of Pilot Bike, the Andros Trophy’s two-wheel vehicle competition.
The seven rounds of the Andros Electric Trophy started on 5 December 2009 and finish on 30 January 2010.
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