Why Tesla Needs A Racing Team, Now More Than Ever

"Tim (Fractal Footwork)" (fractalfootwork)
11/08/2013 at 12:35 • Filed to: LMPE, Tesla, Elon Musk, Le Mans, WEC, Formula E, OppositeLock

Automotive Racing used to be about proving and testing the technology of a road car in the high stress environment of a race; those days are long gone, and now companies race more for the marketing potential than anything else. The idea of a company improving their cars through racing has been steadily dwindling, yet Tesla may be on the right foot to make a racing team race for what 'works teams' were originally meant to do, develop the road car from the race car.

A certain larger company, that produces the only electric vehicle that is able to compete with the Model S, has beaten Tesla to the track, but they haven't arrived with the prime ideology of development and innovation in mind; that's not to say that they aren't there to develop, but it looks like the Leaf went racing more for the glamour and average consumer theory of 'road relevance'.

Tesla has the average consumer pinned on the idea that the Californian car company is an innovative brand, whether that's true or not. Tesla could improve upon this by creating a racing team, and not just any racing team, a WEC/24 Heurs Du Mans spec racing team.

Nissan has already bypassed the WEC/Le Mans administrative body's competing classes with the DeltaWing. This may be an interesting engineering idea, but the phallic shaped vehicle has next to no 'road relevance' in an industry clamoring for it. The fact of the matter that this DeltaWing proves is that outside deals for new classes in the WEC can be made in order to test new ideas.

Tesla, or any other electric car company that wants to be taken seriously, needs a race team in the WEC, and most certainly the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What I'm proposing is not necessarily a new class, because then winning wouldn't prove anything, but an amendment to the existing LMP1/2 classes (Let's call it LMPE and be trendy). The governing body could set a capacity limit on the charge, and then the Electric only vehicles would race with the big hitters.

The recharging obstacle is where this rubber meets the circuit. It has been said by Nissan that electric charging isn't at a place to compete with combustable fuel vehicles, but that simply isn't true. Tesla already has !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Why not use this in a race environment? The whole platform mechanism might be a bit much, but why not swap the giant batteries manually like you would with your laptop battery. I'm not here to engineer, just point out the possibilities to a company that seems to have overlooked them, but there is a point to us not yet knowing; this is the pioneering forefront for these engineers.

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Why shouldn't Tesla enter into the new !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ? Because it's square, that's why. Switching cars halfway through the race is a stupid idea, plus the fact that Formula E would bring Tesla more of a marketing profit than an engineering development profit, and don't forget that each team is most likely going to be sponsored by a car company trying to promote their Hybrid technology. Competing on this level will only bring the Tesla name down.

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We saw !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; we know it's possible. Why not bring real invention that has direct results to the production and advancement of road cars back to the racing circuit? Why not make racing important again?

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DISCUSSION (15)

For Sweden > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 12:38

Lamborghini doesn't have a racing team.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > For Sweden
11/08/2013 at 12:42

Just a spec series.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 12:47

I agree. It's a good idea, in principle.

However, faced with the fact that Tesla cannot get enough batteries to meet demand and that their stock takes a massive hit anytime one of their vehicles' owners parks too close to another car, the money involved in developing a racing team just isn't going to materialize.

I'd love to see a Spec Tesla series. It just isn't going to happen.

Victorious Secret > For Sweden
11/08/2013 at 12:50

But what a world it would be if these raced in GTE alongside the Vipers, Vettes, 911s and Vantages.

Kinja'd!!!

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 12:51

Their horizon is limited, Formula E, maybe?

Kinja'd!!!

Victorious Secret > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/08/2013 at 12:51

They need to revolutionize battery tech and battery charging tech before you can make a race team viable.

Or you could enter ONE team in the experimental category for Le Mans, bring a couple dozen battery packs and then just swap out packs as needed and then charge your other ones. Or something interesting like that.

Casper > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 13:02

They don't have the resources to support a race team. They are too busy trying to figure out why the S keeps catching on fire. In the scheme of automakers Tesla is a tiny blip. Maybe after they establish themselves they will have the resources to start an entire new series for electric touring cars or the like.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
11/08/2013 at 13:40

The racing series would also help them develop optimal batteries. They've been looking to build their own plant because of the shortage problems. This would provide an outlet for testing.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!
11/08/2013 at 13:42

I'm unimpressed with the current future of Formula E.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 14:05

They got Renault on board, Mitsubishi expressed their interest, add Tesla and smaller players and should be pretty good, if you think that we never watched a race.

The Transporter > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 20:03

I've been thinking about this for some time now. They could probably race the Model S in the Pirelli World Challenge in the GTS class. The races are timed 50 minute sprints, so it should be well within the Model S's capabilities.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > The Transporter
11/08/2013 at 20:33

I wonder if they would be competitive with the weight of all those batteries.

The Transporter > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/08/2013 at 20:35

Well, there's only one way to find out.

merc > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
11/20/2013 at 16:43

I don't think you understand how Formula E will work. Cars will not be sponsored by a car company if they choose not to be; in fact car companies are invited to participate with their own program, including drivetrain and battery. Audi's team, ABT Sportsline will not, for example, sport any Renault logos. The idea that the drivers will be switching cars is just a preliminary idea and it has been made clear that this series also intends to help advance charging technologies. You need to do a lot more research into Formula E before you dismiss it...

Max Hill Design > Tim (Fractal Footwork)
04/08/2015 at 12:00

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