Now in purple & green! Porsche works team surprises with new Formula E car

Porsche unveiled its Formula E car for the next two seasons on Thursday afternoon. The new Porsche 99X Electric shines in completely new colours: instead of the black, red and white look of previous years, the manufacturer from Zuffenhausen is now opting for a dazzling purple with green influences. World champion Pascal Wehrlein will be competing with the number 1 on his car for the first time in the 2024/25 season.

"Purpleskymetallic" and "Shadegreenmetallic" - these are the new colours on the bodywork of the Porsche 99X Electric. At the beginning of the year, Porsche presented its Taycan Turbo GT, the brand's most powerful production car ever built, in these colours. The purple and green colours are intended to represent the technology transfer from motorsport to production cars and help with the marketing of the electric sports car.

"We are building the sports cars of the future, so we want to be progressive. The young and innovative Formula E is an excellent stage to promote our electric production sports cars," says Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "The preparations for the new season so far make me confident that we will not only look good, but will also be able to build on the successes of the previous season."

This is a reference to Pascal Wehrlein's world championship title win in July. The German goes into the new season as one of the favourites and is looking forward to his new car: "The new Porsche 99X Electric is a super cool car. Because I like the colours, I've also designed my helmet the same way. I'm also proud to have the number 1 on the nose from now on. I want to defend my title," is his clear objective.

Optimisation potential for the powertrain exploited

A number of technical changes have also been made to the Gen3 Evo version of the Porsche 99X Electric. The main technical innovations include activation of the drive on the front wheels and more adhesive Hankook tyres.

Components developed by the manufacturer were allowed to be modified for the two-year Gen3 Evo phase. The Porsche development department in Weissach took the opportunity to exploit the optimisation potential identified in the past two seasons - especially in the area of the powertrain. The homologation of the manufacturer components is again valid for two seasons.

From the outside, the evolution model is recognisable above all by the modified front wing. The new shape is intended to make it more stable so that it can withstand contact better. The panelling has also been modified behind the roll bar and in front of the rear wheels.

New features "can reshuffle the cards"

"The biggest development task was and is the implementation of the temporary all-wheel drive system," explains team principal Florian Modlinger. "Because the hardware was already available in the Gen3, a lot of work went into tuning the software. On the one hand, we want to maximise acceleration and cornering speeds with the all-wheel drive. On the other hand, it is important not to consume too much energy and to design the vehicle balance in the interests of the drivers."

One of these drivers, Antonio Felix da Costa, is already eager to see where Porsche stands in comparison with the competition. "The all-wheel drive, the new tyres and the extensive revision of our own components can reshuffle the cards, even if they are not major rule changes. I'm optimistic and looking forward to getting started again in Sao Paulo at the beginning of December."

Season starts on 7 December. All Formula E teams can look forward to an initial assessment at the official pre-season tests in Valencia from 4 to 7 November. Even though Porsche won the drivers' title last season, the team world championship is a goal that the Swabians have not yet achieved. It went to rival Jaguar this year.