FIA unveils new Formula E Gen3 car for the next season

As promised, today in Monaco the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) unveiled the next Formula E racing car, the imaginatively called Gen3. This will be the car racing in the next season of Formula E, season 9, which starts this fall.

Unsurprisingly, it is the best Formula E racing car ever. It has a top speed of over 322 km/h (200 mph), and it's the most efficient formula racing car ever, with more than 40% of the energy used within a race being produced by regenerative braking.

Speaking of brakes, this is also the first formula car that doesn't have rear hydraulic brakes - and that's because it's also the first formula car ever to have both front and rear powertrains. There's a new front powertrain which adds 250 kW to the 350 kW at the rear, more than doubling the regenerative capability of the Gen2 to a total of 600 kW. Thus, the hydraulic rear brakes aren't necessary anymore.

The electric motor delivers up to 350 kW (470 bhp) of power while achieving around 95% power efficiency, compared to approximately 40% for an internal combustion engine. The Gen3 supports 600 kW fast charging, and it's lighter than its predecessor, weighing 840kg (1,851 lbs) compared to the 900kg (1,984 lbs) of the Gen2.

The Gen3's batteries are "among the most advanced, sustainable batteries ever made consisting of sustainably-sourced minerals while battery cells will be reused and recycled at end of life", FIA boasts. Linen and recycled carbon fibre from the Gen2 cars will be used in the bodywork construction, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the production of the bodywork by more than 10%.

Natural rubber and recycled fibers will make up 26% of the Gen3's tires, and all tires will be fully recycled after racing. Last month, FIA unveiled the first seven teams that will be racing this new Gen3 car in Season 9 of Formula E, and more names should be added in the next few weeks.