NXT Gen Cup: 2023-Present
Touted as the world’s first electric junior touring car series, NXT Gen Cup was launched in 2023 as a feeder series for the newly-electrified STCC. While STCC’s year didn’t quite go to plan, with lots of parts-related delays, NXT Gen Cup enjoyed a very positive inaugural season.
The championship is a one-make event featuring race-prepared examples of the Mini Cooper SE electric road car. With around 200hp (plus an additional 30hp available through its push-to-pass system), front-wheel drive and a weight of just under 1200kg, the Mini certainly fits the usual profile of a one-make cup car.
Really, that’s one of the major selling points of NXT Gen Cup. It’s an EV championship that feels like a normal racing series. Other than the lack of noise, it’s not really all that different to Clio Cup or Mini Challenge. The 2023 season produced consistently exciting racing, with plenty of door-to-door action in short sprint races at good circuits; and at no point did it suffer from the usual gimmicks associated with EV motorsport so far.
Another element of NXT Gen Cup that makes it notable is just quite how young the drivers are. The youngest drivers were just 14 years old, and the majority of the field were under 18. If you have any familiarity with Ginetta Juniors you’ll be well aware that this tends to lead to thoroughly entertaining and chaotic racing, which NXT Gen Cup has certainly lived up to; although there’s a case to be made that the drivers are more well-behaved than their Ginetta counterparts.
NXT Gen Cup is something of a hidden gem at the moment, and the future for the series looks very bright. In only its first season the racing was exciting, the field was a good size, and the broadcasts were more professional than plenty of bigger events manage. Hopefully the championship can start to attract a larger following and continue to grow moving forward.