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Formula E’s season five car puts the series at a pivotal point. Gone is the first point of ridicule: the cars are now good for full races on one battery.
That was an important step from a marketing perspective and also for manufacturers, because the implication that you can only run an electric car for 20 minutes has now been removed. Battery capacity has all but doubled, and peaks at 900 volts. Power is boosted by 40kW, but in speed terms you can expect the cars to still be inhibited by the tracks.
The series has always pointed to its relatively futuristic looking cars, but that’s taken a step further with the new car: it looks straight out of a sci-fi film. That’s the point: this is the future, now.
Wheels are enclosed, with a big rising diffuser and simple rear plane behind. It’s not a wing, as such. The mandatory halo houses an LED strip.
What happens next is up for discussion, with pitstops supposedly remaining.
Official testing begins in March at Monteblanco, with another scheduled for April, meaning the teams will be developing two cars concurrently. The dynamic could well shift this year as development focuses on the future rather than the present.
But that’s something Formula E has done from the off.
For full insight into the new Formula E
car, visit
motorsportmagazine.com/formula-e