Hyundai showcases Veloster N ETCR electric racecar

Hyundai Motorsport has announced that it will be competing in the electric touring car championship, or E TCR, that makes its debut as a new racing series in 2020. They have developed a bespoke racer, the Veloster N ETCR for the same.

What is E TCR?

E TCR, or electric touring car racing, is a new racing series that will be launched in 2020 to promote tin-top electric car racing. The specifications were decided by WSC technology, a subdivision of the WSC (World Sporting Consulting) group that also promotes the regular TCR series. E TCR cars are based on 4-door or 5-door cars, and the first manufacturer to get on board with the idea was Seat with their Cupra.

What is the Veloster N ETCR?

The Veloster N ETCR is Hyundai’s stab at taking part in the E TCR championship. It was designed and built to the series’ specification at the company’s Alzenau headquarters. Design work began in November 2018 and the first shakedown was completed in August 2019. It complies with the technical regulations laid down by the race series: it has an electric motor with 300kW of continuous power, and 500kW of maximum power. The battery is a 65kWh unit and runs on an 800V system. It is rear wheel drive, and gets a single gear transmission. The motor, gearbox and inverters, together with the battery pack are handed out to the carmakers and they design the car around this. The car will be fully tested later this month and two cars will be developed for the first season of racing.

This will be another feather in Hyundai’s motorsport hat. They have already raced the i30 N and Veloster N in the TCR championship as customer racing programmes and getting in to E TCR was the next logical step for them.