Porsche targets big step forward with new Formula E racer

By James Attwood

7 Nov 2022

Porsche has revealed its bold new 99X Electric Gen3 contender for the 2023 ABB Formula E World Championship season, which the firm hope will allow it to become regular title challengers.

The all-electric single-seater series features a spec chassis, bodywork and batteries, but teams are free to fit their own drivetrain technology – which can make a huge difference to how efficient the cars are.

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For this season, the series will introduce the new third-generation Gen3 chassis, which features a hike in total output from 250kW to 350kW. While the system output is capped, the car actually features a 350kW motor on the rear axle and a 250kW motor, which is largely used to control regenerative braking, up front.

Porsche says that the powertrain it has developed for those rules has a power efficiency of around 95 per cent, compared to 40 per cent for an internal combustion engine. That means recuperated energy accounts for more than 40 per cent of the power used in a race, while the battery can be charged at speeds of up to 600kW.

The Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 also features a high use of sustainable materials, with the spec batteries all Formula E cars must use claimed to use “sustainably sourced minerals”. The carbon fibre used in the chassis is also taken from old Gen2 Formula E racers.

Porsche is entering its fourth season of Formula E, and despite its storied reputation in motorsport the marque has so far struggled. It has not finished higher than seventh in the Teams’ Championship, and has so far claimed just a single race win.

The firm has revamped its driver line-up for the next season, with former champion Antonio Felix da Costa joining the returning Pascal Wehrlein.

Wehrlein said: “During the tests with our new car, I had a good feeling right from the start. We gained a lot of insights and made great progress. At the very beginning, it was about getting the car running, but very quickly it became just as much about performance. And, of course, efficiency, which will also be a key to success with the new generation of cars. These were incredibly exciting experiences for me.”

Florian Modlinger, Porsche’s Formula E boss, said that the team was “confident that we’ll make further progress before the start of the season and that we will be in a good position when the cards are reshuffled amongst the teams with the arrival of the new cars.”

The new Formula E season starts in Mexico City on January 14 2023.