You know what was missing from the boring world of motorsport? A racings series/concept which eliminates some – but very important – human elements.

Yes, Roborace toyed with the idea of an autonomous race-car and came out with this stunning looking machine. The automobile (if you can call it that) wants to pioneer a driverless racing, set to launch next year as a “show” part of the Formula E competition.

But how will this exactly work? Well, on their official page, Roborace states something like “driverless teams competing in a battle of algorithms”, “bringing together technology gaming and motorsport and “fusing AI with automotive engineering in extreme conditions”; an interesting concept, nonetheless, if the said teams would have to come up with complex calculations in order to preset the vehicle’s, trajectory over a course or track, or just “teach it” the best calculated line.

It all sound dreary from a petrolhead’s point of view, but as a technological piece, the concept itself is astonishing.

The Roborace was designed by Daniel Simon – you may know him as “the guy” responsible for the vehicles in the movie Tron, Oblivion, Prometheus and Captain America. The man was also responsible for a few liveries seen on some Formula 1 cars and worked for Audi, Bentley and Bugatti, and here’s what he had to say about the driverless race car:

“My goal was to create a vehicle that takes full advantage of the unusual opportunities of having no driver without ever compromising on beauty. Racing engineers and aerodynamicists have worked with me from the beginning to strike that balance. The Roborace is as much about competition as it is entertainment. Therefore – and quite unusual in today’s racing world – beauty was very high on our agenda and we work hard to merge the best performance with stunning styling.”

Formula E CEO, Alejandro Agag, thinks the concept could completely revolutionize the industry:

“Today is an historic day for motorsport, and the car industry in general. This first image of the Robocar, designed by Daniel Simon, represents a vision of what cars will be, a vision of our future. In Formula E we are proud to promote, together with pioneers like Denis Sverdlov and Daniel Simon, a revolution in the world of motorsport, a project that will change the future of mobility”.

H/T to FIA Formula E

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