Looks like a race car, sounds like a spaceship Formula E – Is the Future of Racing Electric?

Sports fan? Gamer? EV enthusiast? The ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the electric street racing series entering its sixth season, has something to capture everyone’s imagination. The air around Formula E racing is filled with the high-pitched, sci-fi sounds of powerful 100% electric motors. The crowd is in on the game, working social media to give their favorite driver a 100 kJ energy boost. The races snake through the streets of major cities with breathtaking backdrops from Hong Kong to Paris to New York.

The zero-emission race cars look similar to other single-seater racers, but there are huge differences. For starters, there’s no internal combustion engine. Instead, the same battery pack is supplied to every team, while each team builds a motor, inverter, and gearbox to their own design. Because electric motors deliver 100% torque instantaneously, these race cars have fierce acceleration. The racers for the sixth season will go from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in under three seconds (2.8 seconds). And with a top speed of over 280 km/h (174 mph), they’ll provide plenty of thrills on the tight street courses.

Season 6 will see the return of ATTACK MODE. This is an activation zone that offers access to 235 kW of power (kW being the electric equivalent of horsepower) and lets every driver pick up an extra hit of power at their own risk. Drivers that choose this option have the additional power to use for a few laps, allowing them to race even harder and gain the edge over competitors!

Another unique aspect about Formula E: spectators have a hand in the competition. With FANBOOST, fans use social media to vote for their favorite driver. The top three vote-getters earn a 100kJ of energy they can use. While fans start voting six days before the race, voting stays open for the first six minutes of the race – meaning drivers won’t know if they have that extra power until they’re in the heat of battle.

Of course, social media is a two-way street. When the payoff is a power boost that can propel them past a rival, drivers and teams look at engaging with fans in a serious new light. Answering fan questions and posting team videos is no longer just check-the-box marketing, it’s potentially the difference that will bring home a trophy. This kind of fan leverage may be putting Formula E at the forefront of another revolution – equalizing the relationship between player and fan.

Formula E is the only event in the world that enables fans play an active role in influencing the outcome of a race. FANBOOST allows fans the opportunity to vote for their favourite driver and in doing so, potentially awarding them an extra boost of energy during the race. This has really helped Formula E connect with a younger demographic and has helped their social audience grow by over 138% during season 5!

In addition to the social platform, attendances to the races themselves were largely populated by a younger demographic. In fact, 66% of the 400K race attendees were under the age 35. The popularity of the sport amongst Generation Zs and Millennials is playing a huge role in the growth of the sport globally.

The high-tech nature of Formula E is about to create one of the most realistic virtual racing experiences available: Ghost Racing. A first in the world of motorsports and lined-up for its second season, allows gamers to compete with the drivers on the track using their mobile phone, tablet, or computer – thanks to real-time telemetry. They can also save their races and share with friends on social media!

In addition to matching skills against the pros, Ghost Racing offers some other intriguing features. Thanks to a virtual rendering of the car, track, and city, gamers can ride along in any of the pros’ cars, see the action, the skills, and the tactics that the teams employ, all in an experience that’s as close to real as it gets.

Could virtual competition like Ghost Racing be the virtual training ground for future racing champions? It’s more plausible than one might think. The Nissan GT Sport Cup is an e-racing competition looking for the next generation of fast Gran Turismo gamers, with a program that gives thousands of e-racers the chance to compete in an FIA certified championship. 

We are taking and analyzing the data generated from our Formula E cars on track, and this is enabling our engineers to make the electric vehicles we drive today on the roads, more exciting and more efficient. With technology accelerating at such a rapid rate, it’s just a matter of time until the cars of the future are available for everyone to experience!