The Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) drove a lap record for road legal electric cars on Nokian eco tires with a lap time of 8:42.72 minutes on Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany.
German race driver Ralf Kelleners improved the previous record of BMW Mini E by more than a minute.
The electric sports car E-RA, built by students at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, reached a top speed of 238 km/h at Döttinger Höhe with a pure electric power system with four inboard mount motors and emitted no CO2. The average speed for the lap was 142 km/h in the 20.8 kilometers long Grüne Hölle – “Green Hell.” Nokian said this curvy and hilly track with long, fast sections is widely used to benchmark top automotive performance.
E-RA consumed 123 kWh on 100 kilometers for the record lap. The car consumes extremely little energy, only 14.5 kWh on 100 kilometers in normal driving, which corresponds to 1.6 liters of fuel. Low rolling resistance eco tires by Nokian substantially contribute to it, according to the tiremaker.
E-RA drove the lap record on Nokian Z G2 high speed tires, size 225/40 ZR 18 in front and 245/40 ZR 18 in rear. “They quickly respond to steering movements but also have a low rolling resistance, which is especially important for electric cars,” said Juha Pirhonen, Nokian Tyres development manager. “Their accurate handling is due to the Nokian Cool Zone concept’s innovations, the multi-layer surface structure, nanosilica compound and surface geometry.”
He added the multi-layer surface structure lowers the tire’s rolling resistance and reduces heat emission. “A flexible nanosilica compound used in the intermediate layer quickly responds to steering movements. The strong structure and three longitudinal centre ribs guarantee excellent handling properties.”
According to the tiremaker, E-cars need tires with an extremely low rolling resistance, but energy-saving tires must also provide safe wet grip, good aquaplaning resistance, decent handling properties, sufficient load carrying capacity and low noise. “Nokian eco tires master the difficult balancing act between good safety qualities, especially in the wet, and a low rolling resistance,” the company said.
“Toughest testing in extreme conditions is an important part of developing tires with Nokian,” Pirhonen said. “Testing our boundaries can teach us new insights. We want to show that future technologies are available in our tires for normal drivers already today.”
