Formula E have unveiled their fastest ever car, the Gen3 Evo, which will be introduced into the all-electric series next season.
The championship will run with a revised specification of its current Gen3 car for its third season of competition, starting in 2025.Called the Gen3 Evo, following the same naming convention used for updated models of many GT3 cars, Formula E claims the newest car will be significantly quicker than the one currently raced.
Formula E target an overall performance improvement of around two-percent with the revised car, which they described as the equivalent of two-tenths per lap at a circuit such as Monaco. The Gen3 Evo should also have the quickest acceleration of any Formula E car, with a 0-60mph time of 1.82 seconds, and a maximum top speed of 200mph (321kph).
The car will also be the first four-wheel-drive car in the series’ history, however this will only be active for qualifying duels, race starts and during Attack Mode activations. The overall energy efficiency of the electric motor will sit at around 90%.
Formula E have promised that car bodywork will be “stronger and more robust” than current cars, while new tyres from supplier Hankook should offer between 5-10% more grip than current tyres.
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds said the unveiling of the Gen3 Evo marked a “ground-breaking chapter in the evolution of Formula E”.
“Featuring unprecedented acceleration and an advanced aerodynamic design, the car that I had the honour of unveiling in Monaco is set to intensify the thrill of our racing, captivating our drivers and fans around the world with truly superior capabilities and performance,” Dodds said.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem also praised the design of the revised model.
“The FIA and Formula E have been working hard on the development process of this new Gen3 Evo race car, which represents another significant leap forward in electric racing technology,” Ben Sulayem said.
“I would like to thank both FIA and Formula E teams for the hard work which underlines our shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of sustainable motorsport, while delivering competitive racing.”
The next round of the 2024 Formula E season will take place this weekend in Monaco on Saturday.
Formula E Gen3 Evo first images
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thegamer23
25th April 2024, 19:23
This is a massive step forward considering it’s not a generation change but an update over the current car.
Fascinating to see the AWD in action, should also make Attack Mode relevant & strategic again.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
25th April 2024, 19:24
60-200 much slower than F1
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
25th April 2024, 19:35
Just for reference. This was the fastest qualifying time at Monaco was 1:28:773 last year, so even with the extra 2 tenths gained they’re still over 17 seconds slower than F1. Also, 7,5 seconds slower than Formula 2. Also over 4 seconds slower than F3.
So yeah, let’s stop making comparisons to F1 so much, Formula E.
thegamer23
25th April 2024, 23:06
They’re using road tyres and no downforce vs Ultra downforce + slicks cars, so yeah, your comparisons are useless too.
FE is reaching interesting levels of tech and performance, and becoming the fastest accelerating race car of the planet is quite an achievement i think!
DaveD (@daved)
26th April 2024, 1:04
You’re comparing to the previous cars. Let’s see what the updated times are. Also, by the time we get to Gen 4, it’s going to be very interesting. Finally, they are using tires that would lose 7+ seconds a lap, even on an F1 car.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
26th April 2024, 1:57
I don’t think they’re slow because of their tires either, I think they use said tires because they aren’t faster without them. But yes, they would slow down the other three formula’s cars so they might go past F3, but F3 alone.
Again, all of this is fine. But just stop comparing yourself to F1 all the time when you just aren’t feasibly close to them. Maybe in another ten years?
Alesici
26th April 2024, 8:47
It’s hard to say which would be faster from 60-200. It’s not clear cut. F1 has about double the power, but Formula E has far less drag, just because F1 cars have ridiculously powerful downforce, which is not a free lunch. With a drag coefficient of about 1.0, compared to your typical road car’s 0.32, if they had the same frontal area, an F1 car would produce about 30x more drag at the end of a typical circuit’s straights compared to your typical road car at 70mph on a motorway. To put it into perspective, an F1 car literally has the drag coefficient of a brick or a barn door… This is probably why they’re pushing for active aero for 2026, before anyone realises this horrific inefficiency secret.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
25th April 2024, 19:37
I have tried Formula E twice and both times it was underwhelming to say the least.
I don’t think the problem is speed.
It just lacks soul somehow.
It was like watching a Scalextric demonstration, with everyone being careful not to come off at the corners.
This looks like it could be a major step forwards, so I may well try again.
Fingers crossed for third time lucky :/
János
26th April 2024, 14:54
I’ve had the same experience and I’m quite sure it’s the tracks…
The recent street track additions to F1 give me the same feeling: I have no idea where on the track the cars are and everything I see is fences and MORE fences. If they manage to attract some 1st class drivers + start driving on exciting tracks, I think they have a chance of becoming more mainstream. Until then: nah…
Dick Dawson
25th April 2024, 19:44
How much does it weigh?
Alesici
26th April 2024, 18:45
The current Gen 3 car (which the Evo will be very similar to) is 840kg including driver, fractionally above this year’s F1 cars which are 798kg including driver.
Dale
27th April 2024, 9:03
Is your Google broken?
Yaru (@yaru)
25th April 2024, 21:43
Didn’t they also promote thay the OG Gen 3 cars could regular go 200mph? And the final version didn’t come anywhere close to that
w0o0dy
26th April 2024, 7:03
That the car is capable of the speed doesn’t mean the track is suited for that speed too. But better acceleration will help with higher speeds too.
Tristan
26th April 2024, 7:00
I wonder why 4WD is limited? Seems strange to setup the drivetrain for it to be only used in limited circumstances.
I think full time 4WD would improve the racing by allowing better cornering speeds. The acceleration is cool on paper, but I find FE painful to watch how slow they corner then zip out of it.
S
26th April 2024, 8:41
Since when did higher cornering speeds improve the quality of the racing? Hasn’t F1 provided enough evidence?
FE’s races are relatively chaotic and action packed because they need to slow down more for corners and are grip-limited on acceleration.
All wheel drive will be limited for the same reason it is excluded from F1 and just about every other circuit-racing series. It makes the cars even more predictable, easier to drive and leaves less opportunity for actually racing each other.
The only reason it exists at all is for A) power generation from the front axle, and; B) to provide some sparkly acceleration numbers and lap times when activated, for those who find those things more interesting than actual competitive racing.
Alesici
26th April 2024, 8:52
One sad aspect I understand from Autosport is that when 4WD is engaged, the total power is still limited to the same 350kW (470bhp) limit from the last 2 years. I had hoped they would make full use of the existing rear 350kW and front 250kW motor generators to make a 800bhp no-downforce monster. That would be pretty dangerous tho, so fair enough.
The switch from Hancook to Bridgestone may well provide a bigger lap time improvement 1 year after this Gen 3 evo is introduced. The Hancooks struggle with combined lateral and longitudinal acceleration.
Alesici
26th April 2024, 8:53
The 4WD split will be 300kW rear and 50kW front, so not a big difference to how they work now to be honest. I’m OK with it being heavily rear-biased tho, as it’s more lairy.
S
26th April 2024, 10:40
Good luck pulling that much energy out of the batteries without setting the whole thing on fire.
StephenH
26th April 2024, 9:37
Meh. Or should I say, bwoah …
MichaelN
26th April 2024, 9:42
The acceleration of electric vehicles is something else.
Unfortunately for FE, it takes particular kinds of tracks to really showcase that.
CarWars (@maxv)
26th April 2024, 21:56
Lets put them on the grid at Spa and race together.