Cybertruck to Enter Baja Endurance Race With All New Air Suspension Says Musk?!

[Administrator]

Elon Musk has just shared an update that the they're working on increasing the travel of the dynamic air suspension for better offroading. And that it "needs to kick butt in Baja," and also potentially tipping that the Cybertruck will compete in the Baja 500, the grueling Mexican off-road motorsport race that is a feat of endurance to finish and is often a proving ground for manufacturers' newest off-road vehicles.

Musk tweeted: "We’re working on increasing dynamic air suspension travel for better off-roading. Needs to kick butt in Baja."

When asked if Cybertruck's air suspension will be all new or an iteration of the Model X and S air suspension, he replied that the Cybertruck's suspension will be "All New."

Also, when asked about the air suspension's clearance, Musk replied: "Reviewing overall system with vehicle engineering team next week. Should have number then."

Advertisement

 

[MO Truck]

At Baja they won't hear you coming

 

[Jessedostie]

At Baja they won't hear you coming

I film the Baja 1000 every year (and it's awesome) ... That could be a problem for the bikes... The motorcycles move out of the way when they hear a trophy truck. We'll... actually... now that I think about it they have a device called a Stella that will beep so they will know they are coming. If you like the Baja race check out our movie. It's free.

 

[Administrator]

Updated with this info -

When asked if Cybertruck's air suspension will be all new or an iteration of the Model X and S air suspension, Musk replied that the Cybertruck's suspension will be "All New."

 

[Administrator]

Also, when asked about the air suspension's clearance, Musk replied:

"Reviewing overall system with vehicle engineering team next week. Should have number then."

 

[Sputter]

Elon Musk has just shared an update that the they're working on increasing the travel of the dynamic air suspension for better offroading. And that it "needs to kick butt in Baja," and also potentially tipping that the Cybertruck will compete in the Baja 500, the grueling Mexican off-road motorsport race that is a feat of endurance to finish and is often a proving ground for manufacturers' newest off-road vehicles.

Musk tweeted: "We’re working on increasing dynamic air suspension travel for better off-roading. Needs to kick butt in Baja."

When asked if Cybertruck's air suspension will be all new or an iteration of the Model X and S air suspension, he replied that the Cybertruck's suspension will be "All New."

Also, when asked about the air suspension's clearance, Musk replied: "Reviewing overall system with vehicle engineering team next week. Should have number then."

Whoo Hoo!

 

[craz]

I remember an EV buggy trying this a while back, was sort of a gimmick though if I remember correctly.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motors...baja-racer-is-running-the-norra-mexican-1000/

If Elon is really intending on entering the Baja 500 or 1000 races, then I have some interesting questions:

1. How representative will the truck be of production models? It's relatively common for companies to compete as a branding move, but use a soup'd up version of their product.

2. If it is a production truck, how will the team handle mid-race recharging? Will they only complete a leg of the race so they don't need to charge, or will they do the full race with a mobile supercharger at each pit stop? They may not be competitive needing multiple 30+ minute stops, but just finishing the race would be good publicity.

3. When's this gonna happen? The Baja 500 is in June this year, and the 1000 is in November. If those months hold for the 2021 races, either of those events would be huge marketing opportunities just as production begins.

It'd be sick to see a Cybertruck compete in a Baja, but I'm thinking Elon was making a general reference to the demands of desert off-roading, not actually competing in the race.

 

[TyPope]

I remember an EV buggy trying this a while back, was sort of a gimmick though if I remember correctly.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motors...baja-racer-is-running-the-norra-mexican-1000/

If Elon is really intending on entering the Baja 500 or 1000 races, then I have some interesting questions:

1. How representative will the truck be of production models? It's relatively common for companies to compete as a branding move, but use a soup'd up version of their product.

2. If it is a production truck, how will the team handle mid-race recharging? Will they only complete a leg of the race so they don't need to charge, or will they do the full race with a mobile supercharger at each pit stop? They may not be competitive needing multiple 30+ minute stops, but just finishing the race would be good publicity.

3. When's this gonna happen? The Baja 500 is in June this year, and the 1000 is in November. If those months hold for the 2021 races, either of those events would be huge marketing opportunities just as production begins.

It'd be sick to see a Cybertruck compete in a Baja, but I'm thinking Elon was making a general reference to the demands of desert off-roading, not actually competing in the race.

It IS quite conceivable that the Cybertruck will be able to complete the entire race on one charge. If not, why not an extra battery strapped to the T-rails in the bed? That would be awesome especially if they used one straight off the assembly line!

 

[Sirfun]

I film the Baja 1000 every year (and it's awesome) ... That could be a problem for the bikes... The motorcycles move out of the way when they hear a trophy truck. We'll... actually... now that I think about it they have a device called a Stella that will beep so they will know they are coming. If you like the Baja race check out our movie. It's free.

Well Done on the video. I haven't been to Baja in over 20 years but before that we would drive down there a couple times a year. There's a reason why only 5 out of 10 finished that race. IT'S BRUTAL! As if the race wasn't difficult enough, some of the locals mess with the course and dig holes make traps hoping to crash people. Those guys did a heck of a job just to finish.

 

[Mikutow]

I film the Baja 1000 every year (and it's awesome) ... That could be a problem for the bikes... The motorcycles move out of the way when they hear a trophy truck. We'll... actually... now that I think about it they have a device called a Stella that will beep so they will know they are coming. If you like the Baja race check out our movie. It's free.

Awesome video! And great story! Kept me up till 2am! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ehninger1212]

oh man.. way to make it feel like an EVEN LONGER WAIT!

 

[Ehninger1212]

I film the Baja 1000 every year (and it's awesome) ... That could be a problem for the bikes... The motorcycles move out of the way when they hear a trophy truck. We'll... actually... now that I think about it they have a device called a Stella that will beep so they will know they are coming. If you like the Baja race check out our movie. It's free.

They would probably have to run a sound emitter like the EV's do on pikes peak.. super annoying but you cant miss it.

 

[drcarric2650]

I think they should remove the vault cover, the rear seats, and compensate the weight loss with batteries. That way it would be very similar to the released product. Of course, add a couple of extra souped up trucks to assure the win.

 

[Jessedostie]

Awesome video! And great story! Kept me up till 2am! Thanks for sharing.

Working on the sequel as I type here. Spoilers, they do the who race solo.

 

[Jessedostie]

The race is often less than 500 miles. Sometimes you need to go pretty slow even in a truck. It's possible it could complete the entire race on its own battery. You just bring a mobile supercharger and charge it up for a few minutes at a time at each of the pit stops. You might only need to have 2 such chargers. You could just leapfrog it and beat it to the next point it needs to stop (like the chase trucks in Into the Dust.) Also, slower means longer range. The cyber truck will be in a different class than the buggies or trophy trucks (I guessing something Stock Truck or some EV class) so it's conceivable it could win its class if it makes it to the end. Many stock vehicles time out so they may only need to finish in the run time allowed.