Vauxhall has plans to take its new Corsa-e e-rallying, in the freshly created e-Rally series co-organised with the ADAC, in 2020. Called the ADAC e-Rally Cup, the series replaces the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup collaboration that helped introduce fresh talent to rallying. The new series will run in conjunction with selected rounds of the German Rally Championship in 2020, but form a Super Series, running through until 2021.
The Corsa-e Rally car itself shares an identical powertrain to that of the road-going hatchback, featuring a 136bhp synchronous electric motor mounted where the traditional internal combustion engine would normally sit under the front bonnet. The 50kWh battery pack is also carried over, which should help the e-Corsa complete more than a couple of special stages without needing a top-up.
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What has changed is the suspension package, with new motorsport-specification springs and dampers. The layout is as per the standard car, with MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam rear. Helping meter the electric motor’s 190lb ft of torque is a new Torsen limited-slip differential on the front axle, while a new brake package with four-piston calipers on the front axle will help slow everything down.
Aside from its livery, the Corsa-e looks largely the same as its road-going counterpart, save for a new set of motorsport wheels and tyres.
Beyond rekindling Vauxhall’s correspondence with German rallying, the new Corsa-e rally car does also foreshow what a hot road-going version could look, and feel like. Without any official word of a hot GSi or VXR Corsa, it’s a definite possibility that if there is to be a hot Corsa in future, it will come with a plug.
