zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Formula E's New Race Car Actually Looks Pretty Awesome—And It Has A Halo
Formula E's New Race Car Actually Looks Pretty Awesome—And It Has A Halo-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:17

The all-electric bills itself as the future of motorsports. And despite the current lack of huge-name talent, noise and drama we expect from most forms of racing, automakers like Jaguar, Nissan, Audi and Porsche are all-in. Starting later this year, meet the car they’ll all race with.

Formula E—formally the ABB FIA Formula E Championship—unveiled the latest Gen2 car today, and it’s what the series’ 10 teams will race in the 2018- 2019 season. It looks good! It had been likened by series officials to the , and they more or less delivered on that idea. It looks similar to the current IndyCar and Formula One racers, with a bit more of a prototype vibe thrown in for good measure.

Series CEO Alejandro Agag was quoted in ESPN as saying it’s more than just better looking too: “The cars will be faster and will have almost double the amount of energy storage capacity and double the range, demonstrating the continuous evolution of battery technology,” he said. That should, in theory, make for better racing.

The car’s being billed as “the future of racing,” and that’s accurate on at least one front: this race car has the halo over the cockpit, a controversial safety measure in other open-wheel series designed to protect drivers from head injuries. That’s being mandated. On the FE car, the halo includes a ring of embedded lights, and we’ll see how that gets used. I’m eager to see how drivers react to its presence.

Formula One has been testing out different ideas for shielding drivers’ exposed heads for a few…

More than that, I’m hopeful these new cars push Formula E’s speeds and excitement to the next level. While a ton of automakers are getting involved—it’s much cheaper to run than a F1 or Le Mans team, and being “green,” it’s good PR—but the racing itself isn’t quite where it needs to be yet. The Jalopnik staff attended the New York race last year, and it felt more like a marketing conference with some very aggressive electric karting attached to it than a racing series that fans will obsessively tune into. But it’s young yet, and it has plenty of opportunities to get better. This may be a step in that direction.

In the meantime, we’ll see the new FE cars at the Geneva Motor Show next month, and on track later this year.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Oct 22, 2024
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Oct 22, 2024
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Oct 22, 2024
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Oct 22, 2024
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Oct 22, 2024
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Oct 22, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved