Monaco’s Automobile Club launched a brand new event this week, the e-Rallye Monte-Carlo. Running from Wednesday, October 12, and ending on Sunday, October 16, the e-Rallye replaces “Rallye Monte-Carlo des Energies Nouvelles” and “Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN” (Zero Emission – No Noise), the club said.
Open to various categories of non-polluting and CO2-free vehicles, most powered by electricity or hydrogen (Fuel Cell), the e-Rally involves 35 crews who started their journey on October 12 at 2 pm from the postcard setting of a 12th-century castle in Fontainebleau, southeast of Paris. Over the past three days they’ve been driving the 1,000 km journey across the French countryside to make their way to Monaco, with the first crews expected to arrive in the Principality today, from noon onwards.
The Gala Lunch and Prize Giving Ceremony will take place Sunday at the headquarters of the Automobile Club de Monaco.
This first edition of e-Rallye Monte-Carlo is further proof that the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) is faithful to its long-term commitment of promoting renewable energy and sustainable development.
Christian Tornatore, the ACM General Commissioner, said: “In this area, ACM definitely opened the way by organising an Electric Rally around Monaco in 1995. With this new e-Rallye Monte-Carlo, which is the road racing equivalent to the e-Prix for single-seaters, the idea is to start from much further away, just as the authentic pioneers of Rally Monte-Carlo did in 1911. For this modern times version of a clean rally, with zero CO2 emission, we are all very pleased, at ACM, that the entry list is full, with new generation vehicles representing more than ten car manufacturers.”
In addition to electric vehicles entered by market leaders, such as Renault Zoé, VW e-Golf, Tesla Roadster and Tesla S, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Citroën Berlingo, the “real stars of the show” will be the hydrogen (Fuel Cell) cars. “They are the ultimate clean cars and we are lucky that, for a world premiere, three Toyota Mirai and three Renault Kangoo, transformed by Symbio Fcell, will take part in this inaugural edition of e-Rallye Monte-Carlo,” Mr Tornatore added.
Read e-Rallye Monte-Carlo full agenda.
Article first published October 12, 2016.