Formula E driver Dan Ticktum is looking forward to Gen4: "It will be a 'wow' experience!"

At the beginning of November, Formula E unveiled the fourth-generation racing car, which will be used from the 2026/27 season. But it's not just the look that's different: the Gen4 cars will be faster, more powerful and more challenging to drive than their predecessors. It's a development that Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum is looking forward to with great anticipation.

Ticktum makes no secret of the fact that he has not been entirely satisfied with the Formula E cars in the past: “We made some good steps between those cars, but it wasn’t a ‘wow’", he reveals in an interview with Motorsportweek. But the fourth generation of Formula E cars is something the Brit is looking forward to: "I’ve seen some stuff on Gen4 (already) and from what I’ve heard, it is going to be a ‘wow’!"

Ticktum: "The car is going to be fucking fast!"

"It’s going to be a very big step," he continues. "We're talking kilowatts here, but I'm talking horsepower (and) it's pretty much double, it’s 470 to just over 800. And obviously with no gears you have that power all the time so a car that’s delivering 800 or so horsepower all the time is going to be fucking fast!”"

The Gen4 cars will make their racing debut at the end of 2026 for the 13th season of Formula E. But even beyond that, Ticktum sees further potential: "We’re going to have a bit more downforce as well. Hopefully looking forward even to Gen4.5 where we’ll have semi-slicks or even slicks."

The possible introduction of treadless slicks instead of the profiled all-weather tyres was also recently confirmed by Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds during a roundtable interview: "I would be surprised if at some point you don't see a Formula E car racing on slick tyres. The question is not if, I don't think, it's more of a when we see that come to life."

Different race tracks for Gen4?

With the faster racing cars, the question also arises as to which race tracks can be used in the future: Narrow street circuits, which had characterised the identity of the series in the early years in particular, are no longer drivable at such a speed. At least not if the spectators are to be offered an enjoyable, exciting race.

Ticktum is also questioning a race track that is on the calendar for the upcoming season: "We might not be able to race in Tokyo, for example, which is too small – we’ll have to change the layout – but I think tricky tracks like that with the four-wheel drive, that much power and a bigger car moving around, I think it’s going to sort the men from the boys."

Paretta: "We might have to adapt configurations"

With electric vehicles, unlike their combustion engine counterparts, the issue of regeneration, i.e. energy recovery, also plays an important role. This is also the reason why "if we go to permanent circuits (...) we will often add a chicane or two", describes Beth Paretta, Vice President of Sporting at Formula E during a recent interview. It's about making "sure that we're managing the speeds, the braking zones and because of the ability for regen, we'll see where we're putting those Attack Modes," Paretta said.

According to Paretta, it is also possible that racetracks that have hosted Formula E races in the past will return to the calendar in the future: "We might have to adapt configurations (though), certainly in street races where we can adapt the shapes of things."

The first manufacturer tests with the Gen4 cars have already taken place recently in Monteblanco (Spain). Following the announcement of the fourth generation of Formula E cars, anticipation for Ticktum is certainly running high: "I’m looking forward to a car that’s going to be a fucking handful!"