The NASCAR EV Prototype Is Here, and It's an SUV
While it will be based on the Next Gen Cup chassis racing right now, the prototype has changes that go beyond its distinct bodywork.
From the start of the Next Gen NASCAR Cup racecar—now known as the Gen 7 Cup car—the idea of moving beyond its roaring V-8 roots has been the eventual plan of America’s premier racing series. What was once rumored just two years ago is starting to shape up into reality with the unveiling of the NASCAR EV Prototype, and a lot of those speculative features are coming to fruition thanks to the powertrain-agnostic design of the Gen 7 car.
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Initially, the rumor was that we’d see these EVs by late 2023 and even at the 2024 Bush Light Clash. Obviously there was a delay, but we finally have the first of what will no doubt be a series of prototypes, just as we saw with the development of the Gen 7 car. We must imagine that the goals will remain the same: be as fast as the current car and last for at least a 30-minute run for this first phase. With the way Formula E has progressed, those goals shouldn’t be hard to hit.
Flax Composite Body
The EV prototype is built with a partnership with ABB, which also includes additional carbon reduction plans for the series called NASCAR IMPACT. For now, we’re just focusing on the details of the car itself. Or rather, the CUV. One part of that two-year old rumor was the use of vehicles like the Chevrolet Blazer EV, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Toyota bZ4X for the bodies of these EVs, and the "generic crossover" body proves this to be true. The body will be composite, just as the Gen 7 car is, but this CUV body will be made from an alternative: a flax-based fiber composite. Flax fiber has become a readily available and sustainable alternative to carbon fiber—with only a minor weight penalty over carbon—as it’s made from the fibers of its namesake plant.
Another distinct feature that makes the CUV body different is the return of the wing, a feature we haven’t seen in NACAR since the Car of Tomorrow (CoT) era of 2007 and ending in early 2010—the CoT would last much longer but went back to the spoiler at that point. There are also lighting features on the prototype, but considering NASCAR's aversion to lights, we don’t expect to see a change to real headlights and brake likes on the NASCAR EV Prototype. However, that green light at the base of the windshield might be something that remains to indicate when the EV is powered on or not.
