Audi unveils its Formula E racecar

Words by Shubham Choukse

Audi unveiled its first ever Formula E car–the e-tron FE04, recently in Nuremberg, Germany and with that it became the first German car manufacturer to enter the all-electric racing championship. Though, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche will also be joining the league in the coming years.

Audi has been the official powertrain provider for the ABT Schaeffler team in the previous seasons and now will be racing as a factory team in the 2017-18 season. With the company pulling out of endurance car racing at the end of 2016, it was but natural for them to invest their resources in Formula e, given its benefits in the long run.

“Together with our technology partner Schaeffler, we have developed a completely new powertrain,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “You can immediately tell this by looking at the new carbon housing of the powertrain. The car also sounds different because we’re pursuing new avenues in technology.”

Audi has signed Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt as the factory racing drivers, Lucas will be driving car number 1 while Daniel will be driving car number 66. And Allan McNish will be the team principal.

The e-tron FE04 will make its racing debut in December, at the opening race of the season in Hong Kong.