Faster than a Formula 1 car: get on board the 1,000 hp Nitro RX FC1-X

Today, everything is a crossover or an SUV, even racing cars. *Sigh*

It’s true that the global appetite for large, unwieldy cars has yet to show any signs of tiring. While it’s hard to imagine any shape or silhouette better suited to Nitro Rallycross’s comical big jumps and comically entertaining race format; a format from which Harry Hogge’s famous maxim comes days apart seems to be the only rule of this flight club.

“To rub, son, is to run.”

So is NASCAR on steroids?

Something like that, but before we get too far into the race, it would be wise to know the flight path and machinery. The FC1-X is a purpose-built rallycross car that made its debut in 2022, inspired by the legendary era of Group B racing, no less.

“With the FC1-X, our goal was to create the toughest and fastest Rallycross car ever built for competition,” explains Series Boss and the man behind Nitro Rallycross, Travis Pastrana. “The Group B cars were the baddest cars ever assembled. With that in mind, we called this new era of the Group E car.” Yes, they are elected

Wait, it’s a electrical racing crossover?! Nothing is sacred anymore?! *Sigh*

It’s electric, but before you grab those engine pearls, let us apply a mildly interesting statistic as balm: the FC1-X accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 1.4 seconds. That’s faster than a Formula 1 car, the latter of course built for a series not exactly known for its pedestrian speeds.

Well, that’s pretty quick. I’m listening

Oh, about that. Very little noise to report other than the sound of dirt slathering on wheel arches and carbon fiber bodies cracking against each other in the heat of battle; just as you don’t hear a boxer’s heart, only the sound of the leather hammer against the face. come out

Beneath the FC1-X’s massive bodywork is a proper spaceframe that houses a 51kWh battery in the floor. Maximum voltage is 870V and Newattek cells power four Magelec axial flow motors. Not, as you might be thinking, with one at each wheel, but inside special housings attached to Sadev mechanical differentials on the front and rear axles.

There are downright brilliant ‘R53’ shocks sitting at each corner, with plenty of adjustability and 30cm of travel. This will be important in a moment.

Brakes? Mighty Alcon four-pistons that under extreme forces deliver charge to the battery, hiding behind custom one-piece Rotiform 19-inch wheels. There is a round cage. Carbon seats. Permanent 4×4, 1,055 hp. 811 foot pounds of torque. And 13 miles of range at a speed and pace best described as “F*&%NPD£F@U”.

So it’s fast then.

from another world TopGear.com was treated to a special passenger ride on the eve of the Nitro RX final, driven by RX Cartel JC driver Andreas Bakkerud, who himself won the heats that day. Don’t ask TopGear.com to explain the points system behind these qualifiers.

Cautiously approaching the start line of the Glen Helen rallycross course, accompanied only by an electromechanical turn as a backdrop, and strapped in hard enough to become one with that carbon seat , TopGear.com thought it prudent to inform Bakkerud that TopGear.com’s back was not currently. in great shape “How bad?” he asked. “Oh, it’ll probably be fine,” TG.com offered in response.

Reader, it was not good.

What happened?

Lots of. Very fast and disturbing. The FC1-X fires off the line with such tremendous violence and malaise that it takes your breath away; 0 to 60 mph in 1.4s is very fast for the stomach and the back. And since there’s no internal combustion that knows a heavy metal soundtrack, there’s room to contemplate what 3G and 100-foot jumps feel like.

Reader, they feel…well, actually.

As we mentioned earlier, the R53 shocks deployed on the FC1-X are otherworldly in their compression, absorbing huge, scary jumps with total ease and not a whisper of complaint. They simply soak up all that energy and allow Bakkerud the opportunity to push forward into the next jump… which he lands right into a raised and tilted hairpin… which he then slides hard.

It’s not a quiet cabin by any means: the turns, gravel, landing noises and flat-paced feel give the impression of an electric rollercoaster gone postcard, but it also doesn’t have the feeling of being inside Mad Max: Fury Road neither Yes, sure, it would have been even more visceral if there had been a thunderous V8 in the back, but this is 2023 and anyway, progress, progress.

The actual racing in Nitro RX absolutely is wild. Imagine beefed-up British touring cars flying through the air with no regard for each other, and you’re there. If this is the future of the electric motor, sign us up. Just when our backs are in better shape.