There are now just four months to go before a new, global all-electric race series gets underway in Beijing, China.
Formula E has been in the works for several years now, and has a ten-race schedule and ten-team roster for its inaugural season.
Those ten teams have now received the first batch of SRT_01E race cars built by Spark-Renault, the series’ official car supplier–letting drivers and engineers get their first detailed look at the all-electric racers.
Renault has heavily promoted its electric racing car over the past year, though the model will only be used by all teams in the very first season.
The idea is to allow teams and drivers to get used to how the series works, while they prepare their own, innovative vehicles for subsequent seasons.
MUST READ: How Does Formula E Electric-Car Racing Work? What You Need To Know
The standardized car should mean close racing in the first year though, and Spark-Renault is confident the car’s architecture and systems are up to the rigors of racing.
Frédéric Vasseur, president of Spark Racing Technologies, says that the development, fine-tuning and production of such an innovative racing car in a short time-frame “was a challenge”, one the company is “particularly proud to have risen to”.
He adds that the cars will be “reliable, safe and competitive”.
The subtext is that Formula E racing could also aid development of electric road cars, by pushing the boundaries of performance and efficiency.
MORE: Formula E Electric Racing Schedule Confirmed For 2014
It should be good to watch too, of course. Each event will be held in a city location to bring the racing spectacle right to the people–and races will take place in Bangkok, Beijing, Buenos Aires, London, Rome, Los Angeles, Miami, Putrajaya (Malaysia), Rio de Janeiro and Berlin.
Disruption should be minimal, with qualifying and race events taking place on the same day–while the cars’ 80-decibel noise output will make the cars quieter than most day-to-day traffic–some electric vehicle benefits never change…
The first Formula E race, in Beijing, is scheduled for September 13.
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