Advertisement

First electric race car in grueling Dakar Rally surviving so far

No race in the world demands more from its entrants than the Dakar Rally, a 5,500-mile trek through brutal South American wilderness at speeds that can be lethal to machines and humans. Which is what makes this year's entry of the first electric vehicle designed to survive the race all the more amazing.

Built by a team of Latvian rally racers and engineers, the OSCar eO moves thanks to a single, massive electric motor capable of up to 590 ft-lbs. of torque. Electricity arrives from a 52-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and an onboard electric generator powered by a Nissan V6 engine -- in essence, the same kind of setup as the Chevy Volt.