The shift in electric racing was visible in one number on a spec sheet: 600 kW. Formula E showed off its third-generation car, the Gen3, in Monaco in April 2022, and the headline figures read like a different category of machine from the Gen2 it replaced.
Start with speed. The Gen3 tops 200 mph, over 322 kph, where Gen2 managed 280 kmh. The motor puts out 350 kW (470 bhp), up from 250 kW (335 bhp). Electrek put the gains at 40% in power and 15% in top speed. The car is lighter too, with a minimum weight of 840 kg including the driver against 900 kg before, and it is shorter and narrower, which should help drivers fit side by side through tight street corners.
Where the 600 kW comes from
That famous figure is not engine output. The Gen3 is the first formula car with a powertrain on each axle. The new front unit adds 250 kW to the 350 kW at the back, and together they can regenerate energy at 600 kW, more than double Gen2’s 250 kW. Formula E expects braking to supply over 40% of the energy a car burns over a race, against roughly 25% in the old one.
The same capacity lets the car do without something every other formula racer carries. There are no rear hydraulic brakes. The rear axle slows down using the motor alone. The cars can also take charge at 600 kW, nearly twice what the best commercial chargers on the market deliver, which could allow a mid-race top-up.
Efficiency is the pitch. Around 95% of the electricity a Formula E motor draws becomes motion, compared with about 40% for a combustion engine, according to the series. Roger Griffiths, team principal at Avalanche Andretti, told Engadget that the lighter weight, electric powertrain and regeneration add up to a car “Two to four seconds faster around the race track is huge.” Hankook’s new tyres are 26% sustainable material, natural rubber and recycled fibres among it.
From the circuit to the road
Formula E and the FIA framed the car as a rolling lab. Their statement said the Gen3 pioneers technologies “that will make the transfer from race to road.” Seven manufacturers signed up for Season 9: DS Automobiles, Jaguar, Mahindra Racing, Maserati, NIO 333, Nissan and Porsche. Performance upgrades will arrive as software updates to the car’s operating system, so development moves away from aerodynamics and toward code.
Venturi driver Edoardo Mortara welcomed a car that would be “lighter, more powerful and more grip,” while noting that the extra front motor could demand a new driving style.
Sustainability is built into the bodywork as well. Linen and recycled carbon fibre appear in a formula car for the first time, and recycled material from retired Gen2 cars goes into new parts. The result is a footprint for making the bodywork that is more than 10% smaller.
Sources
- Formula E reveals faster, lighter, and much more angular Gen3 car ahead of Monaco ePrix (Electrek)
- Formula E and FIA reveal all-electric Gen3 race car in Monaco (Electric Motor News)
- Formula E Gen3: The world's most efficient race car (Engadget)
