Formula E, the first global all-electric racing series, has unveiled the racecar that will run in its new upcoming off-road sister sport, “Extreme E.” Dubbed Odyssey 21, the all-electric SUV made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this weekend. It has even been making runs up the famous Goodwood hill, and while it’s still just a prototype, one thing is clear: it’s an absolute unit.

I wouldn’t say that just to say it, either. The wheels alone measure 940mm (37 inches!) in diameter, according to Extreme E’s organizers. The SUV’s body is 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) wide, 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) tall, 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) long, and the whole thing weighs a whopping 1,650 kilograms (3,638 pounds).

And yet this big lad can still go from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (0 to 62 miles per hour) in 4.5 seconds, even on steep grades. That’s thanks to a total 400kW (550hp) power output, driven by motors on each wheel.

The Extreme E series will start putting the Odyssey 21 prototype through its paces this September, and French manufacturer Spark Racing Technology is set to deliver 12 final versions of the racecar in March 2020.

Extreme E is slated to kick off in early 2021. The goal of the series, which was created by Formula E founder Alejandro Agag, is to race in far-flung places with “fragile ecosystems” to “highlight the impact of climate change,” as well as promote electric vehicle technology. The series is still working out how all that will happen, though it did just sign a multi-year broadcast deal with Fox Sports. What is clear is that, if the final vehicles look anything like the first prototype, Extreme E will be a racing series full of big, beefy EVs that are also really fast. As Swedish racing driver Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, who drove the Odyssey 21 up the hill at Goodwood, can be heard saying at the end of the clip above: “Holy shit!”

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/6/20684239/formula-e-extreme-offroad-suv-goodwood