Piston.my

single-seater

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), a specialist carmaker, has delivered its 150th vehicle, a Mono R model which was commissioned by Hong Kong-based financier Julien Begasse de Dhaem. It is the 29th elite Mono R model that the British company has hand-built at its factory in Liverpool, England.

BAC exports 80% of the cars it produces to over 45 different countries across 5 different continents. With the recent expansion of the company’s retail network to incorporate Germany, Singapore and Malaysia, BAC has rapidly scaled its global footprint and presence worldwide.

“We remain proudly British while embracing our transition to a truly global enterprise and family. Mono #150 stands testament to our passionate global customers, loyal workforce, world-leading suppliers and dedicated global retail network,” said BAC Co-Founder and Director of Product Development Neill Briggs.

(more…)

It was not surprising that Nissan was the first Japanese carmaker to enter Formula E, the all-electric single-seater championship series. After all, the carmaker could be considered the pioneer in starting mass production of electric vehicles (EVs) with its LEAF. However, when it first participated in 2018, the fifth season of the series, it did so with the e.dams team.

Following its entry that year, the team was a regular each season and in March 2021, Nissan confirmed further commitment to Formula E until the end of Season 12 (2025/26). Earlier this year, Nissan decided it was ready to take on a direct involvement in the team and acquired it in April. It finished off the season with the Gen2 racing car as the all-new Gen3 version was being developed for 2023.

(more…)

The Atlas mountains of Morocco have always provided a stunning backdrop for Formula E’s event in the North African country, with the first Marrakesh E-Prix held in 2016. The track follows the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan – named after the Crown Prince of Morocco – before spilling out onto the streets of Marrakesh’s hotel district.

2022 Formula E Morocco

Going into this year’s Marrakesh E-Prix, Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne was in the lead for the Drivers’ World Championship with a 5-point advantage over nearest challenger and double champion Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH). Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) was just 2 points back in third place while Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), who won last time out in Jakarta, sat fourth. With a maximum of 29 points on offer in Marrakesh, any one of those 4 drivers could lead the championship after the race.

And it was Mortara who moved to the top of the championship with a win as the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver fended off severe pressure from DS TECHEETAH teammates Antonio Felix da Costa and Vergne throughout. Da Costa had started from pole position and, after falling behind Mortara during the early duo of ATTACK MODE activations, he clung to the back of the Swiss’ car as the race reached its climax. But the Season 6 champion couldn’t make it past the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver who looked utterly unflustered throughout the race, collecting his third win of the season, as well as the standings lead.

2022 Formula E Morocco

Vandoorne meanwhile found it hard to hold on to his lead as a braking issue in qualifying left him down in 20th on the grid. He recovered to finish eighth but with just 4 points on the day, his lead was lost to Mortara.

Vergne had found himself in second heading into the closing stages with 2% of usable energy available before he slipped back behind da Costa to an eventual fourth position. Fellow title challenger Evans fought from sixth on the grid to the podium with a final lap lunge on Vergne for silverware and a handful of extra, crucial World Championship points for himself and Jaguar TCS Racing.

2022 Formula E Morocco

The 2.971-km circuit with 12 turns, three straights and a series of bends is known to be an energy-zapping circuit. In the searing 33-degree heat, drivers and engineers elected to jump early for their two mandatory ATTACK MODE boosts. This was based on the school of thought that it would be more efficient and effective in the long run to draw that extra 30 kW through the batteries and powertrain.

In the mix was Lucas di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing), who battled to fifth and vital points for the Monegasque team, who now lead the Teams’ World Championship. Reigning World Champion Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) secured sixth and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) had to settle for seventh. Vandoorne did make up an impressive 12 spots to finish eighth in the end after his qualifying disappointment. Sam Bird wound up ninth for Jaguar TCS Racing, and Oliver Rowland – who ran as high as second spot early on – rounded out the points-paying positions in 10th.

2022 Formula E Morocco

The next round will be in New York City July 16/17 for Rounds 11/12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The much-anticipated double-header takes place on the streets of the Red Hook district of Brooklyn against the spectacular backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. This will be followed by a double-headers  at the London E-Prix at the end of July. The Season 8 championship then climaxes in Korea where the Seoul E-Prix will be held for the first time on August 13/14.

McLaren Racing to take over Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for 2023 entry

The championship lead in Season 8 of Formula E again changed after Round 6 as Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne claimed victory in Monte Carlo. Running a tactical drive around the famous street circuit, he beat polesitter Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and DS TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne.

Evans had been close to a win in Monaco last year, before DS TECHEETAH’s Antonio Felix da Costa snatched it from him seconds from the end. This year, he had been looking forward to finally scoring the win, but it was evident that he couldn’t quite capitalise on the searing pace that saw him fly to pole position. Anyway, 18 points and second spot after a Rome win-double sees the Jaguar driver’s hot-streak continue.

Having started fourth, Vandoorne managed to get to the front after then-leader Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) retired from the lead with technical issues on Lap 16. The disappointed Porsche team was uncertain why their car turned completely off and shut down on the downhill section out of Mirabeau.

With Wehrlein’s car recovered, the racing got back underway until shortly after, a collision with Mahindra Racing’s Oliver Rowland saw Andre Lotterer hit the wall into Sainte Devote (Turn 1), ending his race early. Having secured the lead, Vandoorne stayed in control to emerge in a strong position after a full course yellow and Safety Car. He made good on both restarts to take the chequered flag first with race pace and energy in-hand.

Porsche Taycan EV is used as Safety Car for the series this year.

Vergne had sparred for the race distance with those ahead and fending off the late attentions of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns who finished fourth, the Dutchman extending his consistent run of form. That made it a joint-high of three podiums for Vergne and he remains the only driver to score points in every race this season.

Antonio Felix da Costa made it two DS TECHEETAHs in the top five finishers, with Lucas di Grassi taking sixth for ROKiT Venturi Racing, Unfortunately, Edoardo Mortara retired late on having run much of the race alongside his teammate in the points.

The series will next be in Berlin for two rounds on May 14/15, at which time the championship will be at its halfway point. After Berlin will be a round in Indonesia, which will host a Formula E round for the first time at a purpose-built circuit in northern Jakarta.

Formula E Gen3 racing car unveiled, to be used from Season 9 in 2023

Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which will run in 2023, will see all-new racing cars being used in the fully electric single-seater series. Referred to as Gen3, signifying them as third generation designs, the cars are designed and optimised specifically for street racing.

Developed by engineers and sustainability experts at the FIA and Formula E, the Gen3 is intended to show the world that high performance and sustainability can co-exist without compromise. At the same time, cutting-edge technologies (especially for electric vehicles), that are developed for the racing cars will eventually transfer to road-going production models.

While aerodynamic development programs have been central to driving incremental improvement in motorsport for decades, the Gen3 propels software engineering forwards as a new battleground for motorsport innovation and competition. Performance upgrades to the Gen3 will be delivered as software updates directly to the advanced operating system built into each car.

With a disruptive design inspired by the aerodynamic form of a fighter jet, this will be the fastest Formula E car yet, capable of over 322 km/h. Yet it will also be the most efficient formula racing car ever: more than 40% of the energy used within a race will be produced by regenerative braking. The powerful electric motors will have around 95% power efficiency as it generates up to 350 kW (equivalent to 470 ps), compared to approximately 40% for an internal combustion engine.

This will also be the first-ever formula car with both front and rear powertrains. A new front powertrain adds 250 kW to the 350kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the current Gen2 to a total of 600 kW. There is ultra-high speed charging capability of 600 kW for additional energy during a race, almost double the power of the most advanced commercial chargers in the world. There will be no rear hydraulic brakes with the addition of the front powertrain and its regenerative capability.

Linen and recycled carbonfibre will be used in bodywork construction for the first time in a formula car featuring recycled carbonfibre from retired Gen2 cars and reducing the overall amount of virgin carbonfibre used. This will reduce the carbon footprint of the production of the Gen3 bodywork more than 10%. All waste carbonfibre will be reused for new applications through adoption of an innovative process from the aviation industry.

Natural rubber and recycled fibres will make up 26% of new Gen3 tyres and all tyres will be fully recycled after racing. Only sustainably-sourced minerals will be used and battery cells will be reused and recycled at end of life.

The carbon footprint of the Gen3 has been measured from the design phase to inform all reduction measures taken to reduce environmental impact, while all unavoidable emissions will be offset as part of Formula E’s net zero carbon commitment.

Seven automakers have registered with the FIA to race the new Gen3 in Season 9. They are DS Automobiles, Jaguar, Mahindra, Maserati, NIO, Nissan and Porsche.

“Both technologically and environmentally, Gen3 sets new standards in the sport. The FIA and Formula E development teams have done a superb job, and I thank them for their hard work on this project. I am delighted to see so many leading manufacturers already signed up to the championship’s next era and await Gen3’s competitive debut in Season 9 with great anticipation,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA.

Formula E Gen1 racing car (above) and Gen2 (below), which is currently used in the final season this year.

|Photographer: Wiebke Langebeck|Event: Preseason Testing|Circuit: Circuit Ricardo Tormo|Location: Valencia|Series: FIA Formula E|Season: 2021-2022|Country: Spain|Keyword: season 8|Keyword: season eight|Keyword: S8|Keyword: motorsport|Keyword: electric racing|Keyword: single seater|Keyword: open wheel|Keyword: 2021|Driver: Sebastien Buemi|Team: Nissan e.dams|Number: 23|Car: Nissan IM03|Car: Spark SRT05e|

Nissan takes over French e.dams Formula E team

It wasn’t surprising when Nissan was the first Japanese carmaker to become involved in Formula E which is now a world championship. The carmaker became dominant in the electric vehicle (EV) segment after introducing the world’s first mass-produced EV, the LEAF in 2010, so it was natural for it to participate in the all-electric series.

That was back in 2018 when the company partnered the e.dams team and started off in the fifth season of the series. It drew on its experience developing EVs to develop a new powertrain package for its Formula E car, including a new electric motor, inverter, gearbox and software.

The Nissan e.dams all-electric racing car in its first season of Formula E.

Following its entry in the fifth season, the team has been among the regulars each season and in March 2021, Nissan confirmed further commitment to Formula E. Now, the company is going on step further by acquiring the French-based e.dams team which will finish off this season with the Gen2 car and then start the next season with the new Gen3 racing car. Nissan will be present until the end of Season 12 (2025/26).

“It’s taken years of planning and months of intense preparation, but we’re now ready to hit the track for our Formula E race debut,” said Michael Carcamo, Nissan’s Global Motorsports Director. “We’ve drawn on our experience as a global leader in electric vehicles for the road to help develop our Formula E powertrain – and what we now learn on the track will go back the other way, benefiting Nissan’s electric-car customers.”

Nissan’s participation in Formula E supports the company’s long-term commitment to electrification and sustainability laid out in Nissan’s ‘Ambition 2030’ plan. “These are exciting times for all of us at Nissan, our fans and customers everywhere,” said Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer. “We have been on the grid for over 85 years, and our desire to win continuously accelerates us forward. We learn as we race, and the relentless pace of technological progression that drives the Formula E championship will provide us with many opportunities to inform and develop even better cars for customers.

As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify all its new vehicles by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese carmaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the Formula E racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

“I am delighted that Nissan is taking over e.dams and today we are thinking of Jean-Paul Driot who, together with Nissan, had the vision for the team and helped to develop our partnership,” said Tommaso Volpe, who will become the Managing Director of the Nissan Formula E team. “Since his passing in 2019, Olivier and Gregory Driot took over and made sure the legacy of their father’s success would continue. It has been a pleasure working together and I would like to thank them for their commitment and support.

“We are very proud to hand over the e.dams team to such a committed and innovative company as Nissan. We’ve had several open discussions in recent months with Nissan and we decided that it was the right time for them to take the reins and continue the legacy of our family and secure the long-term future of the employees,” said the Driot brothers.

Nissan e.dams team ready for first round of Formula E Season 8 in Saudi Arabia

 

Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans claimed back-to-back victories in the Formula E Rome E-Prix double-header of races with a dramatic win in Round 5 after a first place finish in Round 4 the day before. The Kiwi driver led Poleman Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) in second and Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns.

DS TECHEETAH’s Vergne had pulled away from pole position while his former teammate and TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver Andre Lotterer passed Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis into second. By the top of the hill and Turn 7, Dennis had reclaimed second, dropping Lotterer back down to third.

With a collision between Mahindra Racing’s Alex Sims and Nissan e.dams’ Max Gunther, the German driver retired to the pits, ending his race in the first 5 minutes. Despite setting the fastest lap in Qualifying earlier in the day, Dennis started losing ground after Lotterer attacked at Turn 7, reclaiming second. Shortly after, Evans managed to slip past into third.

Squeezing into Turn 4 side by side, standings leader and ROKiT Venturi Racing driver Edoardo Mortara tried to pass DS TECHEETAH’s Antonio Felix da Costa, with the Portuguese racer closing the door on the Swiss, damaging the front wing of his car. Mortara then clipped the wall on Turn 19 and coasted to safety, retiring from the race with a suspected driveshaft failure.

Italian driver Antionio Giovinazzi had lots of support from the crowd but the DRAGON/PENSKE AUTOSPORT drivers’ car came to a stop on the track between Turn 8 and 9, which brought out the Porsche Taycan Safety Car. When the Safety Car was brought in and the racing recommenced, 24 minutes remained. Vergne led Evans for less than a lap before the opportunist Evans overtook into Turn 4 to take the lead.

Dennis continued to slip down the order to seventh as the race passed the halfway mark. At the front, Evans continued to lead Vergne, with Porsche’s Lotterer in second and Frijns in third. Enjoying the benefit of the extra power gained through his 8-minute ATTACK MODE, Frijns made his way up the order and took race leader Evans up the hill on Turn 7.

Paying the price for closing the door earlier on Mortara, da Costa received a 5-minute time penalty while back at the front, Lotterer was looking to take the lead with extra power gained through ATTACK MODE. Now in second, the German driver was close on the tail of Frijns who was desperately trying to hold on to the lead.

With seconds of his ATTACK MODE power left, Lotterer made his move on Frijns to take the lead into Turn 4. Now setting the pace, the German driver was closing in on his first victory in the Formula E World Championship with 10 minutes left on the clock.

After a short Safety Car outing while Sims’ Mahindra racing car was recovered when it spun on Turn 14, racing was back underway. Added Time provided an extension of the race.

Saving his ATTACK MODE until the end of the race, Evans took the boost with less than 8 minutes of the race remaining. With extra power, Evans went after Lotterer, hunting the German driver before taking the lead on the hill up to Turn 7. With Evans holding firm, Vergne slipped past his former teammate Lotterer, jumping to second, before Frijns made a move on the German to knock him off the podium and into fourth.

With Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in the wall at the top of Turn 7, the Taycan Safety Car again made a brief appearance before coming in to leave a last lap dash for the finish. Evans was out in front and Vergne close behind, with the Frenchman was on the attack to regain his lead. However, he was unable to catch Evans and the Jaguar driver made it across the finish line first. Close behind, Vergne to join on the podium in Rome was Frijns.

The championship next moves to Monaco for a single round on April 30. This is a much-anticipated event as the Gen3 cars for the next season will be unveiled for viewing.

Just as this year’s Formula 1 season sees major changes in technical regulations (including change in tyre sizes) that have required the teams to redesign their cars, Formula E – the all-electric single seater series that has been upgraded to World Championship status – will also see a similar change in 2023 which will be Season 9.

While the first season saw all the teams being supplied the same car (Spark-Renault SRT_01E), subsequent seasons allowed each team to further develop the electric motor, gearbox and suspension. The chassis for the Gen2 racing cars was maintained as a single type, produced by Spark Racing Technology, so that costs would be kept low.

A Gen1 Formula E racing car at Putrajaya in 2014, the only time a Formula E round has been held in Malaysia.

Evo version of the Gen2 racing car in Mexico this year.

The Gen2 cars run their final season this year, after which will come the new Gen 3 cars. The organisers will unveil the new car at the Yacht Club de Monaco on April 28 prior to the 2022 Monaco E-Prix.

The teams will be able to take a close look at the racing car while fans around the world will be able to watch via championship’s digital channels. While the world will see the Gen3 race car for the first time, Formula E has its sights further into the future of the series. In Monaco, Formula E and the FIA will host a roundtable event bringing together leaders from manufacturers across the automotive sector. This summit will focus on the potential innovations and technology roadmaps for the Gen4 era as Formula E affirms its position as the pinnacle of electric mobility development and racing.

“Formula E’s Gen3 race car represents a leap forward for motorsport and electric mobility,” said Jamie Reigle, CEO of Formula E. “Designed to demonstrate that high performance, efficiency and sustainability can be packaged together without compromise, the Gen3 car is our most powerful, lightest, and fastest racing car to date. We look forward to finally taking the covers off the Gen3 in Monaco, a location steeped in motor racing history, and seeing the car light up city streets around the world next season.”

The Gen3 car will show the impressive progress in EV development achieved in the championship. Formula E has worked closely with the FIA and industry-leading engineers and experts in sustainability to ensure the Gen3 will also set the benchmark for sustainability in high performance racing cars. The car is the first Formula car aligned to Life Cycle Thinking, with a designed second life for tyres, broken parts and battery cells. Additionally, the Gen3 will be net-zero carbon – reinforcing Formula E’s status as the first sports series to be net-zero carbon from inception.

Overview of technical details

Formula E has now provided this overview of the new racing car’s technical details:

An electric motor delivering up to 350 kw of power (equivalent to 470 bhp), giving a top speed of 320 km/h, with a power-to-weight ratio that is twice as efficient as an equivalent 470 bhp internal combustion engine.

At least 40% of the energy used within a race will be produced by regenerative braking during the race.

The first Formula car with both front and rear powertrains. The new front powertrain adds 250 kW to the 350 kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the current Gen2 to a total of 600 kW.

The first Formula car that will not feature rear hydraulic brakes due to the addition of the front powertrain and its regenerative capability.

Lighter and smaller than the Gen2, it will be faster and more agile.

“The arrival of the Gen3 is the latest momentous step of an incredible journey for the championship,” said Alejandro Agag, Formula E Founder & Chairman. “We have come a long way – as electric vehicles have – in less than a decade. And we are not stopping as we bring together industry leaders to imagine the possibilities of the future of all-electric single-seater motorsport.”

 

Mexico City was the venue for the third round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship yesterday, with 22 drivers whizzing around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track in the all-electric single-seaters. A perfect mix of long, fast straights and a technical infield section produced intense races and high drama for the 40,000 spectators who turned up.

2022 Formula E Season 8 Mexico City

The circuit in Mexico City, part of which passes through the Foro Sol stadium, has new artwork that represents the modern, progressive, innovative values of Formula E’s race locations. The patterns draw on the rich cultural history of Mexico and combine this with modern-day artistic influences featuring a diverse tapestry of colours and patterns celebrating traditional techniques such as weaving, ceramics and mosaics, in a modern way.

2022 Formula E Season 8 Mexico City

2022 Formula E Season 8 Mexico City

Fresh from a third place finish in Round 2 (which was run at the same venue as Round 1 in Saudi Arabia last month) and a strong opening weekend for his new team, ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Lucas di Grassi would be the one to watch in Mexico. The Brazilian has made two trips to the top step in Mexico City, most recently in Season 5 after his first win two seasons earlier. Teammate Edo Mortara is looking to continue his fine opening weekend form and stay at the top of the drivers’ standings after winning the second of two races in Saudi Arabia.

Mortara’s win followed reigning World Champion Nyck de Vries’ victory in Round 1, as the Mercedes-EQ team immediately got to grips with the all-new Duels qualifying format. De Vries and teammate Stoffel Vandoorne dominated to take a one-two finish in the opening race of the seaon. The German manufacturer, which will leave Formula E after this season, sits just a point behind its customer outfit in the Teams’ World Championship, so Mercedes power is currently the benchmark.

The race
The competition was as close as it has ever been in the championship. Pascal Wehrlein led team mate Andre Lotterer in a historic 1-2 for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E, with the pair finishing 9 seconds ahead of the other cars, and both driver and team sealing their first ever victories in the championship. It was a perfect race for Porsche, with Wehrlein leading from Julius Baer Pole Position and fending off standings leader Mortara early on. The pair did drop into the pack behind the Swiss-Italian and Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) for a brief period but gained a mighty energy advantage on the rest while still matching the leaders’ pace.

2022 Formula E Season 8 Mexico City

Into the final 15 minutes, Wehrlein and Lotterer picked their moment and passed Vergne and then Mortara for the lead. As they crossed the finish line, they were well ahead of the rest and could more than making amends for the heartbreak in Puebla in last season.

“It was very important for me [to win here], I have raced here a couple of times in the Championship and been close so many times. Here in Mexico last year was heart-breaking to finish in P1 but then get disqualified. It was payback this weekend and it feels amazing,” said Wehrlein.

Vergne was able to take third, with teammate da Costa battling to fourth after a number of skirmishes. Mortara did enough to hold on to the Drivers’ World Championship lead with fifth – the Venturi more marginal on energy than the Porsches and DS’ as the race wore on.

2022 Formula E Season 8 Mexico City

Reigning champion de Vries managed to end in sixth, a second ahead of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns. Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) showed a stronger turn this time out to take eighth and points, just ahead of teammate Maximilian Guenther and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti). Mortara thus heads the Drivers’ standings by 5 points over de Vries, with Wehrlein jumping to third with the Round 3 race win.

From Mexico City, the championship moves back across the Atlantic Ocean to Italy, where Rounds 4 and 5 will be run in Rome on April 9 and 10.

Formula E: Mercedes-EQ dominates opening round but ROKiT Venturi Racing grabs lead after Round 2

Like most Italian carmakers, Maserati has motorsport in its long history. Twelve years after its founding by the Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Ernesto and Ettore, the first racing car to bear the Trident logo was the Tipo 26 which was entered in the 1926 Targa Florio in Italy. It won first place in its class with Alfieri at the wheel.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Maserati garage built racing cars for sale all over the world, while also producing road cars with the high performance demonstrated on the racetracks. 31 years after Alfieri’s first victory, Juan Manuel Fangio won the Formula 1 World Championship with a Maserati in 1957. The last time Maserati entered a single-seater was with Maria Teresa De Filippis, the first woman to qualify in F1, who drove a 250F.

Maserati’s last appearance in racing was during the first decade of the 21st century with the MC12. Its teams won 22 races and 14 Championship titles across Constructors’ Championships, Drivers’ Championships and Teams’ Championships in the FIA GT from 2004 to 2010.

In 2023, the brand will again be seen on the starting grid of races as it joins the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in 2023 for Season 9. It will be the first Italian brand to compete in Formula E, the all-electric single-seater world championship that will be the 8th season this year.

Maserati will be the second brand in the Stellantis Group to participate in Formula E, the other being DS from the Citroen affiliate which has been racing since 2018. The company’s racing team is now developing a new racing car which conforms to the Gen3 regulations which will see the fastest, lightest and most powerful Formula E racing car ever. The Gen3 is the world’s most efficient racing car featuring a series of industry-leading design, production and technological innovations.

Maserati’s entry into Formula E is in line with its move and commitment to electric mobility. This strategy will see the introduction of Folgore, a new sub-brand that will have a range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Folgore versions will be available for the Grecale, GranTurismo and GranCabrio, as well as the MC20.

“We are very proud to be back where we belong as protagonists in the world of racing. We are powered by passion and innovative by nature. We have a long history of world-class excellence in competition and we are ready to drive performance in the future. In the race for more performance, luxury, and innovation, Folgore is irresistible and it is the purest expression of Maserati. That’s why we decided to go back to racing in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, meeting our customers in the city centers of the world, taking the Trident forward into the future,” said Davide Grasso, CEO of Maserati.

Maserati’s confirmed entry is good news for the event’s organizers with Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz ending their participation. McLaren has also indicated its interest in taking part in Formula E but has not given details of when they might start. With the accelerating impetus of electrification, some other brands might also see it useful to be in Formula E to show their strengths in the EV field.

Since inception in 2014, Formula E has provided dramatic racing action on the streets of cities around the world such as New York, Monaco, Berlin, Mexico City, London and Rome. For manufacturers like Nissan, Porsche, NIO, Mahindra, Jaguar, DS, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, developing cars for racing has led to finding new solutions in increasing energy efficiency, enhancements in battery range and advances in powertrain development.

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube