Sand still a sticking point for EVs
“We just are testing this time for one car to see how it works,” says James Morlaix, as he adjusts cables around the generator in preparation for incoming cars. “For next time, we’ll probably have panels and batteries for all the cars.”
Morlaix is an electric vehicle consultant based in the south of France. He’s here as an expert on the charging infrastructure needed to keep these cars going.
“We can have more solar panels,” he says, his hand sweeping over the vast flat and empty landscape surrounding the bivouac. “Of course, it takes money. But what Dominique wants, she usually delivers.”
Electric cars aren’t confined to the E class. Carine Poisson (driver) and Solen Kerleroux (navigator) are both from France and are both engineers with the French carmaker Renault. They are competing in a beefed-up Renault Zoe EV (think Nissan Leaf ) in the crossover class of the rally. At one checkpoint during Day Two, their minuscule hatchback is hooked up to their own van full of batteries for a top-up of power before continuing on. Both women have done the rally in the past with diesel-powered 4x4s, but this time they decided to tackle the event in an electric.
“We wanted to show that the car is more than a city car,” says Poisson. “Maybe even have a capability to go off road.”
This isn’t an official entry from Renault, but the team is a partnership with the carmaker and other tech companies, as well as Renault employees who share the women’s passion for rallying. To prep for the rugged terrain, the front-wheel-drive Zoe has been raised 50 centimetres, to a 250-cm ride height, with stronger suspension, beefier wheels and tires, and protective plates underneath.
“It’s very smooth and very efficient,” says Poisson. “I think it’s better than (gas engines) because it’s more smooth. We really feel it in the throttle; you get a sensation for the motor. And we have exactly the torque we want, immediate torque.
“But we have issues in sand, because we are not 4x4. Yesterday we had difficulties, we got stuck, even in flat sands.”
Poisson says that the Zoe is good for a range of about 300 kilometres under normal conditions, but with the cold temperatures (it’s about 10 C this morning), deflated tires (for better grip in the sand) and more difficult terrain, it could drop to as low as 140 km.
“Today we will refill twice, but it’s up to the Gazelle officials to decide when. For example, yesterday we did not have a refill, and we were 10 km from the bivouac, we ran out of power, and we were penalized.”
Ultimately, the duo finished second out of four crossovers in their class, a notable feat considering the constraints they had to deal with. What’s more, they will use data collected from the event to improve the car. “The aim is to have more electric cars in the rally, and it will be helpful for Renault, also,” she says.
While these little front-drive EVs aren’t really practical for a desert rally, it’s a start, a beginning, and there are many more plans for the future. Serra says she is focused on having 30 per cent of competitors in EVs for the rally’s 30th anniversary in two years. There are 165 teams in this year’s event, so that makes 50 electric cars, an optimistic goal. They are also testing electric dune buggies that will be more suited to off-road driving and, with the success of this year’s rally,
Serra envisions more mainstream carmakers and 4x4 EV makers will be drawn to compete.
Serra has always kept one astute eye trained on the horizon, proven with the fact that this rally has grown every year. It would be foolish to discount what she is setting out to achieve by incorporating an electric class now, even if it may be ahead of its time.
Perhaps Dominique Serra is, too.