e-CUPRA ABT XE electric SUV to race at the Arctic X Prix in Greenland

e-CUPRA ABT XE electric SUV to race at the Arctic X Prix in Greenland

• The ABT CUPRA XE team is ready to fight for victory in the Arctic X Prix and climb up the championship standings
• Mattias Ekström and Jutta Kleinschmidt will race with the e-CUPRA ABT XE1 for the remainder of the season
• Extreme E becomes the first motorsport event to be held in Greenland

(PRESS RELEASE) GREENLAND, 27-Aug-2021 — /EuropaWire/ — Sports car brand CUPRA has announced its e-CUPRA ABT XE1, the brand’s 400 kW (550 PS) 100% electric SUV, will race at the Arctic X Prix in Greenland.

The Extreme E returns to action in one of the most remote places on the planet and where the effects of climate change are particularly visible. The Arctic X Prix, the third event of the season, takes place in Kangerlussuaq (Greenland), a town north of the Arctic Circle where Mattias Ekström and Jutta Kleinschmidt will fight for the first victory of the ABT CUPRA XE team in the championship.

The Arctic X Prix takes place exactly three months after the Ocean X Prix in Dakar (Senegal). Next to Lac Rose, the historic finish line of the Dakar Rally, Ekström and Kleinschmidt – making her debut- fell just short of reaching a final where they aimed to fight for the first championship win in the e-CUPRA ABT XE1, the brand’s 400 kW (550 PS) 100% electric SUV, ready to tackle all types of surfaces and conditions.

From Dakar, the Extreme E now travels to a completely different and unprecedented place for motorsport: Greenland. The largest island in the world, with 2.166 million square kilometers of extension, hosts the third round of the championship season in Kangerlussuaq. This town, located 50 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, is part of the municipality of Qeqqata and is home to Greenland’s most important commercial airport. Kangerlussuaq is also home to the Russell Glacier, so competing there is ideal for raising awareness of the rate at which Arctic ice is melting.

The course has been designed around a large, relatively open plain at the edge of the Russell Glacier, just outside the town of Kangerlussuaq. The terrain has a mixture of rock sizes from large boulders down to a fine glacial sediment and sand dunes, crafted and shaped by the wind blowing down the valley and the melting water coming off the glacier.

“From the Saudi Arabian desert, we went all the way to Dakar’s Lac Rose… and now we’re going all the way to Greenland! Extreme E pushes the adaptability of everyone involved to the limit: no two races are alike,” explains Mattias Ekström, official male driver of the ABT CUPRA XE team. “After the first two events of the season, where we had speed, but didn’t get the results we deserved, we only have one goal in mind: winning the Arctic X Prix and make history in Greenland!”.

At the Arctic X Prix, Jutta Kleinschmidt will make her debut as an official member of the ABT CUPRA XE team, having been confirmed as the team’s female driver. Jutta’s debut, winner of the Dakar Rally in 2001, with the e-CUPRA ABT XE1 in Senegal, where Jutta had to get into the car without prior preparation, was surprising and now she is thinking of nothing other than climbing to the top of the podium in this new championship. “Senegal allowed me to discover this exciting competition from the inside and to squeeze the full electric potential of the e-CUPRA ABT XE1. During the last months I have been preparing for the next challenge in Greenland and together with Mattias I will fight for the first CUPRA victory in the Extreme E.”

The ABT CUPRA XE team is in seventh position in the championship with 37 points. A good result in Greenland will be key to moving up the standings and into the top positions: the third team is only nine points ahead.

Extreme E’s legacy in Greenland

The effects of climate change are particularly visible in this part of the world, as global warming has led to accelerated ice melt and rising sea levels, endangering local populations and species. The Arctic is also crucial for maintaining the balance of the world’s climate, since it acts as an enormous reflector of the sun’s rays, thus regulating the temperature of the oceans.

NASA estimates that the ice mass in the month of September, at its summer minimum, has decreased by an average of 12.8% every decade for the past 40 years. With less sea ice, less of the sun’s rays are reflected, causing the ocean to absorb more energy in the form of heat, further accelerating global warming.

As well as in motorsport, CUPRA also shows its commitment to environmental care in its road cars. The CUPRA Born, the brand’s first 100% electric model, reinvents contemporary design through the use of recycled materials, in collaboration with the company SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. The CUPRA Born’s standard seats are produced with SEAQUAL® YARN recycled polymer fibre fabrics, sourced from material collected by fishermen and local communities in oceans, rivers, estuaries and seas such as the Mediterranean.

By competing here, the Extreme E is making an important wake-up call to the world about the plight of the Arctic, but it will also be doing its bit. Together with the help of world expert Peter Wadhams, the championship will contribute to research into Arctic ice protection, which is key to slowing the melting of ice and caring for our planet.

The Extreme E series is the first motorsport competition based on, electrification with electric SUV’s, sustainability by racing in locations already affected by climate change and equality, the teams are composed of a male and female driver, racing in absolute equality.

CUPRA HQ Communications

Fernando Salvador
Head of Product & Events Communications
T/ +34 609 434 670
fernando.salvador@seat.es

Arnaud Hacault
Head of Product Communications
T/ +34 659 134 804
arnaud.hacault@seat.es

Jan Conesa
Product Communications
T / +34 650 659 096
jan.conesa@seat.es

SOURCE: SEAT, S.A.