rFactor 2 | RCCO eX Zero 2021 DLC Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have today released the imaginative RCCO eX Zero 2021 electric car DLC for rFactor 2 - an rFactor 2 exclusive machine developed in conjunction with DTM Champion Mike Rockenfeller.

• New DLC available now for £4.55.
• Developed alongside 2013 DTM Champion Mike Rockenfeller.
• Created entirely within rFactor 2.

A DLC with a difference - rFactor 2 have today released a new car to the simulation that doesn't actually exist in real life... the RCCO eX ZERO 2021 has been released and it has been designed by the Studio 397 development team to a specification presented by former DTM Champion Mike Rockenfeller - bringing a brand new and exceptionally powerful electric racing car that should provide incredibly interesting driving coupled with ultra modern battery technology.

From the release notes:

As we draw ever closer to the end of 2020, the world around us is changing in ways we would never have imagined just 10 years ago. Humanity is becoming increasingly aware of the need to preserve our planet for future generations, sustainable options for ways of living are being brought into the conscious minds of consumers at a rate never before seen, and road car manufacturers are increasingly looking to alternative propulsion methods as the future of travel moves yet further away from the traditional ICE power units of today.

With Formula E and the new Extreme E concepts having already proven to be successful showcases for electric racing within the confines of current technology, we’ve been working with a partner to bring a rather different type of car to life within rFactor 2… As our readers well know, we at Studio 397 place an incredibly high value on the accuracy of our simulation, and our ability to recreate any number of different vehicle types within the title. This has led us to build a variety of different cars for the sim over the years, from formula to tin tops, powered by traditional internal combustion engines and modern battery power.

Ever keen to understand the intricacies of many varied types of racing machine, we took on a very different type of project recently; creating a car that confines to all the real world parameters in terms of physics and performance, but starting from a clean sheet of paper with a specification presented to us by 2013 DTM Champion Mike Rockenfeller. Welcome to the world the spectacular RCCO eX ZERO 2021.

Powered by a 100kWH battery and kicking out no-less than 1000hp, the eX ZERO 2021 is a custom-built car – existing only within rFactor 2 – that completely aligns with real world physics and behaviours that would exist should the vehicle find itself out on the real circuits. Enjoying the benefit of 4WD with a 73% rear torque split, the car is capable of 20 minutes of hard racing on a full charge. Lightweight at only 1000 kg without the driver, this car certainly offers exceptional performance and a very lively driving experience!

The eX ZERO 2021 has similar downforce levels to that of a modern LMP3 car, but considerably more torque through the slick tyres, meaning extraordinarily rapid acceleration that will leave the driver plenty of scope to modulate the throttle on corner exit – a critical skill in order to achieve good lap times.

To give you a taste of the kind of performance you can expect from new addition to the rFactor 2 vehicle roster, we enlisted the help of Porsche Carrera Cup Germany driver and rFactor 2 ambassador Rudy van Buren to put the new machine through its paces at the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, a track well known to many sim racers, and a perfect venue for comparing the performance of this car to more traditional track based vehicles.


We’ve found the process of developing this car greatly intriguing, to have the scope to realize a vision such as this within rFactor 2 has been a refreshing journey for our development team – and the result is a car that will keep drivers on their tiptoes at every single part of a lap – it’s a wild ride!

We are very proud of the end result with the RCCO eX ZERO 2021 as it really offers something rather unique within the simulation – hopefully you enjoy getting out on the circuit with it too.

RCCO eX ZERO 2021 | Available now in rFactor 2: HERE

Original Source: Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available now exclusively on PC.

Got questions? Our community have answers! Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for a great way to engage with your fellow fans of the simulation.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

That electric /hybrid car period we live in is simply awful.....hope it's just a trend.....

I just don't get how some of you guys can enjoy racing electric cars without the engine sounds and the gear shifting....

To be fair, real-life motorsports enthusiasts could make the same point, how could you enjoy driving something that is only simulated on your (electrical) computer?

 

[Stogie]

Can you guys (Studio 397) please for the love of sim racing, racing games and real motorsports, release some older cars?

 

[BrettSinclair1]

Can't wait to do an endurance race in it.
... OH WAIT !!!

 

[eg01st]

Logic I can't understand

Nords is $19.63 Australian

Nords with 3 cars is $17.67 Australian

See, this is to screw over us, existing fans, because we already have some of the cars, or the tracks from packs. We buy everything as soon as it comes out, so better charge more for single items.

 

[Slapped]

It's a very unusual form factor and also appears to be considerably impractical for milk delivery duties.

 

[eg01st]

Yep, looks like community said it's opinion. This was a wrong move, to invest artist resources into thing that most people don't enjoy AND ask money for it. At the same time, look how outdated your GT1, GT2 and GT500 cars look. Everyone would certainly enjoy a facelift on those.

 

[GuitarTech]

Nice looking car stirring up 'puff-ball' kick-up at that first corner.
When the heck will they fix that?
I've mentioned that until I'm blue in the face.
Years in...and it is still there.

Another one for the "been there forever, but we're never gonna fix it, who cares?"
buglist.....you couldn't make this stuff up

 

[krzysiek_aleks]

To all those complaining that "how bout this, this, this, this and this".

If you don't like this car - fine. It's not created as something everyone will drive, it's for RCCO esports championship. They wanted to do something bold, S397 agreed and that's it. Romain Grosjean, Beitske Visser and Erhan Jajovski will compete in this car + possibly more top guns, so if you, dear simracer, are "so angry", that makes you not buying this DLC - fine. It's a special car for special championship. To be honest I'm quite surprised that they even published it for everyone (remember Ferrari Challenge on Assetto Corsa?).

2020, I think, should be the final proof, that simracing titles want to get as many partnerships as it's possible. rF2 did a lot of them this year (Virtual Le Mans, all those The Race championships), cause that's what brings the biggest bucks, that's what brings attention to the title and that's what makes it more popular to wider audience.

 

[eg01st]

...that's what makes it more popular to wider audience.

I don't think you see point of the complaints. Many fans want this title to succeed, and pay for every overpriced piece of DLC to support the studio, so they can fix it and get up to standards the project they picked up years ago. Yet we live off promises for years, while other studios make new, better and complete titles for 5x less price in store. Do you think those countless bugs and problems will keep that "wider audience" playing if they buy this game?

 

[CrimsonEminence]

I quite like the idea of a fantasy electro race car, it also looks quite beautiful in my eyes. It's nothing, that hypes me so much, that i would really need it, though.

I know, there is a huge, radioactive pile of problems with rF2 and issues, so i can understand the complaints, but is it really necessary to slag the car at this scale, like some did, now?

However, when it comes to pricing, i have just one comment: E-cars don't have the best standing, so some "incentives" might would've been an interesting idea. (this doesn't mean, don't charge for it, it's still work hours, no matter, how senseful, i'm not opening that box any further. )

 

[Jason Mullin]

Has anyone else taken notice around the world of middle aged men driving Tesla’s?
When the light turns green they all take off like a bottle rocket.
I find this quite annoying for some reason.

As far as this dlc, I’m just happy we have S397 and their continued rF2 development. I think 2021 will be a very good year for sim racers.

 

[prceurope]

In 1975, a guy named Ben Burtt was working for a guy named George Lucas.

Ben took a recording of a trumpeting elephant and mixed it with the sound of a car driving on a wet road and it became the legendary Tie Fighter engine roar.

Fast forward 45 years, and nobody has any idea how to make electric cars sound interesting? Nobody has figured out that square cut gear whine can be replaced by electric motor whine, a gearbox can be added for the nostalgic challenge, and air flow can be channeled through a mechanical noise generation device inspired by, oh I don't know, an elephant's audio system?

And even when you don't have to actually do it in real life and can just make a virtual representation, they just don't do it.

If I were designing performance EVs, I would be shopping the sound design opportunity out to all the major sound effects studios to see who wants to create the world's first signature electric racing sound.

 

[mantasisg]

the front is as ungly as expensive

I am strangely happy not to be the only one who don't like looks of front end. Not a fan of rear view either and don't like look of wheels too, but the front end look....I dislike front end very much.

I have already taken a screenshot of front end of this car to photoshop to mock few changes up. It could look so much better if it had three seat cockpit like Mclaren F1 or GM T50. Also those yellow and green lights at front looks very bad, and whats the purpose of those, to enter some rave party ?

I also dislike few other lines that makes no sense in there...

I don't even have that much of an issue that this car is electric. I don't like how it looks from front and back, and the fact that this is paid content is just strange. Also as much as I have seen physics are quite weak, looks unrealistically forgiving and tolerating insane drifts.

 

[SuperMonacoGP]

there you go, onboard at Portland. I think I'll pass, thanks.

 

[David Brannigan]

LOL no

 

[Havner]

This is so broken in most of their dashes, but they even release a new car like this.
How hard is it to write:
Lap "1.5" instead of "1 5"?
And place "4/16" instead of "4 16"?

The funniest thing is some of their cars have Lap 1/5 instead of 1.5, which is not only wrong but also misleading. I know this is a nitpick, but it shows even more their attention to details and small issues.

 

[Oldzeb]

some repetitive commentaries at page length are really tiring... some should disconnect...

 

[gianlucaP]

ì

 

[Soddyn]

To all those complaining that "how bout this, this, this, this and this".

If you don't like this car - fine. It's not created as something everyone will drive, it's for RCCO esports championship. They wanted to do something bold, S397 agreed and that's it. Romain Grosjean, Beitske Visser and Erhan Jajovski will compete in this car + possibly more top guns, so if you, dear simracer, are "so angry", that makes you not buying this DLC - fine. It's a special car for special championship. To be honest I'm quite surprised that they even published it for everyone (remember Ferrari Challenge on Assetto Corsa?).

2020, I think, should be the final proof, that simracing titles want to get as many partnerships as it's possible. rF2 did a lot of them this year (Virtual Le Mans, all those The Race championships), cause that's what brings the biggest bucks, that's what brings attention to the title and that's what makes it more popular to wider audience.

I don't know, man, I don't see a wider audience jumping through all the hoops to play RF2, they usually want something that just works, and this ain't it.

You are correct on simracing titles wanting as many partnerships as they can get, but i'd argue that slowed down the development of these sims even more. Sector 3, for example, have said that priorities get moved around all the time because of partnerships and that they tend to leave the big updates to december because of the winter break on e-sports.

Now, RF2 peaking at around 1100 players per day while R3E is close to 1300, so i don't know how effective this strategy has been in bringing new players. IMO it's looking like these partnerships are more keeping the companies afloat than anything else. This also brings interesting questions like: is this approach good from the consumer's perspective? New features and bug fixes get put on hold but we do get some cool cars and tracks; Could these sims survive without the partnerships? In this case, should we be glad that they are happening?

 

[jonelsorel]

Do make me boycott your arse for that "make our planet clean with electrics" brainwashing, S397, just for the fact that half an electric car's weight is the battery. A battery full of scarcer by the day metals/minerals, i might add.

You know, gas guzzlers don't pollute inside a video game. And if real world pollution is of so much interest to you, for the money I pay you i'd like you to start lobbying for the electrification of maritime transport first, as 15 of the world's biggest ships pollute as much as all the world's cars put together. And there are about 30.000 ships in operation as we speak. Till the moment i see that, i'll put a hold on my future spending on your game.