Media Release
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Hybrid Vehicles to Race in 2008 Rally Championship
Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles developed by teams of engineering students at New Zealand universities will be
racing in the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008. They will also run as a support class in the WRC Propecia Rally of
New Zealand the same year.
The Tertiary Hybrid Open Rally Challenge (TORC) was established in 2004 and now has the support of both AUT and Unitech,
two of the country’s leading applied technology universities. Other institutions with engineering faculties are also
being encouraged to join TORC.
Competition CEO Kevin Dwyer said the aim was to promote use of energy efficient, eco friendly vehicles while providing
an outlet and practical testing ground for existing and future research into alternative fuels and other energy sources.
“MotorSport New Zealand has supported TORC and developed supplementary technical regulations to cover the cars, which
will run in the two wheel drive Kiwi 2 class. The Sustainable Business Network has also swung in behind the
organisation.
“The engineering teams must use an existing two wheel drive shell but must design and develop hybrid electric power
trains. In all other respects the cars will be conventional rally cars with a full range of safety equipment.
“It’s a very practical way to get young engineers to think about future alternatives and to do so in a competitive
environment,” he said. “It will also help the public appreciate that it is still possible to enjoy motorsport in an
eco-friendly way.”
In November a hybrid electric vehicle won the under 1,000 cc class in the UK 2006 Formula 1000 rally championships at
its first attempt. That car was developed to run on E85 bio-ethanol fuel and had a CVT transmission.
ENDS