Opel Feels No Need To Cover The Corsa-e Rally Concept In Frankfurt

Many of the world debuts awaiting visitors at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show have been previewed online weeks, if not months in advance.

That certainly diminishes the surprise factor for those guests who are up to date with the latest car news, but that’s the way things work nowadays in the auto industry. Opel, for example, has released the first photos of the all-new Corsa on May 23 and since then we got to see several variants of the supermini, including a rally version of the Corsa-e EV.

You can see the latter on display at the Opel stand many hours before the first press day. The automaker didn’t even bother to cover it because everyone has already seen the photos online.

This is actually a concept that previews a rally car for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, billed as the world’s first rally brand cup for electric cars. Based on the Corsa-e road car, the Opel Corsa-e Rally will replace the Adam on the rally stages, with its electric powertrain producing 136 PS (100 kW / 134 hp) and 260 Nm (192 lb-ft) of instant torque channeled to the front wheels.

Also read: Opel/Vauhall Corsa OPC/VXR Tipped To Return As Ford Fiesta ST Rival

Projected to cost significantly less than €50,000 (approximately $55,165), the Opel Corsa-e Rally features the same 50 kWh battery as the road car but many rally-specific features – including the suspension, integrated roll cage, electric fire extinguisher, bucket seats, motorsport display with data-logger, quick-release fasteners for bonnet and tailgate, and more.

Development of the Opel Corsa-e Rally is currently underway in Rüsselsheim, with 15 cars planned for the 2020/2021 ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup – will take place initially during rounds of the German Rally Championship and other selected events. The series is scheduled to begin in summer 2020.