Formula E and FIA introduce ‘Gen3’ car to push racing boundaries

VALENCIA: Formula E and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile have shared a first look at the third-generation all-electric racing car that will race in Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The car was presented under top-security conditions to an exclusive group of Formula E manufacturers, teams, drivers and partners in Valencia, Spain, where pre-season testing is underway for Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which begins in January.

“The new Gen3 Formula E single-seater is a car created at the intersection of high performance, efficiency and sustainability,” said Jean Todt, FIA president. “The work accomplished by the FIA’s teams together with Formula E, since the launch of the discipline eight seasons ago, tirelessly seek to drive innovation and further the development of sustainable mobility. I have no doubt that this new single-seater will elevate Formula E to the next level.”

While Formula E manufacturers are set to take delivery of Gen3 cars in spring 2022 following further intensive development testing on and off the track, the briefing in Valencia disclosed a series of design, performance, and sustainability innovations in the Gen3 car, among them being the world’s most efficient racing car with at least 40 percent of the energy used within a race being produced by regenerative braking.

Lighter and smaller than the Gen2, the new car will also to enable faster, more agile wheel-to-wheel racing.

“In designing the Gen3 car, we set out to demonstrate that high performance, efficiency and sustainability can co-exist without compromise,” said Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle, adding: “Together with the FIA, we have built the world’s most efficient and sustainable high performance race car.

“The Gen3 is our fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient racing car yet.”

Reigle said: “It is a creature designed for its habitat: Racing on city streets in wheel-to-wheel combat. We look forward to witnessing it inspire and excite the next generation of motorsport fans in cities around the world from Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

The Gen3 is the first formula car aligned to “Life Cycle Thinking” with a clear path towards second life and end of life for all tyres, broken parts and battery cells.

This innovation means that the car will be net-zero on carbon emissions, maintaining the championship’s status as the first sport to be certified as net-zero carbon since inception.

All carbon fibre broken parts will be recycled by an innovative process from the aviation and aerospace industry into new fibres reusable for other applications.

A pioneering process will deliver 26 percent sustainable materials into the composition of tyres.

The Gen3 is powered by highly efficient electric motors that can convert over 90 percent of the electrical energy into mechanical energy, a jump up from 40 percent in Gen2 cars.