Paddon’s electric car to power up again this weekend

Hayden Paddon’s electric rally car will get it’s second outing this weekend.

Hayden Paddon’s EV rally car
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Hyundai Kona EV rally car goes into competition for just the second time at the Ashley Forest Rallysprint in North Canterbury.

Paddon won the 1.7 km gravel hillclimb when it was last run in 2019 in his Hyundai i20 AP4 rally car.

Now Paddon is focused on winning the hillclimb in the Paddon Rallysport-developed all-electric Hyundai Kona rally car.

Paddon and his team have fitted another motor into the car.

80 per cent of the Kona EV was designed in-house by Paddon’s New Zealand team the chassis design, engineering, aerodynamics, suspension, steering, cooling, and electrics.

The 400+ kW electric-powered rally car is a one of a kind in New Zealand so far and has already shown it’s competitive, when Paddon drove it to victory in its first-ever event at the Waimate 50 Motorsport Festival in October last year.

Paddon is excited to line up for the iconic Ashley Forest hillclimb, an event first run in 1979 by Canterbury’s RATEC Motorsport Club and one that Paddon has long followed.

In recent developments with the Kona EV, a third motor has been fitted to give it more power.

Hayden Paddon
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Paddon describes this as an interim development until a new battery arrives from Austrian company Stohl Advanced Research and Development which provides technical support.

As part of a year-long campaign to give back to the communities visited by Paddon Rallysport during their rally year, the Paddon’s Project will see a deserving North Canterbury local offered the opportunity to spend a day with Paddon Rallysport at the Ashley Forest event which includes riding shotgun in the Kona EV’s passenger seat during one of Paddon’s timed runs.

Paddon says: “I’m very excited for this event, particularly after we tested the Kona EV in its new configuration two weeks ago! There is a big unknown in terms of what the car is capable of, but I think that is also why the whole team is excited to see what can be achieved.

“The major, most recent development is the mounting of an extra motor, so the Kona EV is now powered by three motors which gives it more power. This is an interim development while we await the new battery which will open up more opportunities for us.

“With an extra motor, we’ve had to work on other aspects like the car’s setup, so it’s been a busy time for us all after returning from Europe and getting the Hyundai i20 Rally2 car ahead of Rally New Zealand as well.