Concerned by the future direction of rallying and its ability to connect with manufacturers, 2016 Rally Argentina winner Hayden Paddon has embarked on a voyage of discovery.
In 2019, the Kiwi former Hyundai WRC driver began developing an all-electric Hyundai Kona rally car with his 10 person team in New Zealand. The sole goal is to prove the concept of high performance all-electric rallying and perhaps provide a future platform for the discipline.
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The Kona has a flexible configuration where up to four Brusa BLDC Motors can be used, producing a top end output of 800kW (four motors), generating up to 1100Nm of torque. In rally spec, two motors are deployed producing 400kW with a continuous power of 260kW-280kW.
“If you take range out of the question and wind the power up on it then it’s equivalent to a Rally1 car,” Paddon explains. “To make it work over a longer distance, you can’t have the power wound up that high.
“What we’re trying to do is to have a Rally2 equivalence. Performance-wise, we know it’s faster. We’re talking about a second a kilometre compared to an equivalent Rally2 car. But we’ve got to get the range out of it.”
The Kona has a straight-cut gearbox in the front and rear, connected to a paddleshift. Differentials are computer-controlled, but a traditional limited slip diff is still in use.