Formula E: Global Electric Car Series to Launch in 2014

[domenick]

The provisional calender was published a couple weeks ago. There were a few changes but the US races are intact. Here's the post about it on AutoblogGreen.

Edited to add: I think Tesla should enter but only after they're allowed to run their own drivetrain. That was supposed to happen in season 2 originally, but having made a fleet of 40 of these things, don't be surprised if they try to run them for a couple of seasons before they allow teams to build their own cars.

 

[markwj]

The sound of a Formula-E car.

 

[Discoducky]

OMG I can't wait!!!

 

[markwj]

And, Hong Kong is out (again):

Formula E - Rio returns as Formula E confirms inaugural calendar

After the opening round in Beijing, the 10 teams and 20 drivers will remain in Asia for Round 2 with Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia on 18th October 2014. Round 3 will now see the championship head to Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the second largest city of Brazil. Rio replaces Hong Kong which will instead be considered as a candidate city for the following Formula E seasons.

From here, the series continues in South America with Round 4 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 13th December 2014 before starting the New Year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Round 5 on 10th January. The championship then heads to North America for Rounds 6 and 7 with Los Angeles on 14th February 2015 and Miami now brought forward to 14th March 2015.

The season then moves to Europe for the final three rounds beginning with Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 9th May 2015 followed by the German capital of Berlin on 30th May 2015 where the former airport of Tempelhof has already been revealed as the circuit location. The inaugural season then reaches its climax in London, United Kingdom, on 27th June 2015.

 

[NigelM]

James Allen (of F1 fame) gives an update on Formula E:

we-ask-the-man-in-charge-of-the-newest-world-motorsport-series/

 

[tom66]

I wish each team could bring their own custom car rather than a specific stock vehicle that all teams race, kind of takes away the vehicle engineering challenges as it is :/

 

[NigelM]

I wish each team could bring their own custom car rather than a specific stock vehicle that all teams race, kind of takes away the vehicle engineering challenges as it is :/

I agree; although in fairness that would probably increase the costs to the point where it might not happen at all. I'm hoping that it develops like the lower Formula (GP) series do and we may one day end up with an E-F1 series.

 

[FluxCap]

Ars Technica just mentioned Formula E in their interesting article on global automotive racing technology "hybridization." Worth a look-see:

1000-horsepower technology-packed hybrid race cars take the pole in 2014 | Ars Technica

I had never heard of Formula E, but leave it to TMC to have a thread on this from 2012 .

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Ars Technica just mentioned Formula E in their interesting article on global automotive racing technology "hybridization." Worth a look-see:

1000-horsepower technology-packed hybrid race cars take the pole in 2014 | Ars Technica

I had never heard of Formula E, but leave it to TMC to have a thread on this from 2012 .

Starts September in Beijing. Fox has the rights and it should be on Fox Sports 1. (Better not be on Fox Sports 2, I don't have that.)

I occasionally watch a bit of Formula 1, but this really has my interest. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is all the traditional racing fans complaining loudly that the cars aren't loud enough. And I'm sure there'll be some mocking about the swapping cars, which I hope will be eliminated within a few years.

As with the electric motorcycle racing, I expect rapid improvement between seasons. I think a really big thing that could come out of this is mastery of the gearboxes; while not so useful for electric cars, except maybe for Autobahnheads, I think that it could prove very useful for larger electric vehicles.

 

[WarpedOne]

I think a really big thing that could come out of this is mastery of the gearboxes; while not so useful for electric cars, except maybe for Autobahnheads,

Gearboxes are also useful for electric cars - they reduce "low speed / high power" losses.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

BBC checks out a Formula E car at Donington Park:

BBC News - Electric Formula E car gets Donington Park outing

 

[TonyWilliams]

BBC checks out a Formula E car at Donington Park:

BBC News - Electric Formula E car gets Donington Park outing

I was just in the FormulaE office in London... there's a whole bunch of folks working on this project.

 

[Words of HABIT]

Formula E

I hope everyone had a great summer (those in the Northern hemisphere that is). Whatever your season is, thanks to all the posters on TMC forum, makes for entertaining and informative reading, my first and last stop for all things EV. :smile:

September 2014 is an important milestone in the EV evolution. The World motor sports governing body, FIA, has approved for the first time Formula E FIA Championship Series with stops in
- Beijing (13 Sept 14)
- Putrajaya (22 Nov 14)
- Punta Del Este (13 Dec 14)
- Buenos Aires (10 Jan 15)
- Monte Carlo (9 May 15)
- Miami (14 March 15)
- Long Beach (04 April 15)
- Berlin (30 May 15)
- London (27 June 15)

Think of Formula E as Formula 1 without the noise. This will bring EVs to the masses, most of whom have never heard of Tesla. I would expect a stock pop in the week after each event, the first being Beijing, September 13th. That's when the masses will realize that the latest EV technology can be just as sexy and more environmentally friendly than their ICE counterparts. There is no looking back. Here's the official FIA Formulae E web site:


Formula E - Official FIA Formula E Championship

 

[chickensevil]

Looks like McLaren is making all the motors and such for the first season. And interestingly it seems based on this video that it is a multispeed transmission because it sounds like he is shifting gears. If McLaren solved the transmission issue that would be great news indeed! It also feels like he gets going quite fast in the video... Wish there was a visible speedometer to show how fast he was going. Quite exciting to watch!

 

[Johan]

Short-Term TSLA Price Movements - 2014

If McLaren solved the transmission issue that would be great news indeed! It also feels like he gets going quite fast in the video... Wish there was a visible speedometer to show how fast he was going. Quite exciting to watch!

It's not like it's an enigma. In F1 they do all kinds of things that make no sense economically in any other setting. For all we know the "solution" could be a $100k transmission that gets discarded after each race.

 

[chickensevil]

Apparently the stats on this is 225KPH and 0-100KPH at 2.9 seconds. Pretty impressive for McLaren

 

[Subhuman]

Good video and story I heard a few months ago on NPR about Formula E. They definitely still make noise! Sound like a remote control car.

Shhh! Its time for Formula E! | Marketplace.org

 

[EldestOyster]

Sound like a remote control car.

Exactly what I was about to say! I've just noticed this myself. Something about the noise being principally from the gears, plus the variation in loading due to tire contact as the car goes skittering off down the road makes that signature sound. The ridiculous power to weight ratio gives us that ramping of the pitch, and the aforementioned tenuous road contact.

 

[LuigiV]

Looks like McLaren is making all the motors and such for the first season. And interestingly it seems based on this video that it is a multispeed transmission because it sounds like he is shifting gears. If McLaren solved the transmission issue that would be great news indeed! It also feels like he gets going quite fast in the video... Wish there was a visible speedometer to show how fast he was going. Quite exciting to watch!

What exactly is "the transmission issue"? If you're talking about the issues that Tesla had with the Roadster 2-speed, then I'm sorry to burst your bubble but those had nothing to do with the Roadster being an EV and everything to do with the suppliers being subpar. Just watch Marc Tarpenning's talk. There is no reason for a totally unrelated transmission to share the same issues. On the same line of thought, did you know that the BMW i8 uses a 2-speed transmission for it's front axle too?

 

[Discoducky]

looks like a trip to Long Beach in April to see this in action. but appears to be coverage on Fox http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/guide/television.aspx