Officials from The Mint 400 have announced the launch of an all-new electric vehicle (EV) class. The new class comes in response to requests by EV truck makers and owners eager to compete at the storied event.
The new EV class will be open to all electric vehicle manufacturers, makes and models initially and will be overseen by Mint 400 Technical Director Bill Savage.
Separate dedicated EV classes based on chassis style and design are already being written for races beyond this year.
“We are the proving ground for new technologies—because we compete in brutal conditions at a pace that destroys anything that isn’t rock solid,” said Mint 400 Co-Owner and CEO Matt Martelli.
“The EV market for the past few decades has been built around featherweight design, but recent improvements in battery technology have changed that. We’re starting to see EV trucks emerge that, (at least on paper), are light enough, strong enough, and have enough range to not only tackle casual off-road use, but in some areas potentially dominate their gasoline-fueled brothers,” Martelli continued. “The proof is in the pudding, though. So, we’re inviting any [and] all EV manufacturers to come prove the endurance and durability of their platforms at The Mint 400.”
The new Mint 400 EV class will be the first in history for a traditional desert race in America, but not the first in the sport. The ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered vehicle became the only EV vehicle ever to complete the Dakar Rally in 2017. That, in turn, inspired Audi and the GCK e-Blast 1 to prepare EV vehicles to compete at Dakar, and the field is growing each year.
For more information: themint400.com.
