Formula E finds itself on the precipice of another watershed moment, with the GEN4 car set to provide another substantial leap forward for the series when it’s unleashed next season.
Officially unveiled and put through its paces around the Paul Ricard circuit in France last week, the GEN4 car is terrifyingly quick, with even more to come as the teams, powertrain manufacturers and drivers get to grips with their new equipment in the coming months.
GEN4 unlocks a much larger toy chest for the manufacturers and drivers to enjoy, with the car now featuring permanent AWD and active differentials, while the maximum power on tap has been increased significantly too.
Vaulting the GEN4's capabilities to 600kW from 350kW for the GEN3 car in qualifying and attack mode results in a car that’s capable of reaching speeds in excess of 335kph.
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Or, if you want to talk in old money, that's a jump of around 330BHP, a quite staggering number when you consider that’s probably more than twice what an average road car would output.
It also results in the GEN4 car being able to go from 0-100kph in approximately 1.8 seconds, and 0-200kph in just 4.4 seconds, which is 1.5 seconds faster than its predecessor.
And, quite remarkably, the GEN4 car will be an average of 10 seconds per lap faster than the GEN3 car in qualifying mode.
The GEN4 car also has 450kW available under race conditions, which is another considerable leap forward from GEN3 where 300kW is available in those conditions.
Current fans of the sport will recognise that AWD has already been available with the GEN3 machinery but played a much smaller role in comparison.
Magneti Marelli will supply the FPK (Front Powertrain Kit) for the GEN4 machinery, rather than Atieva, with both deployment and regeneration increased substantially over their predecessor, as the cars overall regen limit has been increased to 700kW.
At the centre of the Formula E project is the battery technology, with Podium Advanced Technologies selected via the tender process to meet the performance requirements of the GEN4 cars.
This is, of course, one of the most important pillars within the design architecture of the car itself and for the GEN4 car, a 51.25kWh battery is being employed, which will play its own role in delivering 50% more power in race mode than the current GEN3 Evo race car.
Bridgestone returns to the World Championship stage too, having replaced Hankook as Formula E’s tyre supplier for the GEN4 era, with the Japanese brand issuing a performance oriented semi slick tyre for dry and damp conditions and a ‘monsoon’ option for wet weather conditions.
The latter came in use on the second day of the event, as the rain fell on Paul Ricard and provided an opportunity for some useful data acquisition for those on site.
In that respect, Porsche, Jaguar and the new team on the block, Opel GSE, had machinery on hand and put it through its paces.
It’s here where the sport has garnered the attention of OEM’s down the years too, as the series provides a platform for them to invest in the associated technologies that will transfer into the road cars of the future.
Opel are coming into Formula E as what you’d consider a full factory outfit too, having taken their time over the last few years to evaluate how it fits into their wider motorsport operation.
They’re not sitting on their hands either and intend on preparing themselves for the challenges that lie ahead in Formula E’s 13th and perhaps most ground-breaking season to date.
"After many intensive hours on the test bench, we are now integrating the entire powertrain into the car and will be on the racetrack from the beginning of May," explained Jörg Schrott, Team Principal, Opel GSE Formula E Team.
In the coming months, test bench runs and test operations on the track will alternate in a targeted manner.
We are currently planning to complete around 15 days of testing on various European racetracks before the start of the season."
The first driver to pilot the Opel GSE 27FE prototype on the racetrack was test and development driver Sophia Flörsch.
“After initial tests in the simulator, to drive here for the first time in Opel's Formula E GEN4 race car is an indescribable moment.
The brutal torque, this completely new performance – it feels like the future of motorsport, and I'm ready to push the limits,” said Sophia.
Every driver's dream
And, whilst there were new teams and people on the ground for the event, there were, of course, a plethora of teams, drivers and personnel that have been around the sport for many years.
Jake Dennis, series 9 champion and driver for Andretti Formula E was excited about the prospect of the GEN4 car.
“It's exciting, I think the car looks great," he said. "It's obviously very big but the power and the acceleration is phenomenal. The high downforce package looks promising as well.
"So from my side, I think it's every driver's dream to get more power, more grip. So I have nothing but positive things to say right now”.
The GEN4 car has been conceived around two downforce packages, as mentioned by Jake, and while the sporting regulations have yet to be finalised, it’s expected that the cars will run with the higher downforce package during qualifying for maximum performance.
They’ll then be reconfigured into their low downforce offering for the race in order to optimise the package for efficiency. I asked Jake his thoughts on what that might offer, not only for himself, as a racing driver but how that might come across for the fans too.
“Yeah, from the guys which I've spoken to, they said it's a couple of seconds a lap. So it's a decent step between the high downforce and low downforce packages," he said.
"Ultimately, I think qualifying should all be about ultimate performance and showing what the car is really capable of. And then in the racing, when we run low downforce, it's a little bit more about efficiency”.
The GEN4 car looks genuinely quick on track, with the drivers that have sampled the new machinery enthused about their hands-on experience.
Those that haven’t are impatiently waiting in the wings, as they’re excited by the prospect of getting behind the wheel of the all-new machinery.
One of those is Dan Ticktum, currently driving for Cupra Kiro, who is clearly looking forward to the different challenges that lie ahead.
“We obviously do things a bit differently in Formula E.
"I've driven some four-wheel drive cars, obviously. They do behave differently, but not a single-seater. I think that'll be quite interesting”.
The headline figures for the GEN4 car really show how far the series has come since its inception, something that was further underlined by a display of the four generation of cars leaving the line in 10-second intervals on the pit straight.
It also showed that while Formula E are clearly focused on delivering the future, they’re prepared to learn from the pains of their upbringing.
GEN1, after all, required two cars per driver to complete a race distance but, without that commitment to move forward the electrification of motorsports and provide an arena for manufacturers to develop technology, the current automotive landscape may be lesser for it.
And, even though they were busy promoting GEN4, there were subtle remarks made here and there about some of the directions and discussions that are already taking place for the roadmap ahead.
As a series it’s clear that they know it has its own identity and doesn’t have to wrestle with its competition.
And, dare I say it but, its combustion cousin, Formula One, might be looking over its shoulder and noting how much progress is being made.
Formula E is no longer the future waiting to happen, it’s the here and now.
By Matt Somerfield - @somersf1 on X
The SPORTbible Team