Piloting the ID.R electric racer, Romain Dumas (F) completed the 99 tight corners on the Tianmen Mountain road in China in 7:38.585 minutes—a record for the ascent. So far, the 99 corners have been tackled with drifts, in either SUV or sports cars with conventional combustion engines—but never with an... Read more →

The “Forze VIII”, a hydrogen fuel cell Le-Mans-style prototype, became the first hydrogen-electric vehicle to beat gasoline-powered cars in an official race. The car, designed, built, tested and raced by a group of students from Delft University of Technology, finished second in the Supercar Challenge at the TT Circuit in... Read more →

Hyundai Motorsport has begun work on its first electric race car in a new project that heralds a new motorsport era for the company. The car, which has been designed and built at Hyundai Motorsport’s headquarters in Alzenau, Germany, will break cover for the first time on 10 September at... Read more →

The Volkswagen ID.R has set a new all-time record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Romain Dumas completed the 1.86-kilometer track in the south of England in just 39.90 seconds. In doing so, the 500-kW (680-PS) electric race car broke the previous record, which had stood for 20 years, by... Read more →

Fresh off breaking the lap record for electric vehicles on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (earlier post) the Volkswagen ID.R is set to defend its title at the “Goodwood Festival of Speed” (4 to 7 July). Last year, Romain Dumas, at the wheel of the fully-electric race car, set a new record for... Read more →

Volkswagen’s ID.R, powered by two electric motors, lapped the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 6:05.336 minutes—faster than any electric vehicle before it. Romain Dumas (F) beat the previous record set by Peter Dumbreck (GB, NIO EP9) in 2017 by 40.564 seconds. With an average speed of 206.96 km/h (128.6 mph), the ID.R once... Read more →

Volkswagen is tackling the Nürburgring-Nordschleife this year instead of Pikes Peak with its electric ID. R racer. Because of this change in course—a race track instead of a hill climb, full-throttle sections instead of hair-pins—Volkswagen is focusing on the development of the aerodynamics. Volkswagen ID. R in the wind tunnel... Read more →

The ongoing development of Volkswagen’s ID. R electric racer (earlier post) is in full swing. The latest version of the prototype, powered by two electric motors with a 500 kW (680 PS) system performance, will this summer chase the lap record for electric vehicles on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife with Romain Dumas... Read more →

Audi is introducing a new highly efficient turbo engine for the 2019 DTM racing season (touring car racing series). The two-liter four-cylinder power-plant of the Audi RS 5 DTM delivers more than 610 horsepower—100 hp more than its naturally aspirated V8 predecessor. By means of the “push-to-pass” function, the drivers... Read more →

ZF and Venturi teamed up in a technology partnership for the FIA Formula E in 2016. For the current, fifth season of the championship, ZF developed an electric drive for the Venturi team, including an electric motor, a newly developed transmission and power electronics. 250 kW electric drive system During... Read more →

Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner Gil de Ferran and entrepreneur Alejandro Agag officially launched the new Extreme E all-electric racing series. De Ferran will serve as the Chairman of Extreme E; Agag is founder and CEO of Formula E. Due to commence in January 2021, the off-road racing... Read more →

Following its record-breaking run at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Volkswagen’s ID. R electric sports car is targeting another record in the summer of 2019: the lap record for electric cars on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, regarded as the toughest racetrack in the world. The ID. R, which is being further developed... Read more →

The BMW iFE.18, with which the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team won the opening round of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E Championship, consists of many features developed internally at BMW, as well as the standard parts stipulated in the regulations (chassis (Spark Racing Technology); battery (McLaren); tires (Michelin)). The... Read more →

In 2016, ZF and Venturi formed a technology partnership for the FIA Formula E. For the fifth season of the championship, ZF has developed an electric driveline for Venturi that includes an electric motor as well as newly developed transmission and power electronics. New Formula E rules this year will... Read more →

On 15 December, the new BMW iFE.18 and the BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team will contest their first race in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Ad Diriyah (KSA). At the heart of the car, which was developed for Season 5, lies the drivetrain: the Racing eDrive01. Drivetrain components:... Read more →

In Tokyo, Nissan unveiled the new Nissan LEAF NISMO RC, an electric race car with more than double the maximum power and torque output of its predecessor. The car, which was developed by Nissan’s racing arm, NISMO, with its race technology know-how, will officially debut on 2 December at the... Read more →

Fifty years after the original COPO Camaro special order performance models were introduced, Chevrolet’s eCOPO Camaro Concept is demonstrating an electrified vision for drag racing. Developed by General Motors and built in partnership with the pioneering electric drag racing team Hancock and Lane Racing, the concept race car—based on the... Read more →

MTS Systems Corporation, a global supplier of high-performance test systems and sensors, announced further power density improvements to its electric motor and inverter technology for motorsport. Power density is a key component of successful racing. Leveraging experience and technology gained from developing energy recovery systems for Formula 1 racecars, MTS... Read more →

Audi unveiled the newly developed Audi e-tron FE05 for the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Because of the new electric racers’ greater range, the drivers will compete with only one race car for the first time. Since the batteries now have the capacity to last the entire 45-minute race distance,... Read more →

As part of its plan to electrify its portfolio from 2021 onward, INFINITI will reveal a new Project Black S prototype in Paris, showcasing how Formula One dual-hybrid electric powertrain technology can be deployed in a road car. The prototype is based on the Q60 red S sports coupe and... Read more →

Audi is presenting a design and technical electric concept car at Pebble Beach Automotive Week in Monterey, California— the Audi PB18 e-tron high-performance sports car. The technical concept of the PB18 e-tron has benefitted from Audi’s many years of winning the Le Mans racing series. The experts at Audi Sport... Read more →

For a fully-electric racing car like the record-breaking Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak (earlier post), the weight of the battery is especially important—it is the heaviest individual component, and each increase in weight has a detrimental effect on the car’s performance. Volkswagen Motorsport engineers sought to keep the batteries as... Read more →

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is unique in many ways, one of them being the heavily restricted test drives. Volkswagen Motorsport wasn’t able to complete hundreds of laps during the development of its record-setting electric I.D. R Pikes Peak (earlier post), as Formula 1 teams are allowed to do... Read more →

Volkswagen’s electric I.D. R Pikes Peak and driver Romain Dumas set a new overall record for the hill climb of 7m 57.148s, bettering Sébastien Loeb’s record by 16 seconds. Driving the 500-kW (680 PS) I.D. R Pikes Peak, Romain Dumas defeated a field including cars with conventional drivetrain technology. Dumas’... Read more →

The Automobile Club De L’Ouest (ACO) and Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) will introduce a new top class for the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2020-2024. The anticipated sleeker prototypes will retain a hybrid system while leaving free the choice of combustion engine at a predetermined and fixed cost. The... Read more →

The design of the battery and charging system for Volkswagen’s fully-electric I.D. R Pikes Peak was driven by the time constraints specified by the regulations for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Should a participant be forced to suspend the run for safety reasons—for example, should it suddenly start to... Read more →

With the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb now less than two weeks away, Volkswagen outlined the drivetrain technology in the I.D. R Pikes Peak, its first fully-electric racing car. (Earlier post.) The I.D. R Pikes Peak features two interlinked, integrated lithium-ion battery blocks on board, located to the right... Read more →

In preparation for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2018, the Volkswagen Motorsport team has engineered the aerodynamics of the I.D. R Pikes Peak (earlier post)—the brand’s first fully-electric racing car—specifically to tackle the famous hill climb. The goal at the race, which takes place on 24 June in Colorado... Read more →

Ushering in a new era of Volkswagen motorsport, the brand unveiled its fully-electric supercar—the I.D. R Pikes Peak in Alès, France. The supercar will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill climb in Colorado Springs on 24 June 24, seeking to beat the existing electric car record of 8:57.118 minutes... Read more →

Audi has produced the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo concept car, which it will deploy as a race taxi in Formula E starting with the race in Rome on Saturday 14 April. Employees at Audi’s pre-production center developed and produced this one-of-a-kind car within the space of just eleven months... Read more →

An evo version of the Le Mans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid established a new track record at Spa-Francorchamps. Porsche works driver Neel Jani lapped the 7.004 kilometer long Belgian Grand Prix Circuit in the Ardennes mountains in 1:41.770 minutes, beating the previous record by 0.783 seconds that was set by... Read more →

Autotalks, a developer of V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication chipsets, and the Israeli startup Griiip, which is developing a next generation single seater race car, have demonstrated the first motorsport Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) application on a racetrack. As part of the demonstration, which took place on 15 March 2018 in a... Read more →

Volkswagen has named its latest motorsport project the I.D. R Pikes Peak. This all-electric prototype racing car will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on 24 June in Colorado. The four-wheel-drive racing car points to the sporting potential of the I.D. family of all-electric vehicles and is also... Read more →

Techrules, a China-based automotive R&D company (earlier post) is unveiling the final production design of its Ren RS series-hybrid supercar at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The single-seat race car—equipped with Techrules’ Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) system—is a lightweight, high-performance track variant of the Techrules Ren supercar that was first... Read more →

SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, recently launched CUPRA as an independent, sporty, edgy brand with its own distinct identity; the brand’s first model, revealed at the brand launch event in Barcelona, was the CUPRA Ateca, an SUV equipped with a 221 kW 2.0 TSI with gasoline particulate filter... Read more →

The new Qualcomm Safety Car BMW i8 Coupé made its debut on Thursday in Santiago, Chile. The car will feature from the fourth race in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, which will take place on Saturday. BMW i has been “Official Vehicle Partner” since the first Formula E season... Read more →

Porsche has earned a third consecutive Manufacturers’ World Championship title with the 919 Hybrid. A second- and third-place finish at the Shanghai 6-hour race on Sunday produced an early title decision at round eight of nine on the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC calendar. At the same time, Earl Bamber... Read more →

After an absence from the event of more than 30 years, Volkswagen is developing an all-electric race car for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on 24 June 2018. The all-wheel-drive prototype’s goal is to set a new record for electric cars at the finish line, 14,000 feet... Read more →

In Neuberg, Germany, Audi presented the Group’s first all-electric race car: the Audi e-tron FE04 for the Formula E series. In Formula E, the teams and manufacturers are allowed to develop the powertrain consisting of the motor, transmission, parts of the suspension and the respective software. The combination of the... Read more →

The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE will make its world première at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main. This high-performance two-seater hybrid, equipped with technology from Formula 1, is said to produce more than 1,000 hp (750 kW) and reach top speeds beyond 350 km/h (217.5 mph). All-electric range is 25... Read more →

Swiss R&D company nanoFlowcell Holdings (earlier post) is in discussions with Formula E Holdings on nanoFlowcell’s participation in the FIA Formula E Championship and intent to enter with a Formula E race car with nanoFlowcell 48VOLT flow-cell drive. The nanoFlowcell is a compact flow battery operated with two ionic liquid... Read more →

From 2019, a Porsche factory team will compete in Formula E. After four highly successful years, three victories in a row at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Championship titles in both the team and driver classification in 2015 and 2016, Porsche will end its involvement in the... Read more →

Mercedes‑Benz announced a strategic repositioning of its motorsport activities: the company will conclude its participation in DTM at the end of 2018 and enter Formula E in the 2019/20 season. Mercedes-Benz will thus compete in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport combining high technology and the most demanding competitive challenge;... Read more →

BMW will join the FIA Formula E Championship as an official manufacturer in Season 5 (2018/19). The cars, equipped with a completely newly-developed BMW drivetrain, will be run by the Andretti Formula E team as BMW’s works entry in the series. The main driving force behind the new BMW i... Read more →

As announced in September of last year (earlier post), Audi is taking over ABT Sportsline’s place in the Formula E race with a full-fledged factory commitment which will run under the team name of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, starting with the fourth Formula E season in Hong Kong at the... Read more →

Schaeffler and Audi have agreed on an extensive cooperation in the development of the powertrain for the next three generations of the Formula E race car. Schaeffler Chief Technology Officer Prof. Peter Gutzmer and Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development AUDI AG, signed a three-year agreement—up... Read more →

Porsche unveiled the new 919 Hybrid at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (IT). The Le Mans prototype, with a system output of around 900 PS (662 kW), was comprehensively reworked. The 2017 model of the Porsche 919 Hybrid deploys a range of new innovations, particularly in the vehicle’s aerodynamics, the... Read more →

Renault unveiled the ZOE e-Sport Concept at the Geneva Motor Show. The ZOE e-Sport is built on a ZOE platform and converted into a racing car, drawing on Groupe Renault’s three years of experience in the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) Formula E Championship, an all-electric single-seater series. The bodywork... Read more →

At the Geneva Motor Show, Daimler unveiled the Mercedes-AMG GT Concept as a preview of its third completely autonomously developed sports car, which also extends the AMG GT family to include a four-door variant. The AMG GT Concept is powered by a V8 biturbo gasoline engine and a high-performance electric... Read more →

At the Geneva Motor Show, INFINITI is unveiling the Project Black S concept, exploring the potential for a new INFINITI performance grade, featuring on-road technology inspired by Formula One. Suggesting a radical reinterpretation of the INFINITI Q60 coupe, the Project Black S features an aerodynamically-optimized new design with a performance... Read more →