GCK's expertise and know-how at the service of rally-raid!

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24/01/2024

The year 2024 begins under the sign of performance for the GCK Group with the realization of several projects around rally-raid competition:

The two APH-01 hybrid SSVs designed and built by GCK Performance, a Group subsidiary specializing in prototyping and mechanical engineering, triumphed in the 15th edition of the Africa Eco Race. Gautier Paulin and his navigator Rémi Boulanger took overall victory, marking a decisive step towards the commercial launch scheduled for early 2024.

For the official start of the competition in Monaco on December 30, 2023, GCK was also present in the Monegasque city alongside Adriana Karembeu, godmother of the event, and Jean-Louis Schlesser to present its brand-new rally-raid prototype, the e-Blast H2, a true demonstrator of the Group’s technologies.

For the 46th edition of the Dakar, the “Desert Tigers”, a “private” initiative largely supported by Airbus Helicopters, called on Solution F to study a “hybrid kit” adaptable to a “production” SSV, incorporating GCK Battery components. The initiative is encouraged by the Dakar promoter, who sees it as an economically viable hybridization solution for the T4 SSV category.

Lempdes, January 20, 2024 – In rally-raid competition, every kilometer is a challenge, and vehicles have to face extreme conditions to reach the end of the adventure. It is in this highly demanding environment that GCK has distinguished itself in the early part of the year with the completion of several projects, the fruit of collaboration between its various subsidiaries.

First participation and first victory in rally-raid for the two hybrid SSVs, the APH-01, designed and developed by GCK Performance.

From January 2 to 14, 2024, Apache crews Gautier Paulin/Rémi Boulanger and Pierre-Louis Loubet/François Borsotto covered the 12 stages of the Africa Eco Race, a total of no less than 6,000 kilometers, aboard two APH-01s, the only hybrid SSVs of their kind in the world.

These two vehicles were designed and built for Apache Automotive by GCK Performance, a specialist in prototyping and mechanical engineering, in its workshops at Issoire in the Puy-de-Dôme region of France. It took the GCK Group subsidiary no less than 18 months to design, develop, build and test the product before it set off for its first rally-raid competition.

This first experience was crowned with success, as Gautier Paulin and his navigator Rémi Boulanger won the overall classification by 4 hours, making them the overall winners of the 15th edition of the Africa Eco Race. Pierre Louis Loubet and his navigator François Borsotto racked up 5 scratch stage wins along the way.

This hybrid SSV, which is a world first, relies above all on the know-how of GCK Performance and the expertise of other GCK Group subsidiaries. Indeed, the Issoiri-based company has drawn on proven and recognized technologies to design its vehicle with an original hybrid architecture.

To achieve this, GCK Performance called on the group’s expertise:

The latest-generation 48V electric motor was developed by Solution F, a Group subsidiary based in Venelles (13). The internal combustion engine traditionally drives the rear wheels, while a specific 48 V DC motor drives the front wheels.
A 48-volt battery pack with two 3.6 kWh modules, developed by GCK Battery, a sister company based in Lempdes (63) specializing in the design and manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. This battery, designed for performance using innovative immersion technology, is capable of delivering 600 A continuously and 1,000 A at peak.

This first victory demonstrates that a hybrid, environmentally-friendly vehicle can be reliable, high-performance and competitive! It also marks a decisive step in the product’s development, with commercial launch scheduled for early 2024.

The e-Blast H2, a concentrate of technologies for tomorrow’s mobility

The Africa Eco Race was also an opportunity for GCK to unveil its latest rally-raid prototype: the e-Blast H2. A first 100% electric version had been unveiled in 2021 during the Dakar. After several test sessions in extreme conditions, GCK Performance teams were able to gather the data needed to develop its H2 version: increased electric motor power, reduced battery pack capacity and integration of a new cooling system for faster vehicle recharging.

A fuel cell with a power output of around 200 kW has been developed and perfected by GCK, with technical support from FEV, and is supplied with 30 kg of hydrogen stored in four R134-certified tanks at a pressure of 700 bar.

This new-generation, high-power fuel cell recharges a 50.7 kWh lithium-ion battery, which in turn powers the new electric motor designed to produce 320 kW, the equivalent of 430 hp. Two technologies developed respectively by GCK Battery and Solution F.

A genuine innovation platform, the e-Blast H2 will shortly be setting off on trials to test technologies applied to projects by the Group’s industrial branch, such as the prototype snow groomer developed by GCK Mobility, using the same fuel cell technology.

The expertise of GCK Battery and Solution F at the service of the “Tigres du Désert” crew for the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally.

From January 5 to 19, 2024, the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally took place in Saudi Arabia, with the “Tigres du Désert” crew at the start. Jean-Michel Paulhe, the pilot, and Gauthier Gibert, both Airbus Helicopters employees, took the start of the Mission 1000 category at the wheel of their buggy, alongside a dozen other clean vehicles.

To help them hybridize their vehicle, they called on the expertise of two GCK Group subsidiaries. GCK Battery supplied a battery system and worked with Solution F and Airbus Battery Toulouse to package the battery pack to meet the FIA’s stringent requirements. Solution F developed the hybridization kit using performance simulations to dimension and propose the mechanical assembly of the motor used for propulsion, enabling the car to run at 60 km/h on 100% electric power. This was done in close collaboration with the FIA and ASO, the organizer of the Dakar Rally, to prepare a hybridization kit solution for production SSVs.

The GCK subsidiary, which specializes in powertrains, also produced the hybrid and battery management software in collaboration with GCK Battery. After several prototype tests and an inspection by the FIA/ASO, Airbus Helicopter manufactured all the battery packaging and engine support parts, then finalized the hybrid management system after testing.

Motorsports as a laboratory for tomorrow’s mobility

Thanks to motor racing, GCK is able to test its vehicles in extreme conditions, enabling it to put all its technologies for tomorrow’s mobility to the test.

After the presentation of Solution F’s Foenix H2 project, one of the world’s first GT racing cars powered by a hydrogen combustion engine, during the centenary of the Le Mans 24-hour race, the two new prototypes developed for rally-raid by GCK Performance perfectly demonstrate the group’s agnostic vision of offering the right technology for the right purpose.

Eric Boudot, President of GCK : “Motor racing has always been a fertile ground for the development of GCK Group solutions, particularly rally-raid, where extreme conditions enable us to test and validate our technologies. We are proud of this first victory for our two SSVs in the Africa Eco Race, which demonstrates the expertise and know-how our teams have been developing for several years now. From prototyping to the industrialization of our solutions, we are convinced of the importance of offering different technologies to support the transition to more sustainable mobility.”

Contact presse GCK

Hélène Plisson

Head of Marketing and Communications at GCK

helene.plisson@gck.co

Eloi Formery

06 74 79 93 54 / presse.gck@taddeo.fr