Audi have revealed their first full electric Formula E racer, the e-tron FE04, at the company’s headquarters in Neuberg, Germany marking the manufacturer’s first forays into the Formula E electric motor racing championships.
The race car features Audi Sport’s new, very easy on the eye, metallic green, black and white livery. Daniel Abt is a new addition as an Audi factory driver; his car will be distinguishable from his partner Lucas di Grassi’s car by the addition of red to the attractive colour scheme.
As always, expect the cutting edge tech on the e-tron FE04 to filter down to Audi production cars like the e-tron SUV in 2018. Indeed, Audi has ambitious plans to have a roster of more than 20 electric vehicles in their range by 2025 – the future for Audi, it seems, is (metallic) green.
The e-tron FE04 is a single-seater, with a high efficiency single geared transmission coupling with the electric motor. Ditching 3-speed for single speed, Audi hope that they will improve drivetrain efficiency.
Audi is clearly proud that they are the first German automobile manufacturer to enter Formula E and will use the platform to experiment and push technology in the hopes of being able to create and build better electric production cars in the future. The technology is already aligned with the forthcoming SUV, and shortly after this, we can expect the similarly based e-tron Sportback. Rumours are also out there that Audi will be announcing an all-electric supercar in the near future too.
While all Formula E vehicles have to share the same chassis platform, Audi are able to concentrate on the motor, suspension and transmission to optimise performance. Partnered with Schaeffler, they have developed a completely new powertrain for the e-tron FE04. The electric racing car will push out 266bhp with an acceleration of 3.5 seconds from 0-62mph.
For the second year in a row the 2017/18 season 4 of Formula E commences in Hong Kong on December 2 and continues in Hong Kong the following day as well.
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