‘Hulk’ Tesla in Targa

Taupo’s Drive EV entered its “Hulk” Tesla Model S tow car with 100kWh battery pack in the Targa New Zealand South Island rally on October 15 and 16.

Owner operator Steve “EV Stevie” Greenwood believes that EVs have the pace and the grace for a place on the grid, so entered the Hulk (with support EV a Vauxhall Corsa Electric) in the event’s “Targa Tour” category which allows road vehicles with 160km/h rally top speed and has no placings.

The 2.3 tonne Tesla ‘Hulk’, normally seen hauling a car trailer up and down the country with a fresh EV on the back, is in an appropriate green livery.

Hulk started life as a dark green P85, but towing takes a toll on a battery so it had been swapped for a 100kWh pack at Drive EV’s workshop – the old pack built into an EV Land Rover.

The Tesla also had a weight reduction and brake upgrade to enhance performance for the Targa.

Teslas brake quite well for a heavy road car but they are not known for great repeated hard stopping, says Jay Simpson of Drive EV, adding that for grip out of a corner a Quaife LSD had been added to the single rear motor.

He reckons Hulk is easy to spot on the road, wrapped in a bright acid green and with Rotiform aero hubcaps, all with Drive Electric’s logo.

Greenwood says the Targa was “the ultimate range test”, Hulk getting about 200km range on tougher sections and about 250km on the better ones.

Some areas were not well served by rapid charging, so the Vauxhall Corsa Electric was used as a support vehicle, sometimes towed by Hulk.

“We had a blast,” says Greenwood, adding he would love to enter EVs in more rallies.

He says some on the rally gave them a good-natured ribbing for entering an EV, but “a lot of people said ‘Good on you’ for doing so”.

Greenwood understands it’s the first time an EV has entered the Targa South Island event, and he plans to produce a video to mark the occasion.

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