Formula E officially unveiled its new race car for season five (2018-2019) at the Geneva Motor Show. The Gen2 race car has a maximum power of 250 kW (335 hp) but during races it will run at 200 kW (270 hp). The additional 50 kW allows the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, with a potential top speed of 280 km/h. With a more powerful battery pack manufactured by McLaren, each car will run for the whole race, meaning the mid-race car swap will be a thing of the past.
At 5160 mm long, 1770 mm wide and 1050 mm tall, the Gen2 features a unique, futuristic design with the mandatory Halo protection device. On the Halo there is a strip of LED lights for indicating car information. Since the race car was created by the FIA and manufactured by Spark, the focus on appearance is more on the livery. So far Nissan, DS automobiles and Audi have revealed their designs for next season.
Nissan
Nissan was the first team to launch their Gen2 race car. Being their first year and the first Japanese team in Formula E, the automaker is keen on using the platform to build the brand image for the production EVs. We need to wait until the end of the year to see how Nissan performs, but the black, grey and white colour scheme with just a tiny bit of their signature red suggests Nissan is taking the Formula E game differently. The design is inspired by the sonic pulse of the Doppler effect because the Formula E cars are silent with explosive speed bursts. Nissan is partnering with Renault for developing the package.
DS Automobiles
When presented with the futuristic, low body race car in matte black with gold accents, it is difficult not to relate it with the Batmobile. DS Automobiles (a premium brand under the same group as Citroen) has been in Formula E for three years and the DS E-Tense FE 19 should be supported with well calculated powertrain and electronics.
Audi
The E-Tron FE05 for next season will be dressed in a more vibrant shade of green and matched with white and black. The automaker claims that the Gen2 car will be fitted with “a motor with clearly higher power output than its predecessor.” Audi started getting more involved technically and financially in two seasons ago and later branded the team with a new name Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler.
