拿破仑车队将成为首支为 DRIFT 公式点火的车队

First ever 100% electric motor powered Pro1 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship Presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras competition car. Welcome to the Napoleon Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro EL-1 as depicted on the back of the Napoleon Motorsports Turnkey Industries transporter. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

拿破仑车队将成为首支为 DRIFT 公式点火的车队 如果乔、林恩和贾斯汀-拿破仑在得克萨斯州休斯顿市的罗伯特-奎萨达的协助下实现了他们的愿望，那么拿破仑赛车队将成为第一支使用 100% 电力参加最高级别 DRIFT方程式赛车比赛的车队，从而为赛车运动和汽车文化中本已电光火石般的视觉和听觉展示再添一把火。 Napoleon Motorsports 家族至少有三代人从事赛车运动和赛车文化，制造汽车并参加各种形式的赛车比赛，从拖曳赛道到环形土路赛道，以及最近由车手 Shane Lewis 驾驶的 Trans Am Series Pirelli TA2 级公路/街道赛。 最近的一次尝试是在大约六个月前，当时的目标是制造一辆可以参加 DRIFT方程式系列赛事的赛车。由 BlackVue Dash Cameras 呈献的雪佛兰科迈罗 EL-1 DRIFT方程式黑魔法职业锦标赛--第一回合：长滩街道（2019 年 4 月 5-6 日）由 2018 年 DRIFT方程式 Pro2 冠军特拉维斯-里德（Travis Reeder）驾驶。这是对 DRIFT 方程式冠军挑战的严肃回应。

Joe Napoleon, Team owner and director of Napoleon Motorsports, describes some of the fabricated features in the converted engine to battery compartment during the Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach Media Day. The weight and displacement of the batteries are fabricated to emulate the center of gravity and weight of a V-8 engine. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

In what was to be their first official competition, however, the City Of Long Beach Fire Department in a joint recommendation made with the Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach Friday morning, before Formula DRIFT’s first event of the 2019 season, that the Napoleon Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro EL-1 could not compete due to a little known city ordinance, until Friday, that prohibits electric and gasoline-powered cars on a track at the same time. The City Of Long Beach Fire Department also came out to say that the fire safety crew will not have the adequate time to train in case there’s an emergency with the car. 最令人困惑的是，这项建议的提出时间是在最后一刻，因为电动比赛的历史广为人知，国际汽联电动方程式赛车在这里成功举办了两年，没有发生任何事故，而且长滩市消防局和当时的丰田长滩大奖赛都对他们当时为这些赛事所做的培训感到满意。 人们可能会认为，由 BlackVue Dash Cameras 呈献的 DRIFT 黑魔法方程式职业锦标赛的参赛选手们可能在政治上耍了花招，因为有证据表明，只要浏览一下 DRIFT 方程式的网站，就会发现每个人都知道拿破仑赛车队的雪佛兰 Camaro EL-1 DRIFT 方程式赛车即将到来，并发表了两篇文章--"Formula DRIFT 黑魔法职业锦标赛 "和 "Formula DRIFT 黑魔法职业锦标赛"。 Napoleon Motorsports: Attacking 2019 PRO1 Formula Drift Series (December 18, 2018) & Napoleon Motorsports: New Champion Pilot for EL1 (2019年3月12日）。 谁也没有想到，拿破仑赛车运动（Napoleon Motorsport）的雪佛兰科迈罗EL-1（昵称 "自由"）的 "火花 "会是一场政治或程序上的争议......至少可以这么说。 很奇怪。 Official Response By Napoleon Motorsports via Facebook: 由于长滩市和 Acura 长滩大奖赛决定不让 EL1 参赛，Travis reeder 现在将驾驶他的 LS 240 首次参加 FD Pro1。 开始 "我们已经启动了 B 计划，我们将不折不扣地继续前进。我感谢大家的关爱和支持，我尊重大家做出的决定。 这表明教育工作尚未完成......我们将吸取教训，提前获得批准，我们期待着在奥兰多展示 "自由"[EL1]"。- 乔-拿破仑，拿破仑赛车运动首席执行官 结束 特拉维斯-里德（Travis Reeder）使用 B 计划汽油动力 LS240，在 32 名车手中以 33 分的成绩排名第 14 位，落后第一回合冠军奥里马斯-奥迪-巴克奇斯（Aurimas "Odi" Bakchis）70 分。

Travis Reeder stands beside his Napoleon Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro EL-1 electric-powered Formula DRIFT car on display in downtown Long Beach. Image Credit: Napoleon Motorsports via Facebook (2019)

贾斯汀-拿破仑在回复邮件中写道："继续前进：如您所知，我们将特拉维斯的车作为备用车。他在比赛中表现出色。如果 EL-1 因任何原因无法参赛，我们会将备用车随身携带。我们将提前与下届赛事（奥兰多）的相关人员联系。 至于拿破仑赛车队，这只是一个小挫折，我们将继续努力，成为电动汽车赛车的创新领导者。正如之前所说，这只是我们的开始。除了漂移，我们还有一些非常有创意的雄心壮志，这些雄心壮志将在今年实现，EL-1 将成为一股不可忽视的力量。"

Joe Napoleon, Team owner and director of Napoleon Motorsports, demonstrate the custom fabrication rear quarter panels used on the Camaro EL-1 for give during competition. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

Napoleon Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro EL-1 “Freedom” Formula DRIFT 人们首先面临的问题是如何接受新的、非传统的技术，就像赛车手们自移动解决方案发明以来一直在做的那样。二战后不久，人们将柴油发动机上的鼓风机装到汽油发动机上，看看这对拖曳速度和计时赛有什么改进。 对于电动发动机来说，人们首先会立即明白应用到车轮上的扭矩，而这种扭矩从动力带的起点到终点都是相同的，这与汽油发动机的情况不同，汽油发动机的扭矩曲线是：起初较低，在特定转速下达到甜点，然后随着转速的增加而减弱。 其次，在正常的出行移动情况下，如替代汽油发动机的交通工具，电力只能持续如此之久，然后人们必须投入比加满一箱液体更长的时间来重新给电池充电--这就是所谓的 "续航焦虑"--但在 DRIFT 方程式赛车中，由于每次并排比赛的持续时间非常短，这并不是一个问题。

Round 1 of the 2019 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship Presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras season was to be the grand debut for this evolution in power equipment available for drifting. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

This excerpted and edited from Drift Life – Electric Drifting – The Future? By: Jos Roder – March 22nd, 2019 With the all but confirmed introduction of an electric drift car into Formula Drift for the 2019 season, it opens the discussion around the future of drifting and the role electric vehicles may play in it. In December 2018, Formula Drift released a statement on behalf of Napoleon Motorsport about a sixth generation 2019 Chevrolet Camaro EL-1 the team was building that was described as “a revolutionary drift car” and “the first one of its kind in Formula Drift.” Fast forward to early 2019 and the rumours became stronger. On the February 27th Maximum Driftcast podcast, Formula Drift Technical Manager Kevin Wells spoke about regulations ahead of an electric car joining the series. The latest video from Napoleon Motorsport included flashes of electricity as part of the graphics so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put everything together. So unless there is a CIA level deception that has led everyone down the garden path, we will see an electric drift car competing in Formula Drift in 2019 and that Drift Life readers, is a fascinating prospect. Why Electric? “It’s inevitable!” Electric cars didn’t fly down in the last shower and they aren’t going anywhere.  Tesla is now a household name, manufacturers are pouring millions into electric R&D, ‘ludicrous mode’ makes grown men giggle and Formula E (electric based open-wheel racing series) continues to build an audience and has growing support globally. But electric drift car’s have already been made! Yes, companies around the world have already been experimenting with electric drift cars, like EV West and their Tesla powered E36.

The cockpit of the next evolution in Formula DRIFT competition. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

To see an electric drift car in a top-level competition series however is a big step up. It was only a matter of time but the reality brings fundamental, technical and philosophical questions about the sport to the here and now. Some questions are being resolved through regulations but others can only be answered in competition and in the spectator stands. -- This brings us to what many see as in theory at least, a logical step into the world of electric motors. Electric Motor Benefits: Amazing torque characteristics No gears to change – should be quick off the line Handling characteristics  –  low battery and motor placement for 50-50 weight split and lower centre of gravity. Reliability – once early issues ironed out, in theory, there are fewer things that can go wrong with the drivetrain. Lowering overall vehicle weight Electric Drift Car Commercial Benefits Momentum is building and millions are being poured into R&D. Chevrolet recently displayed the eCOPO Concept Camaro, a car designed to run 9’s on the quarter through its two electric motors that produce a combined 800hp (and all the torques) and is no doubt a ploy designed to convince Chevrolet supporters that ‘electric’ can be cool. For Napoleon Motorsport, choosing a new Camaro as their electric vehicle choice given Chevrolet’s recent moves could be strategic or simply coincidental. Funding a race program is a huge investment so with projects like eCOPO underway, perhaps Napoleon Motorsport feels doors could open for manufacturer support. At a minimum, an electric drift car is unique, so a new range of sponsorship avenues for the team could no doubt be opened. Strategically, this aspect of the program could prove to be a smart move. Side note: electric cars are primarily about efficiency and environmental benefits….so the irony of introducing a smoke-inducing, tyre destroying electric drift car is not lost on us. Downsides/Challenges and Unanswered Questions From putting down its power too well off the line, lack of noise, through to handling advantages and reliability improvements, let’s rationally analyse some of the questions and thoughts that came up in our conversations on the matter. Q: Can a silent drift car excite anyone? For drift judges, a philosophical debate has to take place. The ‘sound’ of the car is not judged obviously, but it will be hard not to be fooled and remain impartial to what you are seeing compared another car that may have had an identical run, except with the screaming engine to compliment the run. For spectators, the equation is pretty simple. Can you get excited by a silent drift car that only oozes tyre squeal? That is a really hard sell. A huge component of drifting is enjoying high revving engines, turbo’s and V8s’s as they power through a course so an electric car will be eerily underwhelming. Q: How driveable are electric engine drift cars? According to the EV West team and JehuGarcia, the light switch on and off feeling, plus the ramp on and off characteristics of the engine was quite hard to control in current specification. Is Napoleon Motorsport there yet? We don’t know. Q: Will electric drift cars put down the power too well from the holeshot? A cars ability to accelerate is dependant on a variety of factors, but primarily comes down to how much grip a tyre can produce on a given surface. The crazy 0-100 (0-60) times we see by Tesla’s are with AWD systems. A RWD based system would be absolutely slower. Overall, I think this would be a negligible difference. Q: Will electric cars have a fundamental performance/handling advantage? Overall vehicle weight, the centre of gravity and weight distribution are all considerations. The overall weight of a vehicle governs the tyre size a car can run, so even if the car was substantially lighter than a standard Camaro (which it probably is), tyre size will be reduced to negate the advantage in this area. Centre of gravity however is certainly an area a competition drift car could have an advantage in. -- The flexibility of battery placement (should it be allowed in technical regulations) can also ensure a perfect 50:50 weight distribution should that be the balance they are looking for. Q: Will electric drift cars be perfectly reliable? I’d suggest not initially, but with fewer components in play, that should prove to be a slight advantage in this area over the medium-term. It is worth noting a number of Formula Drift Pro cars are very reliable and most have backup parts to keep them in the game even with failures. Q: Will electric drift cars create an arms race/fractures in the fabric of the sport? This question only brings up more questions. If electric vehicles drift amazingly, are ultra reliable and gain momentum, will other teams be forced to spend into oblivion to keep up? Will there become a huge divide and traditionalists that mean electric cars are outlawed or become a separate series? Having electric drift cars upsetting the competition apple cart in such a severe way is probably hyperbole, but major controversy in motorsport is hardly a new concept so who knows! 

The business end of the Napoleon Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro EL-1. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

The Bottom Line – We Fear Change -- Electric cars are part of our collective future whether we like it or not, so we should at least give them a chance in the sport and investigate if it will be a fit for drifting in the future. So until the electric car competes a season, I’ll be watching on with an open mind and a tonne of popcorn. My bet is it will be an anti-climatic debut, but that is nearly to be expected of any new campaign in Formula Drift Pro category with a new build, let alone an electric variant, but I’m happy to be wrong! -- P.S Drift runs are so short, Range Anxiety shouldn’t be a thing!? Unless you have 5 re-runs in your Top 32 and you can’t swap out batteries? [参考这里] 在研究了一些评论 "自由 "被边缘化的文章后，拿破仑赛车运动最初的回应是，这辆赛车是以国际汽联电动方程式安全方面的所有规定为模板制造的，并符合国际汽联对电动赛车的规定。 他们从未了解过长滩市的这一条例，而赛事制作方 DRIFT 方程式赛车显然也不知道......或者应该反过来说？ Napoleon Motorsports 只想参加比赛，并将在每个场地同时使用 "Freedom "和 LS240 两个赛车平台。 因此，我们都在等待第一次真正意义上的 "自由 "在专业组 DRIFT 方程式赛车比赛中的运行，带来火花，看看这项技术的应用将走向何方--到目前为止，设备或车队还没有允许 Camaro EL-1 参与比赛......在长滩，也许是害怕改变吧 ...来自 EDJE TAGS： electric drift car, Formula DRIFT, Napoleon Motorsport, Camaro EL-1, Freedom, City Of Long Beach, Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach, The EDJE