FORMULA E UNVEILS 2018 CONCEPT CAR
All-electric series targets single-car races and uprated performance
Formula E supplier Spark Racing Technologies has released the first concept images of the series’ next-generation racer, which could hit the grid in time for the start of the 2018/2019 season.
Spark recently secured the tender to continue to supply the Formula E chassis until at least 2020/21, which includes an updated design set for the 2018/19 campaign.
Spark, which is owned by former Renault head Frederic Vasseur, builds the current FE chassis in partnership with Dallara. That partnership is set to continue through the second- generation supply deal.
A key part of the push for FE’S future is to move to single-car races, meaning drivers won’t have to swap chassis mid-race as they currently do.
That requires a significant increase in battery capacity, from 28kwh to 54kwh which, combined with greater aerodynamic efficiency, should mean cars can run for 45 minutes on a single charge.
The new design, dubbed SRT-05, also features an extended aeroscreen design – similar to that tested by the Red Bull F1 Team recently – in-line with the FIA’S push to bringing in some form of driver cockpit protection to single-seaters.
The overall concept chassis is also expected to be around 40kg lighter than the old version, primarily to counter the increase in weight of the more powerful second-generation battery, which will be supplied by Mclaren Applied Technologies instead of the Williams Advanced Engineering concern.
The final car is expected to look different from these renderings, with teams known to have been shown even more radical visuals in recent weeks.