ABB And NASCAR Reveal EV Prototype
ABB in the United States and NASCAR announced the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership and revealed a new electric vehicle (EV) prototype at the 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race. This partnership brings together EV technology companies and auto racing to advance NASCAR’s strategic ambitions across electrification.
“ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, and we help customers globally to optimize, electrify, and decarbonize their operations,” said Ralph Donati, ABB executive vice president. “The objective of the collaboration between NASCAR, ABB in the United States, and the NASCAR industry is to push the boundaries of electrification technology, from EV racing to long-haul transportation to facility operations.”
As part of the partnership, ABB in the United States will also help NASCAR achieve public sustainability targets around electrification and EV charging.
While NASCAR is committed to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing, it is also committed to decarbonizing its operations and reducing its own carbon footprint to zero across its core operations by 2035 through electrification and other solutions.
“There could not be a more optimal moment in time to announce our first IMPACT partner than in tandem with the debut of our prototype EV at the Chicago Street Race,” said Eric Nyquist, NASCAR senior vice president and chief IMPACT officer. “ABB will help in efforts to decarbonize our operations as we pursue achieving net-zero operating emissions over the next decade.”
The ABB NASCAR EV prototype is the latest innovation from the NASCAR Research and Development Center team, which recently completed the largest overhaul of the NASCAR Cup Series car in NASCAR’s 75-year history. The Next Gen car, which debuted in 2022, modernized most of the vehicle’s components. It also marked NASCAR’s rededication to product relevance in ensuring its race cars match production cars on the street as much as possible.
The EV prototype was developed in collaboration with NASCAR’s original equipment manufacturer partners — Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota — and was built by the NASCAR engineers responsible for the Next Gen car and the Garage 56 entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The track-tested, electrified stock car has three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors (one front, two rear) supplying power directly to all four specially designed Goodyear Racing Eagle tires. Anchored by a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery, the tunable powertrain can produce 1000 kW at peak power. Regenerative braking converts kinetic energy into power, making the car ideal for road courses and short oval tracks.
The all-wheel drive car has a generic Crossover Utility Vehicle body made of sustainable flax-based composite. It shares many similarities with both the Next Gen and Garage 56 cars. The body sits on a modified Next Gen chassis, and the steering, suspension, brakes, and wheels all derive from the NASCAR Cup Series car.
