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Formula E, the all-electric racing series, has launched its newest generation car ahead of the 2022-23 season, touting it to be “the world’s most efficient racing car”.
The Gen3 car was officially unveiled ahead of the season-opening Monaco E-Prix scheduled for this weekend. It features massive upgrades over its predecessors in both performance and efficiency and sports a new compact and triangular design. In a statement released after the unveiling, Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle said:
“The Gen3 is a creature designed for its habitat: racing on city streets in wheel-to-wheel combat. It disrupts and challenges the conventions of motorsport, setting the benchmark for performance, efficiency, and sustainability without compromise. Together with the FIA, we are proud to reveal the Gen3 to Formula E fans and demonstrate to the wider sports industry how elite sport, high performance, and sustainability can successfully co-exist. We cannot wait to see how our teams and drivers push the car to its limit in 2023.”
The new car features two different powertrains, with one on each axle. The setup is expected to produce upwards of 600 kW of peak power – which is more than double that of the previous generation car.
The increased power will see the new cars achieving top speeds of over 320 kmph (200 mph) for the first time in the series' history. Additionally, the new cars feature ultra-high-speed recharging capabilities of up to 600kW – more than double the speed of commercially available recharging technology around the world.
Meanwhile, the new power units are touted to be the most efficient in the world. Gen3 cars will be able to recapture up to 40 percent of their total energy usage throughout regenerative braking and redeploy it.
To achieve this astonishing figure, the new cars rely entirely on regenerative braking on the front axle, and hence do not feature traditional hydraulic brakes.
Formula E makes big gains in sustainability
Apart from massive upgrades to performance and efficiency, the Gen3 car has also achieved massive gains in terms of sustainability. The new car features sustainably sourced build materials and has been developed to meet the 3-star FIA Environmental Accreditation.
Praising Formula E’s achievements in sustainability in a statement released following the Gen3 launch, FIA president Mohammad Ben Sulayem said:
“Both technologically and environmentally, Gen3 sets new standards in the sport. The FIA and Formula E development teams have done a superb job, and I thank them for their hard work on this project. I am delighted to see so many leading manufacturers already signed up to the championship’s next era and await Gen3’s competitive debut in Season 9 with great anticipation.”
Gen3 features bodywork constructed using linen and recycled carbon fiber, while new batteries are supposed to be the most advanced and sustainable ever made.
Furthermore, the new Bridgestone tires will reportedly consist of 26 percent natural rubber and are expected to be fully recycled after use.
