Walter Rohrl Can't Be Bothered With Electric Cars

You Didn’t Know?

If you didn’t know who Walter Röhrl is then let’s get you up to speed: 2 time World Rally Champion in a Fiat 131 Abarth and Opel Ascona 400 respectively, 24 hour of Le Mans Class Champion in a 944 LM and contester of the same race in a Turbo S GT some 12 years later. He has been called a “Genius on Wheels” by Niki Lauda and bears the single coolest title in all of motorsport. “Best Rallye driver ever.”

image courtesy of Porsche 

The Comments

Röhrl doesn’t hate EVs as he has stated they make sense for the average consumer, but I think the idea of electric race cars bothers him. In years past he has called EVs a “disaster” and was recently quoted as saying, “for me, it will always be a mistake.” Walter caught some flack for these most recent comments but has good reason to make them. One of which is his history and time spent in this sport at speeds many of us only wish we could drive near, let alone sustain on a pitch back rally stage—like it’s nothing. It's not a stretch to say he understands road cars and racing cars better than the average person.

image courtesy of autoevolution.com 

>>Join the conversation about Rohrl's thoughts on EVs right here in Rennlist.com.

What Makes a Race Car

Race cars are truly categorized by their raw feeling experienced through the steering wheel and pedals as a driver tries to claw tooth and nail for the best lap time he possibly can. Röhrl is from an era where cars were built to a specification they simply aren’t allowed to be built to anymore—we’re talking about Group B of course in which vehicles pushed boundaries that went beyond what anyone thought possible, including today. Cars are already turned down by this guy’s standards. EVs are torquey, but that’s about all they have going for them in terms of wow factor once you’ve felt the rush of anti-lag and 5 cylinder turbocharged engines.

image courtesy of imgur.com  

>>Join the conversation about Rohrl's thoughts on EVs right here in Rennlist.com.

EVs are Not Electrifying

Electric cars and racing don’t exactly go hand in hand due to the lack of excitement for spectators. If you were behind the wheel they would be a big thrill, but series like Formula E lack sound and the same intensity from a fan’s point of view. In an article published last year from Forbes Magazine, it was shown that the series which has $900,000,000 sunk into it has lost $140,000,000 of that investment in just 4 years. This does not bode well for the future of the sport and should be observed carefully by those in positions of power. Röhrl is definitely on to something and a lot of fans still reflect his point of view. He isn’t just some dinosaur who has no clue about what motor racing is all about. Executives should listen to him.

Image courtesy of Porsche    

>>Join the conversation about Rohrl's thoughts on EVs right here in Rennlist.com.

Brand Ambassador

The pot stirring rally racer recently came back from making these comments to drive a Taycan which he had nothing but praise and adoration for. He’s been appointed to spearhead the development of the GT4 Rally program in the R-GT class of WRC so we know there is still a firm relationship between the two that isn’t likely to go anywhere over some honest comments about the future of cars. If you ask me, Walter has every right to voice his opinion after a long illustrious career in rallying and road racing with experience that rivals almost anyone still doing it today. 

image courtesy of flickr.com  

>>Join the conversation about Rohrl's thoughts on EVs right here in Rennlist.com.

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