A new facet of the Motorposrt genre has been unveiled in Johannesburg by organisers from the former A1 Grand Prix. Dubbed the Elite World Cup, this latest endeavour seeks to intertwine the realms of electric mobility and hardcore motorsport.
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The Elite World Cup founders, Tokyo Sexwale, Liu Yu and Stephen Watson have envisioned and brought to life a racing series that will venture into hyper-electric car racing. The racing series which was unveiled in our very own Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg will begin in September 2024 and to March 2025 and will be composed of eight to ten racing weekends in a season. No further information is available on the calendar or logistics yet but we imagine it will comprise circuits all around the globe, hopefully South Africa too.
“The Elite World Cup is not just a racing competition. It is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation and sustainability.” – Tokyo Sexwale, Co-founder of the Elite World Cup
According to co-founder Liu Yu, the nomenclature of the racing series alludes to the level of competition that the event seeks to attract and showcase. Ideally, the series will be composed of some of the best and brightest from all facets of the motorsport world. From F1 to Indycar and even WRC, the bar is high, and expectations are higher for the potential entrants. Although requesting drivers from different disciplines of motorsport, the great equaliser comes in the form of Lotus’ electric hypercar, the Evija.
Related: Celebrating Lotus F1 heritage with the Lotus Evija Fittipaldi
The Evija has been identified as the ideal platform for the Elite World Cup. In short, the Evija is a two-seater production electric hypercar that tips the scales at 1 887 kg. Its carbon fibre monocoque shrouds a mid-mounted battery pack supplying oomph to independently controlled high-efficiency single-speed electric motors found on each wheel.
This configuration bestows the lightweight EV with an output of 1 500 kW. All of its power allows for a 0 to 100km/h sprint in less than three seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 350 km/h. Based on power and athleticism alone, Liu Yu believes it meets the primary requirements of a possible candidate for the Elite World Cup.
Related: Electric SUVs the Way to Go for Lotus with 17 000 Eletre Pre-Orders
“The automotive landscape has evolved significantly, and as the electric car industry is growing rapidly in China, we’re excited and proud to be at the forefront of this Elite revolution in sports,” – Liu Yu
Lotus has experienced one of the best sales and orders years in the firm’s history with the introduction of the Eletre SUV and we expect the automaker will hope this racing series continues to bolster their hypercar sales in the dawn of an electrified age. In terms of this novel racing series, it has been launched by a similar team to those that brought the A1 Grand Prix to life in the early 2000s but will they have learned from past mistakes to deliver a racing series that has a secure future?
