Porsche presents the status of Gen4 development of Formula E: "It's fair to speak of a revolution"

Porsche has been active as a manufacturer in Formula E since Season 6 and will remain so until at least Season 16 (2029/30). As the first manufacturer to be involved in Formula E, the team from Weissach has now provided a detailed insight into the development of its Gen4 powertrain. The sports car manufacturer has also shown photos of its test drives in Spain.

When the current Gen3 Evo cars in Formula E retire at the end of the season, they will be replaced by vehicles that will take electric racing cars to a whole new level. Although there will still be a few things missing from the high-bred Formula 1 racing cars, fans can still expect the biggest performance boost in Formula E history.

In contrast to Formula 1, the development that manufacturers are pursuing in Formula E is also relevant for road vehicles. "In Formula E, we primarily develop the technical components that are relevant for our production sports cars," explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. "“That is one of the reasons why we compete in Formula E."

In addition to the software, the electric motor, the pulse inverter and the gearbox, the differential, the drive shafts and other drivetrain components as well as the drive cooling system and the rear wheel suspension have already been part of the manufacturers' in-house developments in Formula E to date. With the introduction of the Gen4 models, the scope of these components has essentially increased by two: the DC/DC converter and the brake-by-wire system. This allows electronically controlled distribution of the braking load to the car's wheels.

Modlinger: "Our development brief: weight, durability and costs"

"With the current car, the efficiency of our drivetrain is over 97 %," explains Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E at Porsche. "From the battery to the wheel, less than 3 % of the energy used is lost, close to perfection and a key advantage of electric drive. In our development brief for GEN4, alongside further efficiency gains in the drivetrain components, we focused on potential in terms of weight, durability and costs – similar to EVs for the road."

"At the same time, 600 kW represents a 71 % increase in power in Attack Mode," continued Modlinger. "Overall, I believe it is fair to speak of a revolution." By mid-January, the Gen4 Porsche had clocked up 1,472 test kilometres on the racetracks in Monteblanco and Almeria in Spain. Much of the development and testing work, however, takes place in the simulator, partly due to the strictly limited test days in Formula E.

In the beginning, work on the development car will focus on reliability and the interaction of the components. Later, the focus will be on performance. According to the regulations, the customer team must also test the new vehicle - presumably the second Porsche works team, which has already been announced for the coming season. In autumn, the powertrain for the first two Gen4 seasons will be homologated by the FIA. After that, further development will only be possible in the area of software.

Müller: "Gen4 is a real beast"

"“I was able to drive the new car for the first time in Almeria," explains Pascal Wehrlein. "It is really fast and great fun to drive. Thanks to the new aerodynamics, we are significantly quicker, especially through the faster corners. They generate noticeable downforce. Because we have become so efficient over the years, we can finally afford the additional drag."

"I think Gen4 will be a real eye-opener for many people out there," Wehrlein continues. "Now it’s about fine-tuning our package as much as possible. I’m glad that Nico and I can carry out the test work. That allows us to tailor the Gen4 very well to us as regular drivers."

"The Gen4 is a real beast - with huge power and traction thanks to the permanent all-wheel drive," says Nico Müller. "You could almost say it feels like a different sport. How the car accelerates, how it brakes, how aggressively you can drive when trying to extract a bit more lap time: taken together, it reminds me of the supercars in rallycross. The sporting regulations for the new era have not yet been defined, but purely from a technical perspective, the racing is set to change significantly. I’m curious and very much looking forward to the next phase of testing."