- New generation of championship-winning car fort the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E team
- Spectacular design, more power, higher efficiency and greater range
- Two Audi e-tron FE05 cars fielded by Virgin Racing in addition to the works team
Neuburg an der Donau, October 5, 2018 – Audi has unveiled the newly developed Audi e-tron FE05, which will be driven by Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi in the fifth season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The new season, which starts on December 15, in Ad Diriyah (Saudi Arabia), will see a new era in the championship – the electric car's greater range meaning for the first time, drivers will need only one race car for each race.
This represents the greatest Formula E innovation to date. For the first time since the series was launched in 2014, drivers will only use one car per race to tackle the new 2018/2019 season. Since the batteries now have the capacity to last the entire 45-minute race distance, the mandatory car change during the race has been eliminated. This is a testimony to how motorsport – especially Formula E – is advancing innovations and technology.
With the Audi e-tron FE05, Audi has prepared meticulously for the new technical and strategic challenges. This is particularly true of the key component at the heart of the Audi e-tron FE05: the drivetrain, which consists of the motor, inverter, gearbox, components of the rear suspension, as well as the corresponding software. While the rest of the car is identical for all teams, manufacturers get the opportunity to showcase their technical expertise with the drivetrain. In the fourth season of the all-electric race series, which concluded with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler winning the teams' title in New York mid-July, the Audi e-tron FE04 often proved to be the most efficient car, and its successor is an evolution of this winning model.
The motor generator unit, dubbed the Audi Schaeffler MGU03, was jointly developed by Audi and its technology partner Schaeffler, with engineers putting particular emphasis on making the package even more efficient and further increasing its level of effectiveness.
"We retained the basic concept with one gear and at the same time refined the details and manufactured all of the parts," says Tristan Summerscale, Formula E Project Leader at Audi.
In all, 95 percent of the drivetrain parts are new and engineers were able to shave 10 percent off the weight. Summerscale and his team began developing the Audi e-tron FE05 as early as mid-2017, even before the start of last season. By the end of July 2018, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had homologated the car. Changes are no longer permitted, only the software may be improved during the season. A joint test with all of the competitors is scheduled for mid-October in Valencia (Spain), after which the race cars and equipment will be
transported to Saudi Arabia.
For the fifth season of Formula E, the motor is permitted to produce up to 250kW in Qualifying, but in the race, the output is capped at 200kW. New are the so-called activation zones: When drivers pass through this zone on the racetrack, they can briefly access a higher power mode of 225kW. Formula E fans can still support their favourite driver by casting their vote online via 'FanBoost', which gives drivers a temporary power boost of up to 250kW.
All Formula E teams draw electricity from identical McLaren batteries weighing 374 kilograms. The lithium-ion battery is mounted between the driver's seat and the powertrain and has a capacity of 52 kWh and can be charged within 45 minutes. A completely new development for the fifth season is the 'Brake-by-Wire' system. Brake control and transmission to the rear axle are decoupled from each other and electronically controlled, meaning the brake balance is always optimally distributed and recuperation becomes even more efficient.
Like in Formula 1, the driver sits in a monocoque made of carbon-fibre, developed to comply with FIA safety standards. CFRP crash structures at the front, rear and sides provide maximum safety. Also new – analog to Formula 1 – is the halo system above the cockpit which provides additional protection for the drivers' heads. The minimum weight of a Formula E race car is 900 kilograms (including the driver). The electric race car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds with a top speed of around 240km/h. Of particular note, the new generation of the Audi e-tron FE05 comes without a rear wing, which is a rarity in motorsport. Instead, downforce is generated by a large diffuser at the rear of the race car. After the first test drives, fans compared the futuristic look of the car to a 'Batmobile', 'Star Wars' and a 'spaceship'.
"When I head out onto the racetrack with the other cars, I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie," says Daniel Abt.
"Compared to its predecessor, the new model has a considerably more aggressive
design."
Thirteen races in 12 major cities are planned for the fifth season of the electric race series. Between the opening round in Ad Diriyah and the double-header finale in New York in mid-July 2019, races will be held in Marrakesh (Morocco), Mexico City (Mexico), Hong Kong (China), Rome (Italy), Paris (France), Monaco and Berlin (Germany). Each race is run over 45 minutes plus one lap, with most of the races held on temporary street circuits in city centres.
In addition to the Audi works team, the British Virgin Racing squad will field Audi e-tron FE05 race cars for the first time in the 2018/2019 season. This partnership is new for the fifth season, with a healthy competition between the two teams intended to continually increase the performance level.
The Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team is a founding member of Formula E with Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi competing since the very first race. The Brazilian clinched the title in the drivers' championship in the third season (2016/2017), and the 2017/2018 season concluded with di Grassi as runner-up and Abt in fifth place.
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