Audi Rolls Out Its Next-Gen E-Tron FE05 Electric Racer

The organizers of the FIA Formula E Championship arrived in Geneva this week with their new Gen2 electric racer. But they’re not the only ones showing off the next-generation chassis.

Along with a couple other participating manufacturers, Audi came to the show with its version, called the E-Tron FE05.

Displayed on the automaker’s show stand alongside Lucas di Grassi’s championship-winning FE02, the new F05 adopts the radical new design. It also wears its own livery in green, white, and black. But Audi’s real contribution to the Abt Shaeffler team will be felt underneath the bodywork, where the German automaker will help develop the electric powertrain.

The chassis itself, however, is being made by Spark Racing Technology, and the battery pack by McLaren. That battery is much more powerful than the current car’s, though, so those mid-race car-swaps that were mandated by the depleting charge will be a thing of the past.

“We were all excited to see the new Formula E car,” said Allan McNish, the three-time Le Mans winner who runs the team.“It looks breathtaking, especially with Audi’s livery. Equally impressive is the technology inside the race car. Here the Gen-2 car is making another huge step forward compared with the first-generation Formula E car.”

“Also in terms of technology, it proves the rapid advancement of developments in electric mobility,” Audi’s head of motorsport Dieter Gass.

The Audi Sport Abt Shaeffler team will face some stiff competition next season when the new cars are rolled out – and BMW joins the grid in partnership with Andretti Autosport. Mercedes and Porsche are set to join the following season as well, potentially turning Formula E into a technological showdown between Germany’s biggest automakers and their considerable racing departments.