At the Yacht Club de Monaco last week, ahead of racing on the storied street track of the Monaco E-Prix, Formula E and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) unveiled the third-generation Formula E race car. Dubbed the future of all-electric high-performance motorsport, the third-generation Gen3 car is designed and optimized for street racing and will debut in Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

“Monaco is the spiritual home of motorsport and there is nowhere more fitting to unveil our Gen3 race car,” said Jamie Reigle, Chief Executive Officer, Formula E. “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 in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

The Formula E series brings racing to some of the world’s great cities—like Monaco—and provides a motorsport platform for forward-thinking automakers and their ecosystem partners to accelerate EV innovation. Billed as the world’s only all-electric FIA World Championship and the only sport certified net-zero carbon since its inception, the series says its network of teams, manufacturers, partners, broadcasters, and host cities are united by a passion for the sport and a belief in its potential to accelerate sustainable human progress and create a better future for people and planet.

“The Gen3 represents the ambitious third age of Formula E and the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,” said Alejandro Agag, Founder and Chairman, of Formula E. “The eyes of the world are on the Principality for the Monaco E-Prix, and we are proud to reveal a car that has been two years in the making in the historic home of motorsport.”

Most of the series’ current teams will continue to race the new Gen3 in Season 9, with pre-season testing this winter. Committing so far are the racing arms of DS Automobiles, Jaguar, Mahindra, Nio, Nissan, and Porsche.

Of the new entrants, Maserati is debuting for Season 9 with ROKiT Venturi Racing. ABT Sportsline has confirmed it will return in 2023, after being a fixture throughout the championship’s first seven seasons but taking a hiatus in Season 8. ABT is among the most successful teams in Formula E history with 47 podiums and 1380 points. The team won the first Formula E race in Beijing in 2014, took the team crown a season later, and partnered with Audi between 2017 and 2021.

“Both technologically and environmentally, Gen3 sets new standards in the sport,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President. “I am delighted to see so many leading manufacturers already signed up to the championship’s next era.”

 

Third-generation tech

Developed by engineers and sustainability experts, the Gen3 car is designed to show that high performance and sustainability can co-exist and pioneer cutting-edge technologies that will transfer from race to road. Its launch brings a greater focus on software engineering, with performance upgrades delivered as Tesla-style updates to the car’s operating system. The car features a “disruptive design” inspired by the aerodynamic form of a fighter jet.

The Gen3 race car ratchets up performance, with a top speed of over 322 km/h (200 mph). It is said to be the first formula car with both front and rear powertrains. The new front powertrain adds 250 kW to the rear’s 350 kW, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the current Gen2 car to a total of 600 kW. The Gen2 car has a maximum power of 250 kW, maximum power regeneration of 250 kW, and a top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph).

In addition, the Gen3 is said to be the most efficient formula racing car ever, with more than 40% of the energy used within a race produced by regenerative braking. The new racer has around 95% power efficiency from an electric motor delivering up to 350 kW, compared to about 40% for an internal combustion engine. It is the first formula car that will not feature rear hydraulic brakes with the addition of the front powertrain and its regenerative capability.

An ultra-high-speed charging capability of 600 kW is almost double the power of the most advanced commercial EV chargers in the world. Gen3 batteries are said to be among the most advanced, sustainable batteries, consisting of “sustainably sourced minerals,” with plans for the battery cells to be reused and recycled at end of life.

Sustainability is a big focus of the new generation racer in several other areas.

Linen and recycled carbon fiber will be used in bodywork construction for a claimed first time in a formula car, featuring recycled carbon fiber from retired Gen2 cars and reducing the amount of virgin carbon fiber used. This will reduce the carbon footprint of Gen3 bodywork production by more than 10%. All waste carbon fiber will be reused for new applications via the adoption of an aviation industry process. Natural rubber and recycled fibers will make up 26% of new Gen3 tires, and all tires will be fully recycled after racing.

Gen3’s carbon footprint is being measured from the design phase to reduce environmental impact, with all unavoidable emissions will be offset as part of Formula E’s net-zero carbon commitment. All Gen3 suppliers must operate in line with top international standards to reduce the environmental impacts of manufacturing as measured by ISO 14001 and FIA Environmental Accreditation 3-Star ratings.

Of the suppliers, one notable change is that Formula E title partner ABB will become the Official Charging Supplier for Season 9. Another is Hankook, which will be the future tire supplier and technology partner for the series when Gen3 is introduced.

“It is impressive how the FIA and the ABB FIA Formula E Championships are addressing climate change and air pollution in our urban environments by promoting the adoption of electric vehicles through this all-electric race series and bringing it to the attention of a broad global audience,” said Sooil Lee, President and COO of Hankook Tire & Technology.

Hankook will be creating special tires for Formula E with “innovative technology and connectivity benefits” to be used for both wet and dry conditions for multiple events. The tires are being engineered for very low rolling resistance for EV efficiency and with long-lasting performance from bio-sourced material and sustainable rubber.

 

Nio execs talk Gen3

Just today, Nio 333 Racing provided a glimpse of what its ER9 (Electric, Racing, Season 9) Gen3 car will look like when it runs during private and official testing this year.

“The latest generation cars mark a huge step up in performance, maintaining Formula E as the championship at the pinnacle of electric racing,” said Duncan Laycock, Chief Technical Officer, Nio 333 Racing. “An aggressive weight reduction of 60 kg over the previous Gen2 machinery, and an increase in power from 250 to 350 kW, move the cars to another level.

While the technical regulations maintain similarities to the previous ruleset, there are areas of significant evolution, according to Laycock. The addition of regenerative braking from the front axle results in enough capacity that the rear hydraulic brakes have been removed; the brake-by-wire system instead operates the front. This presents new opportunities, especially regarding the controls systems, an area in which BIE UK—Brilliant in Excellence, owners of Nio 333 Racing—have bolstered over the last 12 months.

“After taking over the team in Season 6, developing a new powertrain and new software, we have made some performance improvements and are striving to continue to grow across all areas of 333 Racing,” said Alex Hui, Team Principal, Nio 333 Racing.

The team has set its sights firmly on Season 9, so right after the Gen3 announcement it started to put into place “a significant number of resources to welcome Gen3 and attract new team members,” added Hui. “However, bolstering the team is just the start and although we are operating on limited resources compared to others, we have shown that we are fighting to catch up and will continue to do so.”

The launch of the Gen3 car marks the dawn of a new era for the Nio 333 Formula E Team.

“It presents us with an opportunity to apply what we have learned over the last few years to new foundations,” said Russell O’Hagan, Chief Operations Officer and Deputy Team Principal, Nio 333 Racing. “We have a lot of hard work ahead over the next nine months, but I have confidence in our team and partners that we can set our targets high and go on to achieve them.”

Moving on from the COVID-19 pandemic, Nio is embracing the major milestone for motorsport and the car industry that the Gen3 car represents.

“We have done a lot of work ahead of the arrival of Gen3 despite logistical difficulties faced by the team over the last two years,” said Vincent Wang, Chief Executive Officer, Nio 333 Racing. “We did not slow down and now, I’m glad to say, we’re ready for Gen3.”

The Nio 333 Racing team is preparing its ER9 cars at its Silverstone UK headquarters.