Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) today unveiled its all-new NWM Evo Plus, to compete in the premier FIA Ultimate class of rally-raid around the world. Using its close to 30 years of competition and design experience in the rally-raid world, coupled with cutting-edge technology and a fresh new look, NWM is pleased to bring its new vehicle to the market, for sale and rental worldwide.
Technological focus
In rally-raid, longevity of performance is key and NWM has therefore invested heavily into ensuring no stone has been left unturned in extracting the maximum performance from the all-new design, whilst making sure that functionality, reliability and affordability remain top considerations on the vehicle.
“Two major points we identified for improvement on our current NWM vehicle was firstly our suspension geometry from a performance point of view, and secondly our differentials from a reliability point of view”, said Neil Woolridge, NWM Director who has more than three decades of rally-raid experience and is a multiple champion on two and four wheels.
“In this, we took a step back to analyse exactly where we want to improve, what type of car we want to offer to the market, and how we can ensure our car keeps winning races and championships around the world. Well, as one can imagine with ingenuity and passion in our veins, we got carried away in our design phase, which has consequently led us down the road to our all-new NWM Evo Plus,” Neil said.
“While the NWM Evo Plus carries over a lot of the race-proven technology and components from its predecessor, it does boast a completely new chassis. From the outside, other than the widened and redesigned side sills, the everyday fan won’t notice much of a difference at first glance. Under that carbon skin, though, is all change, and we’ve gone all-in. This was necessary for us to carry out all the changes we had in mind and what our simulations confirmed,” he explained
“Our chassis has been narrowed and our wheel track widened, as we took the jump and pushed our wheel track out to the full regulation permitting 2.3 metres. This allowed us to widen our control arms by 100mm on either side, which, along with the redesigned control arms and the new upper mounting point for the BOS damper, means we have seen a game-changing level of performance in our car,” Neil concluded.
In relation to the new suspension points, NWM has redesigned the damper in conjunction with the company’s suspension partners, BOS Suspension. The improved performance seen during testing has been very encouraging.
“We have done just over 2 000km of testing and development thus far and acknowledge we may not have the ultimate set up for every terrain, but we have a vehicle that will take anything you throw at it,” said Gareth Woolridge, NWM’s Technical Head and 2023 champion in the extremely competitive South African Rally-Raid Championship, as well as a top-seven stage finisher at the 2024 Dakar Rally, both in NWM-designed and built vehicles.
“In fact, we got to the point where we can extract the ultimate lap times from the vehicle without the anti-roll system fitted to the vehicle. This is not only positive from a weight-saving point of view, but it allows further simplicity to the vehicle whilst allowing the wheels to always stay on the ground, and you can feel that all the time when driving,” he said. “The car performs extremely well in tight and twisty Baja-type terrain, and it’s just as fast in open rally-raid terrain, which is quite extraordinary”. The anti-roll system can be fitted on the NWM Evo Plus, should a driver prefer this option, which provides more stability in the car.
New angled control arm mounting points were introduced at the front and the rear of the car, on both the upper and lower control arms. This further contributes to the improved handling and comfort of the vehicle through its full range of suspension movement, taking into account anti-dive and anti-squat attributes during both braking and acceleration.
Of course, with the narrowed chassis to allow for the optimal suspension geometry, space starts to become an issue regarding the packaging of the rest of the vehicle’s components. Additionally, NWM saw a need for improved reliability after seeing sporadic point of failure concerns on its tried and tested NWM Worx differentials.
After careful and thorough consideration, NWM turned to its drivetrain suppler, SADEV, looking to make use of the company’s revolutionary SP08 differentials, newly released to the market. With an aluminium cast housing, integrated and pressurised internal oil lubrication, an external locking system for the limited-slip differential and a completely adjustable preload system, what more could one want? The differential is narrower than the NWM Worx version, allowing for simpler packaging within the chassis, and the differential is very maintenance-friendly.
The main attraction for these new SADEV differentials, though, is the innovative epicyclic gear technology, which redefines the whole way the differential works and how it manages the loads placed on the gears. This is especially important when the power is delivered under hard acceleration, and when the reverse forces and torque are fed back into the differentials from the big 37-inch wheels. The SP08 diffs have a unique way of spreading the load, which reduces and softens the shock to the entire drivetrain. This significantly improves reliability, even in the harshest racing conditions.
The tried and tested 3.5L V6 EcoBoost twin-turbocharged petrol engine is carried over into the NWM Evo Plus. Coupled with the proven SADEV SC924 Evo gearbox, this pairing has been moved back a further 150mm within the newly designed chassis. This allows for an even better centre of gravity and a near-perfect weight distribution within the car.
There is, however, the option for the vehicle to be supplied with a 5.0L V8 Coyote naturally-aspirated engine. This is best suited to customers who would prefer the ease of maintenance of the simpler powertrain system, as well as those looking to run the vehicle in domestic championships.
Fresh new look
In conjunction with the extensive work that has gone on under the bodywork, NWM designed a new cockpit dashboard. “We concentrated on everything the crew needs in the car. Ease of access to all important control functions for both the driver and navigator are key points to bear in mind,” said NWM’s Operations Manager, Lance Woolridge, who is a two-time Class T champion in the South African rally-raid series.
“We lowered the dashboard by around 50mm to improve the field of view for both the crew members in the car. Additionally, with the engine moving back, we had to keep some foot space for the driver and co-driver, but I think we got that right. We integrated a new air vent design system, making sure the crew is kept cool. Rotary switches for various speed limit controls, onboard speed limit adjustments, anti-lag level adjustment and fuel map alternate options are all things that, as rally-raid vehicle manufacturers we need to factor in,” he said. “We had these in the car already, but their location and function have been refined and integrated better into the dashboard, along with recessing the screens and keypads for more space,” Lance said.
For the driver, the pedal box is adjustable back and forth. The steering column is adjustable up and down, and the driver’s Motec display screen, coupled with an integrated ERTF cap heading display, can all be moved up and down – all facilitating complete driver customization and comfort in the car.
Tried and tested components
The tried and tested components that have proven themselves through the years remain key features of the car. The NWM Evo Plus makes use of six-piston Brembo air-cooled callipers all-round, paired with 355mm vented brake discs and Endless brake pads.
The near-bulletproof SADEV steering rack that NWM has relied on for many years now uses longer steering tie rods to meet the new track design dimensions, and allows for the same precise control that NWM vehicles have become renowned for.
The full range of Motec products is used on the NWM Evo Plus. A Motec M1 ECU controls the brains of the car, supported by PDM30 control modules. The FIA-mandated Accident Data Recorder Module (ADR2) sits in the centre of the car. Information is fed to the crews on the dashboard through a C187 display screen in the centre of the dashboard, paired with a D153 and shift light module for the driver.
A 495L Aerotec Laboratories (ATL) fuel bladder is used, and snugly hugs the BOS hydraulic jacking rams, which are there for any time the vehicle has a puncture or gets stuck in the sand.
“Ultimately, we feel we have upped the overall level of performance and quality of our product in a big way with the design and build of our NWM Evo Plus,” Neil said.
“We can proudly offer a top-level vehicle that will be competitive anywhere in the world. It is made with the best-quality products in the world, at a far more affordable price than our competitors. These days, with motorsport getting more and more expensive, we really set out to make sure that our car has the highest level of build quality, reliability and performance for the driver that wants to win races, or just go out and have fun. Yet it is still available at a price that our competitors producing rally-raid cars in other countries simply cannot match, and that’s a big feather in our cap,” Neil concluded.
NWM Evo Plus set to debut at W2RC South African Safari Rally
Two NWM Evo Plus vehicles will debut at the third round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), the South African Safari Rally, which will take place in NWM’s home country and backyard from 18-24 May 2025.
The first vehicle will be driven by Brazilian Marcos Baumgart, who makes a return to the NWM paddock after spending some years driving a mix of the Toyota and Prodrive Hunter T1+ vehicles. The second vehicle will be driven by 2023 South African Rally-Raid Champion Gareth Woolridge. Team partners and vehicle livery for this event will be launched in the week leading up to the event, which will be based at the Sun City Resort in the North-West Province.
