All-electric Skoda rally car takes podium

The support truck provided a 200 kW power supply, charging the RE-X1 up to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes.

Skoda's all-electric rally car, the RE-X1 Kreisel successfully completed a full race distance and even managed to finish in third place at the recently concluded Rallye Weiz in Austria.

The experimental all-electric rally car is based on the Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo and has been developed by Skoda Motorsport and Kreisel Electric. The rally car comes with a host of modifications to support the electric powertrain. This includes a new steering wheel with a range of controls. It also features paddles under the steering wheel to choose the level of recuperation.

The Skoda RE-X1 Kreisel comes with a 52.6 kWh battery pack integrated into the car's floor. The RE-X1 Kreisel also comes with two electric motors, one on each axle. While it does offer four-wheel drive, there is no direct connection between the front and rear. The electric powertrain is said to produce 349 BHP and 600 Nm. The Skoda RE-X1 Kreisel is said to consume up to 1.2kWh per kilometre during the special rally stages.

In terms of charging, the electric rally car was supported by a 'Kreisel Electric Chimero mobile charging station'. The support truck provided a 200 kW power supply, charging the RE-X1 up to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes. This allowed the rally car to avoid any time penalties in any of the stages.

The Skoda RE-X1 Kreisel electric rally car was piloted by Austrian rally driver Raimund Baumschlager, with Jurgen Heigl co-driving.