The Mint 400 will be adding an all-new electric vehicle class as a response to requests by EV truck makers and owners who are eager to compete at the event, race organizers announced.
The new EV Class will be open to all electric vehicle manufacturers, makes and models initially, and will be overseen by Mint 400 Technical director Bill Savage. Separate dedicated EV classes based on chassis style and design are already being written for races beyond 2021.
“Off-road engineers and fabricators are responsible for designing, building and testing many of the technologies that exist in modern passenger cars, trucks and SUVs. We are the proving ground for new technologies – because we compete in brutal conditions at a pace that destroys anything that isn’t rock solid,” said Mint 400 Co-Owner and CEO, Matt Martelli.
“The EV market for the past few decades has been built around featherweight design, but recent improvements in battery technology have changed that. We’re starting to see EV trucks emerge that, (at least on paper), are light enough, strong enough and have enough range to not only tackle casual off-road use, but in some areas potentially dominate their gasoline-fueled brothers. The proof is in the pudding though, so we’re inviting any/all EV manufacturers to come prove the endurance and durability of their platforms at The Mint 400,” Martelli added.
“We’re opening the door to any OEM that wants to come compete on the roughest off-road racecourse in America to prove their tech,” said Martelli. “The engineers and designers in the off-road community have had a dramatic and lasting effect on the modern passenger car industry. Every truck and SUV in America has design elements created in the garages of our racers beginning in the late 50s. It’s only fitting that these new vehicles come compete on the ultimate proving ground, on live television, in front of tens of thousands of off-road enthusiasts.”
More information on the new class, including registration information, will be released in the coming months.
