News Nur 400 seconds STI E-RA, reason for development ... Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 [Interview]

(Photo: Response)

"STI E-RA CONCEPT" placed at the SUBARU booth at Tokyo Auto Salon 2022. Why did you decide to develop this machine, which was declared to aim for 400 seconds at the Nürburgring? We talked to the person in charge of development. See related images ◆ Looking to the future of STI ----: It was said that something would come out at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 with a teaser, but I never imagined it was such a machine. Why did you decide to develop the STI E-RA CONCEPT in the first place? Mr. Hiroshi Mori, General Manager of Subaru Tecnica International New Business Promotion Office and General Manager of Design Information Management Office (henceforth abbreviated title): The era of carbon neutral will come soon. Along with that, the world of motorsports is becoming more and more electrified, but at that time, if STI does not develop the technology for the electrification of motorsports that will be carried out in Subaru in the future, it will be missed. Currently, there is no knowledge of EV in STI, and it is the first time for all. But I have to do it now. I'm trying to start from a difficult place, thinking that I should challenge the world that I have cultivated through record attempts and aim for the best in the world. ----: It's a very high hurdle, isn't it? Mori: That's right. However, if you don't do that, it will be difficult to survive in the future. When thinking about making a car that can aim for a world record with an electric car, Formula E is at the top, but the formula car is different from our STI world view. TCRs such as dirt roads based on mass production are also becoming electric, but if we do it, we are still in GT races, so I think that FIA is the closest to the future of that GT. I think it's an electric GT category. So, let's research a car that can aim at the world in that category. ----: You mentioned that you will cut 400 seconds with Nur Attack next year or next year, but as a story after that, are you thinking of participating in the race based on this? Mori: Right now, there is no category in which this car can be released, so if possible, I would like to make a car that can participate as an STI in the electric GT category. Therefore, in terms of performance, we must make a car that can participate in the race technically now, and consider various ways to do it in terms of regulation. Unfortunately, Subaru does not currently have a mass-produced car called EV, which is a 2-door coupe, as the base. I'm worried about what to do with that, but I would like to develop a base that can make such a car. ----: In other words, this car will cultivate the technology that will be the basis of the electrification strategy of STI in the future. Mori: Yes, that's right. For that reason, the regulation is that the electric GT is also 2 motors or 4 motors, so even if we do it with AWD, we aim to finish this car with 4 wheel independent AWD from the beginning and run it with 4 wheel torque vectoring. I am doing it. ◆ Maximum output is 1088ps ----: Can you tell us the specs of this car? Mori: The motor is made by Yamaha Motor, and each machine is equipped with four 200kw, so the spec is 800kw, and the horsepower is 1088ps. Of course, this is the maximum output, and in the case of an electric vehicle, the maximum output required for each circuit and target performance must be changed regardless of whether it is actually Nur or Fuji. Therefore, I am trying to control it with torque vectoring control that is independent of the four wheels, using a system with a maximum output of 800kw and 1100Nm. ----: By the way, didn't you think about in-wheel motors? Mori: The technology must be completely new, and of course it must not be changed in various ways in order to run Nürburgring, but I think that the basic components of the suspension this time will be diverted from the GT300 car. Therefore, I did not expect the in-wheel motor from the beginning. ----: In other words, basically, you are also considering being able to give feedback to commercial vehicles. Mori: That's right. ----: I feel that it seems to be quite difficult to assume the cruising range of the battery. Mori: Well, I'm thinking about a battery capacity of 60kW now, but if you want to increase the target performance, such as acceleration performance or cruising range, you have to increase the battery capacity by that amount. It will be a cat-and-mouse game. First of all, it is difficult to decide the EV specifications unless you decide what kind of performance you are aiming for in which category. Therefore, for this battery EV, we set the size of Nürburgring to be as close as possible to attack one lap, and then simulate whether or not the target time will be achieved. ----: Is it an image that you can actually start the test from the latter half of this year? Mori: I feel like it's after this summer. ◆ STI-like ground contact is a strength to Nürburgring ----: I would like to ask you about driving, but of course it is a Nürburgring attack, so I think you have to make it easier to drive. On the other hand, STI will do it, so I think we have to show its individuality and strengths. What do you think about that? Mori: Well, in order for the driver to be able to attack Nürburgring at full throttle and return home, the most important thing is how to secure a feeling of ground contact and the ground contact of the four wheels. This is the same for gasoline cars and EVs, but it is a car that has a motor that produces a powerful torque on each of the four wheels, and it is not possible to control it to the point where it is really necessary to run the line that the driver aimed at. I think it is impossible to run. And that is STI, where the driver who has been in Subaru for a long time runs at will. We will make use of all the technical knowledge of how to secure the grounding of the four wheels and put it in this car. I think that the control and the specifications of the base are big, so I'm trying to make it firmly on both sides. ----: Is there anything you would like to say about the challenge at the end? Mori: It seems that EVs in this era are looking to the future, but for example, when a child born this year becomes aware of it and becomes an adult, I think EVs have become a commonplace in the world. It is. In such a world, we have to take over the things that Subaru's EV is not good for in the future. In that sense, I would like to make a car that shows that even if it becomes an EV, it will continue to take on challenges with STI-like driving and cars.

Response Shunichi Uchida