Autocrossing a Fiat 500e electrified car for very first, maybe last, time
When we published an article on one possessor’s practice using his Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical car to challenge in a local autocross, it contained a comment that riled up our reader Doug Kerr.
That comment—"Outside of one high-performance electrical vehicle, casual electrical cars are hardly the racer’s choice"—prompted Kerr to take the family’s Fiat 500e to the nearest autocross, driven by his daughter Andrea.
What goes after are Kerr’s words, lightly edited by Green Car Reports for clarity and style.
I talked my daughter, Andrea, into autocrossing her two thousand fifteen Fiat 500e, an entirely electrical vehicle to see how she did against the “racer’s choice.”
Because the event was officially sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), the car needed to be decently classified beforehand. Here we ran into our very first obstacle.
The Fiat 500e has not been classified by the SCCA. The base five hundred is excluded because of its rollover risk, but the five hundred Abarth, a higher spectacle Fiat, is permitted.
Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electrified car in autocross, Fine Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017
As most people know, electrified cars have a mighty battery at the very bottom of the car. The 500e’s 600-plus-pound battery sits under the floorboards, making its rollover possibility very slight.
But according to everything I read, the 500e didn’t get approved because many electrical cars tend to have a higher rail height to provide extra suspension clearance given their intense batteries.
Interestingly, the autocross event manager told me that the Bolt had recently been excluded as not meeting the measurements; the Nissan Leaf has not been classified.
In the end, we just demonstrated up at the autocross at the former El Toro Marine base in Irvine, California, now Superb Park, that was put on by Southern California’s SCCA chapter, Cal Club. One runway remains and hasn’t been bulldozed.
The event manager and the rules-safety officer were instantaneously called in to determine if this unclassified car had any business autocrossing. They took some measurements—and figured that the 500e was close enough.
Truly, I think they were brainy enough to figure out that a 600-pound battery would not permit a puny car to roll.
Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electrified car in autocross, Fine Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017
We proceeded to the tech inspection, and Andrea received her car number. By the time we had cleared all the issues, Andrea had missed one-half of the course walkthough.
This is significant, because there are no practice laps: you get four attempts, and your best time determines how well you place.
Andrea signed up as a novice along with thirty other drivers. This classification provides an instructor who drives your car around the course with you as a passenger, showcasing you the best line and braking points.
As Andrea headed to the lineup with her car, the announcer noticed her brilliant, traffic-cone orange car. In his Australian accent, he called out that there was an electrical car coming up.
This reminded him of his niece who had come to the course awhile back in her electrical car.
She made it to the park, and all she did was observe the event, but wasn’t sure she could make it back to Santa Margarita without running out of power. That’s called “range anxiety” he opined to everyone within two miles. I slightly resisted the urge to grab his mic.
Autocrossing a Fiat 500e electrified car for very first, maybe last, time
Autocrossing a Fiat 500e electrical car for very first, maybe last, time
When we published an article on one proprietor’s practice using his Chevrolet Bolt EV electrical car to rival in a local autocross, it contained a comment that riled up our reader Doug Kerr.
That comment—"Outside of one high-performance electrified vehicle, casual electrical cars are hardly the racer’s choice"—prompted Kerr to take the family’s Fiat 500e to the nearest autocross, driven by his daughter Andrea.
What goes after are Kerr’s words, lightly edited by Green Car Reports for clarity and style.
I talked my daughter, Andrea, into autocrossing her two thousand fifteen Fiat 500e, an entirely electrical vehicle to see how she did against the “racer’s choice.”
Because the event was officially sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), the car needed to be decently classified beforehand. Here we ran into our very first obstacle.
The Fiat 500e has not been classified by the SCCA. The base five hundred is excluded because of its rollover risk, but the five hundred Abarth, a higher spectacle Fiat, is permitted.
Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electrified car in autocross, Excellent Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017
As most people know, electrified cars have a strong battery at the very bottom of the car. The 500e’s 600-plus-pound battery sits under the floorboards, making its rollover possibility very slight.
But according to everything I read, the 500e didn’t get approved because many electrified cars tend to have a higher rail height to provide extra suspension clearance given their powerful batteries.
Interestingly, the autocross event manager told me that the Bolt had recently been excluded as not meeting the measurements; the Nissan Leaf has not been classified.
In the end, we just displayed up at the autocross at the former El Toro Marine base in Irvine, California, now Superb Park, that was put on by Southern California’s SCCA chapter, Cal Club. One runway remains and hasn’t been bulldozed.
The event manager and the rules-safety officer were instantaneously called in to determine if this unclassified car had any business autocrossing. They took some measurements—and figured that the 500e was close enough.
Truly, I think they were wise enough to figure out that a 600-pound battery would not permit a puny car to roll.
Andrea Kerr driving Fiat 500e electrified car in autocross, Fine Park, Irvine, Califronia, July 2017
We proceeded to the tech inspection, and Andrea received her car number. By the time we had cleared all the issues, Andrea had missed one-half of the course walkthough.
This is significant, because there are no practice laps: you get four attempts, and your best time determines how well you place.
Andrea signed up as a novice along with thirty other drivers. This classification provides an instructor who drives your car around the course with you as a passenger, demonstrating you the best line and braking points.
As Andrea headed to the lineup with her car, the announcer noticed her brilliant, traffic-cone orange car. In his Australian accent, he called out that there was an electrical car coming up.
This reminded him of his niece who had come to the course awhile back in her electrical car.
She made it to the park, and all she did was see the event, but wasn’t sure she could make it back to Santa Margarita without running out of power. That’s called “range anxiety” he opined to everyone within two miles. I scarcely resisted the urge to grab his mic.
