Toyota breaks Nürburgring electric car record

TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (TMG) continued its record-breaking success with the TMG EV P002 by setting a new electric record on the legendary 20.8km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

Using TMG’s motorsport-tuned electric powertrain, driver Jochen Krumbach set a lap time of 7mins 22.329secs, breaking the electric record set by TMG last August by over 25 seconds.

This achievement marks the second milestone for TMG’s electric powertrain this year following its new record at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, United States.

As with the Pikes Peak success, TMG’s latest electric milestone used pioneering off-board battery-to-battery charging technology.

The TMG DC Quick Charger was developed in partnership with Schneider Electric to meet the challenge of recharging an electric race car at tracks without reliable access to grid power. This technology also gives the opportunity to charge with CO2 emission-free electric power from renewable sources.

Mounted in the rear of a TOYOTA Hiace van, the TMG DC Quick Charger uses Schneider Electric’s EVlink™ technology and includes a 42kWh lithium ion battery, which can be charged direct from the AC power grid.

After an overnight charge, the TMG DC Quick Charger is able to quickly deliver high levels of power to a battery-based electric car without additional installation or infrastructure, making it the perfect solution for electric motorsport.

Ludwig Zeller, TMG General Manager Electrics and Electronics: “Since our Nürburgring record last year, we have developed our electric powertrain to deliver more power, more consistently, over a longer distance by managing the temperature of batteries, motors and inverter. Pikes Peak was a clear illustration of the improvements and we have now reinforced that at the Nürburgring. But this achievement is not only about on-track performance; we are also very proud of the DC Quick Charger which again provided a reliable power supply in a remote location.

"This is an aspect of electric motorsport which has not been discussed at length but it is very significant; electric race cars need to be charged and it is a challenge to have the right infrastructure at race tracks, particularly temporary street circuits. Together with our partners at Schneider Electric, we have developed a solution to charge a race car literally anywhere in the world. This, along with the TMG EV P002 powertrain, represents a major step forward for electric motorsport.”

Source: TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH