EVs Are Going Racing at the 2021 Mint 400
The Mint 400 is touted as the oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America. Thousands of fans flock to Las Vegas, Nevada each March to see hundreds of race vehicles parade down Fremont Street before hitting the dirt on race day for 400 miles of dusty punishment. The 2021 Mint 400, postponed from March until December, will feature a new electric vehicle competition class for race cars and trucks powered by electric motors rather than fiery internal combustion engines. Can you picture the silence that’ll overtake the start line?
The EV class was added due to increased demand by electric car and truck manufacturers and owners wanting to put their vehicles to the test. The inaugural year of the class is open to all electric vehicle manufacturers, makes, and models; future years could see the class divided.
The Mint 400’s EV class is the first of its kind for a major American off-road open desert racing. Although it’s technically not the first off-road EV competition class, it should be the first to have truly competitive racing. For example, a Toyota 4Runner with Nissan Leaf mechanical bits raced as the sole EV in the 2021 King of the Hammers’ EV class. Similarly, a Rivian R1T raced in the Rebelle Rally, and a Lordstown Endurance is slated to compete in the SCORE San Felipe 250.
Could the Mint 400 be the perfect proving grounds for EV manufacturers to test new powertrain technologies and the like? Could the race eventually attract EV entries from major manufacturers such as Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Volvo, Volkswagen, or Ford? How will aspiring startups like Rivian, Lordstown, Bollinger, Tesla, Alpha, or Atlis use the exposure of the Mint 400 to boost their prominence in the electric vehicle market?
While it’s unlikely that electric race trucks, buggies, and cars are ready to battle with the big boys off-road, the day is coming. And those other competitors won’t even hear these EVs coming.
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