Hot on the heels of Extreme E’s globe-trotting adventures offroad, another new racing series for electric vehicles will begin this weekend, this time for touring cars.

Pure ETCR promises short, sharp high-powered circuit racing in a format that carries echoes of rallycross, featuring factory-backed tin-tops from Cupra and Hyundai, plus an Alfa Romeo privateer effort, that can boast 670bhp from two motors on the rear axle.

be spectacular in a series that has already attracted some high-calibre drivers, including British Touring Car Championship race-winner Tom Chilton, who will drive for Hyundai, and experienced endurance racer Oliver Webb – a late addition to a four-car line up from Italian touring car specialist Romeo Ferraris, which has developed the electric Alfa Romeo Giulia that will challenge the Leon and Veloster N.

An eye on the future

Mancunian Webb, 30, is a prolific racer who enjoyed a solid junior single-seater climb before switching to a career in sports cars. For the past five years, he has raced primarily for ByKolles in LMP1 machinery while maintaining a varied career away from the World Endurance Championship.

The German team has a new Le Mans Hypercar on the blocks, but with little sign of it being entered in the WEC or the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, Webb has sought alternatives – including Pure ETCR, which will embark on a five-round season in Vallelunga, Italy.

“It’s of interest to me, given the future of racing and to make sure I’m on the right wave at the right time,” says Webb. “I was close to getting a drive in Formula E in year one [2014], which has shown that if you’re there early, you can get a good career out of it.

9 Oliver webb