One of the reasons Ford v Ferrari has been a hit at the box office is because it let us relive the glory days of car racing, whether we were alive during them or not. Nowadays, F1, NASCAR and other racing series have their devoted fan bases, to be sure, but none of it is really plugged into the zeitgeist. But speaking of plugging in, there’s a new sport on the horizon that may change that.
We’re officially getting an electric off-road SUV racing series, people! It’s called Extreme E (because of course it is), and as Jalopnik reported this week, the organization behind it finally announced its first season with races starting in January 2021.
While the name Extreme E is a little hokey, it does make sense when you consider the person behind it is Alejandro Agag, the founder of Formula E, which we’ve championed many times before and has worked its way up from its 2014-2015 season to being a proper FIA world championship in the 2020-2021 season. Yes, racing EV juggernauts around remote locations may sound like a future we’re not quite ready for, but the people behind it know what they’re doing.
That said, we’ve still got an entire year to wait to see if Extreme E’s world-conquering plans play out, and that’s not hyperbole. The five three-day races will span four continents, with the host countries including Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Greenland and Brazil. But racing extreme vehicles in extreme conditions isn’t the sole purpose of this endeavor. Unlike Formula E, which for the most part removes the electric vehicles from their greater climatological framework (a “stick to racing” kind of attitude), Extreme E will confront climate change head on.
According to the announcement, Extreme E “will highlight the impact of climate change and human activity on some of the world’s most remote locations, while promoting sustainability and the adoption of electric vehicles to help protect the planet.”
Off-road racing with a side of environmental awareness? It’s so crazy it just might bridge the gap between Boomers and Gen Z.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
