The annual Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC Arena is a popular fixture on the motorsport calendar and gave prominent billing to the EGT Championship’s Tesla Model S in the Live Action Arena, where it became the first electric-powered race car to participate.
For the race, the stock P100D interior was reduced to the bare necessities with some hardware fiddling to make the car 500kg lighter. As part of the conversion, a roll cage was added and the brakes and suspension were upgraded.
The championship, which aims to create a sustainable future to protect the next generations, was showcased opposite tyre partners Pirelli, and starred in several Live Action Arena performances until the show’s close last Sunday.
The 2011 LMP2 Le Mans 24 Hours winner and EGT Drivers’ Club’s newest member, Olivier Lombard, was at the wheel of the Model S in Thursday’s performance, giving fans a taste of what they could expect from the 778bhp/995Nm electric motor. The Tesla can sprint from 0-100kph in a Ferrari-beating 2.1s to reach a top speed of 250kph.
“Driving the EGT Model S was a lot of fun and it’s awesome to see what the future of GT racing looks like,” said Lombard.
The EGT Championship will consist of 20 international drivers, both male and female, racing for 10 professional teams in identical Tesla Model S machines equipped with the latest OMP safety equipment and running on bespoke Pirelli tyres.
EGT will visit seven classic European circuits in its inaugural season, including Paul Ricard, Barcelona, Assen and the Nürburgring, before staging three non-championship races in the Americas.
