The Central Alps will be filled with electric cars and motorcycles next week as part of the 2010 e-Miglia. This all-electric street race is scheduled for four stages between August 3rd and August 6th. The 2010 e-Miglia is designed to promote the next generation of green vehicles while continuing the tradition of European street rallies. Among the 19 teams participating in the 2010 e-Miglia are two motorcycle teams and 17 car teams.
The event will cover a 354-mile route through parts of Germany, Austria and Italy. Each team must travel up to 105 miles per day to stay in the race. The 2010 e-Miglia breaks down into two, three and four wheel vehicle categories to ensure fair competition. The first stage of the race will start in Munich and end in Fussen. Additional stages will end in Innsbruck and Bolzano with the final stage culminating at Rovereto. The victor receives a grand prize of 10,000 pounds ($15,409 USD) with additional prizes given to leaders in each category.
The field of 19 teams is a virtual who’s who of EV producers and utilities throughout the world. The four-wheel category features electric vehicles by Tesla, Citroen and Smart. The two-wheel category includes entries by Zero Motorcycles and a modified Quantya e-bike entered by the eRide Race Team. The key variable in the success of the 2010 e-Miglia will be the performance of Schletter GmbH charging stations. This solar power utility has installed its P.Charge EV units throughout all four stages for overnight recharging. These stations derive their power from solar panel collectors, which sidesteps the problem of dirty power generation.
The 2010 e-Miglia would not be possible without funding from 24 sponsors from around the world. Sponsors like America One, Schwarz Alpenresort and Electrixx provide enough money for a real test of electric vehicles. The 354-mile route from Munich to Rovereto includes a considerable amount of uphill climbing that will present challenges to race teams. This first iteration of the e-Miglia might not show how vehicles perform during daily commutes but it could be far more important than demonstration projects. The combination of heated competition for a large grand prize and difficult terrain will show the mettle of today’s electric bikes and vehicles.
