Battery And Assault

Electric rallycross is on its way soon. But how did Austrian company STARD develop its prototype for this all-action branch of the sport?

- Hal Ridge

Four years ago, when the funding was pulled from beneath its feet on its top-secret project, Austrian firm STARD thought it had reached the end of the road in its dream to produce an electric rallycross car capable of taking on the sport’s existing machinery.

But the company owned by former Production World Rally champion Manfred Stohl did eventually manage to make up the shortfall and complete the first incarnation of its dream: the HIPER fully electric rally and rallycross prototype, which was officially revealed late last year.

Many believe that things happen for a reason. Had HIPER been launched when initially intended, the concept may well have arrived too soon to grip the imagination of an audience outside a specialised technical sphere. But on the back of the 2015 emissions scandal, VW Group marques Audi (World Endurance Championship) and Volkswagen (World Rally Championship) ended long-term motorsport programmes, and focus began to shift towards competing using alternative energy.

As the leading electric championship, Formula E has attracted a raft of manufacturers, boosted in recent months by Mercedes, Porsche and BMW. But noises are also coming from the dual surface discipline of rallycross to the effect that at least part of its future could lie in electric propulsion too.

Having previously been tight-lipped on the subject, World Rallycross Championship promotor IMG recently revealed that it is working with the FIA and several manufacturers on the introduction of electric rallycross – independent from the current two-litre turbocharged World RX Supercar category – which could happen from 2020.