Electric future for STCC from 2023

[FIRE]

A couple months ago STCC announced the series switches to electric powered cars in 2023. I think this interesting move justifies an own topic.

The STCC will become the first national touring car championship in the world to switch to electric power for the 2023 season in a revamp of the Scandinavian series.

The series has run using TCR-spec cars since 2017 but will now introduce a new car that is currently being worked on by the Swedish company EPWR.

Cars will be based on production models that are available to the public and which have then undergone extensive modifications in order to go racing, with the Tesla Model 3 being the first car to be revealed for the inaugural season.

The cars will be rear-wheel driven and powered by 550hp electric motors that allow for top speeds of close to 300km/h, and which will see them hit 100km/h in under three seconds.

...

“This is the single most important step forward for the STCC and Scandinavian motorsport since the start of the championship in 1996 – we are writing history today,” Micke Bern, Managing Director of STCC said.

“Together with key partners, we have worked hard with this over many years and the conditions are finally here to launch this in a sustainable way. Our base philosophy is to inspire society to a sustainable transition through spectacular electrified racing.

“The fact that we are also able to return street races to the calendar together with Helsingborg is another message of strength that this programme enables.”

Twelve cars are currently in build for the 2023 season, with Brink Motorsport and Exion Racing the first two teams set to be part of the grid.

...

“We’ve waited a long time for this day as we’re starting a new chapter for Scandinavian motorsport,” Brink Motorsport boss Ted Brink said.

“The electrification of the STCC is decisive for the future of our operations and we are very much looking forward to digging our teeth into the transition that we have ahead of ourselves, alongside our current STCC TCR Scandinavia programme.”

Testing of the new cars will continue in the hands of Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, who has been part of the project since the first prototype was ready in 2018.

“The new STCC cars are insanely fun and challenging to drive, the difference to the race cars of today is like night and day,” she said. “The power and the low centre of gravity that the batteries entail makes the driving experience as close to single seaters that you can get, but with the amazing racing of touring cars still there.

“I have believed in electric racing for a long time and it’s amazing to be a part of the development since day one. I’m really looking forward to 2023!”

The STCC organisation has confirmed that TCR cars will continue during the STCC weekends in 2023 and beyond, running under the TCR Scandinavia banner.

Source: https://www.touringcartimes.com/2022...c-future-2023/

[FIRE]

Exion Racing has become the first team to reveal the car with which they will compete in the new all-electric era of the STCC in 2023, opting for the BMW i4 model.



The Värnamo-based squad will field three BMW i4 cars currently being assembled by EPWR, the company in charge for the electric drivetrain concept set to be introduced in the series next year.

The cars will produce 550 bhp and feature an 800-volt 45 kWh battery. The cars will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in under three seconds.

...

The announcement marks a return of the BMW brand to STCC for the first time since 2015. The German make is one of the most successful in the history of the championship with 74 wins.

Source: https://www.touringcartimes.com/2022...electric-stcc/

For comparison: eTCR has a battery of 62 kWh and power output of 400 bhp (670 bhp in push-to-pass mode).

[thetool]

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by thetool

[Evantra]

Very interesting. Sounds promising, but seems like a big job for EPWR, I assume not the biggest or wealthiest organisation / company in comparison to the whole of ETCR. Looking forward to hearing more updates!

[thetool]

Originally Posted by FIRE

It's as if nothing has ever gets learnt from recent history. Going their own way with a novel formula that more resembles DTM than standard touring cars. They've been here before with TTA and it was a disaster on a scale that touring car racing in Scandinavia still hasn't fully recovered from - although TCR Scandinavia was looking like a step in the right direction for a while.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Evantra

Very interesting. Sounds promising, but seems like a big job for EPWR, I assume not the biggest or wealthiest organisation / company in comparison to the whole of ETCR. Looking forward to hearing more updates!

If I remember well PWR is developing the powertrain for 3 or 4 years.
Assume teams are responsible for developing the base car, EPWR for addming the electric parts. But still it's a huge project.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by thetool

It's as if nothing has ever gets learnt from recent history. Going their own way with a novel formula that more resembles DTM than standard touring cars. They've been here before with TTA and it was a disaster on a scale that touring car racing in Scandinavia still hasn't fully recovered from - although TCR Scandinavia was looking like a step in the right direction for a while.

Future will tell. Difference this time it's not a breakaway series. TCR cars can still take part.

At the end - like it or not - electric cars are the future. Sweden is one of the frontrunners.

[thetool]

Originally Posted by FIRE

At the end - like it or not - electric cars are the future. Sweden is one of the frontrunners.

It's not the fact they're going to the electric route, it's that they are going down their own avenue when something like ETCR already exists.

[FIRE]

True but I have the impression there isn't much going on in eTCR. Correct me if I am wrong but next season they still have the "rallycross" format instead of proper touring car racing with a full grid.

Besides that both the Cupra eTCR car and Cupra PWR001 car were presented in 2018, so both development projects were running alongside. PWR didn't start after eTCR. So you could also argue why didn't eTCR use the PWR001 formula?

[touring fan01]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Source: https://www.touringcartimes.com/2022...electric-stcc/

what’s the bet that (just like last time with tta) bmw will make the team take the bmw identification off the car because it doesn’t use any bmw components and is not bmw authorised

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by porsche962fan

they claim to be environment friendly , look at Formula E but all tams have huge diesel generators behind the pits to charge them, it's clearly an inferior product to gasoline when it comes to range and charging time so why do they want to focus this crap inferior technology on us ??

and if you noticed the chinese stopped focusing on electric battery vehicles, the real answer is hydrogen " By 2025, the government aims to have 50,000 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the road" so that's the real future that should tel you something, full electric with batteries is the wrong horse

And on other fields it's a better product than petrol.

The battery vs hydrogen battle is still undecided. A total of 50,000 hydrogen cars is peanuts in China.

Is this is the right move from STCC? I don't know.
Is it an interesting move? Yes is it.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Is this is the right move from STCC? I don't know.
Is it an interesting move? Yes is it.

It certainly is. I hope we can have a discussion on the series too.

It is unlikely as people want to have the same old tired debate instead. It might get more posts, but we’ve seen it all before. It can be discussed on 10-10ths, but not so much that it stops the potential for all other discussion.

[NaBUru38]

A risky move indeed!


Maybe they add a round in Norway?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

A risky move indeed!


Maybe they add a round in Norway?

Risky, but an exciting prospect too.

With TC2000 introducing SUVs, and STCC going electric, the future direction for those respective series aligns with showroom trends.

Clearly there is a promising future for EV-based tin-tops, and this will surely be the first of many series to make the leap forward.