Škoda Motorsport has developed an electric racecar concept based on the Enyaq Coupé vRS that aims to demonstrate the company’s sustainable technologies for future production usage.
Developed by the Czech manufacturer’s racing department, the Škoda Enyaq RS Race is 316kg lighter than the electric road model on which it is based, courtesy of weight-saving biocomposite parts incorporating flax fibre. These have been installed on several parts of the car’s body, including the bumpers, wing panels, roof and vent, and rear wing. Inside, the same materials have been used for the dashboard, door panels, footrests and roof, in place of the road car’s panoramic sun roof.
Although not built to compete in a series, the Škoda Enyaq RS Race has been designed to emulate the handling characteristics of the company’s Fabia RS Rally2 car. It uses the same electric powertrain as the Enyaq Coupé vRS with adjusted dimensions: the battery pack is 70mm lower, 72mm wider at the front and 116mm wider at the rear. The 82kW battery and pair of electric motors with a combined 250kW output have been retained. Škoda has given the RS Race a stop speed of 180km/h (112mph), the same as the production version, although the lighter racecar has superior acceleration, achieving 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds.
The chassis has been lowered and widened, while the bumpers have been redesigned. New dampers and springs have also been installed in a suspension package that allows for individual adjustments to spring stiffness, compression, and rebound settings.
‘After [the] first sketches, it was possible to see our RS Race will be very sporty,’ says Jakub Jareš, Škoda Enyaq RS Race project manager. ‘This was a task for our engineering to be as close as possible to our current Fabia RS Rally2 concerning handling and interior. The car has a reinforced body shell and integrated safety frame, just like our competition car, according to the current FIA regulations.’
To emulate its Rally2 car’s handling, Škoda Motorsport replaced the Enyaq road car’s brake system with carbon ceramic discs, 10-piston callipers at the front and four-piston callipers at the rear. The RS Race also sports a new brake cooling system for the beefed up arrangement. Škoda has also introduced a rally-style handbrake and borrowed the pedal system from its Rally2 machine.
‘We have focused carefully on the handling,’ says Miloš Vrba, transmission engineer at Škoda Motorsport. ‘The basic powertrain layout, including the battery and the power, is identical to the power, is identical to the production car. We have added a hydraulic handbrake, front and rear self-locking differential and a few other competition bits.’
The mechanical self-locking differentials at front and rear are designed to allow maximum power and torque to be transferred to the track surface.
Steering and control systems have also received attention. The steering wheel is designed to resemble that used in the Rally2 car, while the rack-and-pinion steering used in the road model has been replaced with linear steering. This has adjustable steering weight controlled by software; the drive ratio has been enhanced for racecar levels of performance. The 20-inch wheels – same size as the road car – are fitted with low-profile tyres.
Additionally, the cockpit has two seats and there is a spare wheel in the back, again resembling a rally vehicle. All pedals, except for the clutch, have been taken from the Fabis RS Rally2.
The initial test runs were conducted with Oliver Solberg at the wheel. The Swede is a Škoda Motorsport test driver and currently leads in the FIA WRC2 Championship.
‘I never thought I’d drive an electric car sideways,’ he says. ‘This car works really well. It doesn’t feel like an SUV, it’s stable, has steering with a steeper gear ratio and a newly mapped power steering, thanks to which the nose responds very nimbly to steering wheel commands. You can drive it fast. It’s an electric car, so the onset of power is immediate, it handles great and it’s stable under braking. Everything in the cockpit is as I would imagine it, the pedals, the hydraulic handbrake, it’s fun.
‘The Enyaq RS Race shows how motorsport DNA can really be transferred to road cars. The Škoda Motorsport engineers have not shied away from the electric drive and created a great car that is a pleasure and joy to drive.’
A key feature of the Enyaq RS Race is its use of flax fibre materials. These materials can have the rigidity, strength and lightness of carbon fibre, whilst being sourced from non-chemical processes.
For example, AmpliTex is a reinforcement fabric made from renewable flax fibres grown in Europe. The woven fibres have been used in the interior to reduce vibrations and save weight. They are sourced mechanically, rather than chemically, through flax cultivation.
Škoda partnered with biocomposite specialist, Bcomp, to fit the Enyaq RS Race with these materials. Bcomp used its PowerRibs technology to combine maximum stiffness and minimum weight by creating a 3D structure to reinforce the thin-walled car body panels. This results in material savings and Škoda says it reduces CO2 emissions by around 85 per cent. The electric racecar concept marks the first time Škoda has used this technology for large external components.
‘The Škoda Enyaq RS Race was developed completely in-house by Škoda Motorsport,’ comments Johannes Neft, Škoda Auto Board Member for Technical Development. ‘Based on the Enyaq Coupé vRS production model, the car features a distinctive design with strong racing DNA, enhanced aerodynamics and excellent acceleration.
‘In terms of sustainable solutions, the new concept car also serves as a pilot project for future innovations in series production. The biocomposite parts have led to a significant weight reduction, and we are trialling them in motorsport, including in the current Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, with a view to future implementation.’
Škoda, which is part of Volkswagen Group, currently offers 11 road car models including the Enyaq. Its factory motorsport department is mainly focused on rallying with the Fabia RS Rally2, which is well-represented by customers in the FIA European Rally Championship and FIA WRC2.
