Newcastle's Labor councillors are keen to follow in London's footsteps and introduce a high-performance electric vehicle race to the city during the Newcastle 500 event.
A motion to host a 'Supercars E' event will be put forward at tonight's Newcastle City Council meeting calling on council and Supercars to explore the idea of hosting an electric vehicle race.
The motion stems from London's move to host the Formula E (high-performance zero-emission electric Formula 1 vehicles) in the city centre with the introduction of the ePrix.
"It's a motion that's been brought because of the transition that's underway across Newcastle. The work that we're doing to establish ourselves as a smart city and an energy centre in particular and the role that electric vehicles are going to play in the future of Newcastle" said Labor Councillor Declan Clausen.
Councillors say electric cars could be the way of the future in Newcastle, with the city already a leader in scientific research and smart energy.
Declan Clausen says there are already high-performance vehicles being manufactured in the Hunter, so why not take the opportunity to show them off.
"It's an exciting opportunity and something we need to explore, plus there are some pretty impressive high-performance electric vehicles that are being manufactured here in the Hunter and I think it'd be great to see some of those highlighted and showcased as a part of an event like this."
For the first V8 supercars race in November, 150, 000 spectators are expected to converge on the city and another race making use of the track and associated spectator facilities can only be of benefit to Newcastle.
Ideally, councillors would like the event to kick off from this year, but if not, there's still time.
"We've got a five year contract with supercars and the Newcastle 500 is going to be with us for the next five years at least, so I think it's certainly something that would be great to see in future years."
