Formula E has refreshed the design of its second-generation car. The revised model will make its debut in the 2020-21 season which begins later this year.
Among the changes are a reshaped front wing, the addition of a ‘shark fin’ and new rear wing elements.“As we did with the first-generation car, the Gen 2 Evo has been given re-profiled bodywork to make it look more sleek and agile,” said Formula E founder Alejandro Agag. “Its futuristic design once again showcases Formula E as the category for innovation in both technological advances and appearance.”
The next Formula E season will be the first time the series has been officially classified by the FIA as a world championship.
“I am pleased that as it transitions to world championship status, we see a further evolution of the Gen 2 car – the Gen2 Evo – with an exciting new look,” said FIA president Jean Todt. “It is this progressive approach that has contributed to the expansion of the grid and increasing competitiveness of the championship, which continues to go from strength to strength and which is paving the way for the future of sustainable urban mobility.”
The new car will be officially presented at the Geneva Motor show on March 3rd.
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Pictures: 2020-21 Formula E ‘Gen 2 Evo’ car
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Brownerboy (@brownerboy)
4th February 2020, 10:12
Has it been fitted with speakers that make proper car noises?
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 14:55
@brownerboy
Porsche’s first car was an EV
FP13
4th February 2020, 10:16
Can you make a comparison between gen 2 and gen 2 evo?
Craig
4th February 2020, 10:19
Front looks alright but can’t say I’m a fan of the rear end.
Still, if the racing remains close I think I’ll live.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
4th February 2020, 10:21
For a car that doesn’t need much (any?) aero, did they really need to put in a shark fin? I think it’d have looked way better (lower, and more ground hugging) without a shark fin, and with just the roll-hoop/T-cam being the highest point of the car.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
4th February 2020, 10:28
I think they’ve taken everything aesthetically pleasing and unique about the original Gen 2 and made it look like an F1 reject. Really dislike it.
Front wing looks slightly more F1-centric compared to the nice unique wing they had before. Rear wing now looks like a broken F1 wing (CDG wing, anyone?). And another shark fin. Sigh.
I never actually had an issue with the fact that the wheels were covered, too. I know the FE cars aren’t hugely fast (relatively speaking), but I can’t imagine it’ll do the aero any good.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
4th February 2020, 10:36
Do you actually understand the looks don’t matter and the function should be decisive? They’ve probably found out that some of the F1 solutions are more suitable to their concept, nothing wrong about that.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
4th February 2020, 10:45
See my comment on wheel covers….
Phylyp (@phylyp)
4th February 2020, 10:46
Honest question – how much does aero play a role in FE? I’d have thought that with the nature of their circuits, it’d be quite low.
And given that Agag himself said the following, it seems like it is a case of form over function:
jpvalverde85 (@jpvalverde85)
4th February 2020, 11:11
Yes, awful. I would prefer them to be “more sleek and agile” rather than just look.
socksolid (@socksolid)
4th February 2020, 15:29
It’s 90% looks, 10% downforce. Most of the wings and shapely shapes at most try to be aero neutral and be flat with the airflow. Only the rear diffuser and the small front wings inside that front structure make downforce. They are trying to be efficient with how the generate that little amount as well. Diffuser and the front wing are so low that they benefit from ground effect which reduces drag a bit.
The rest is merely there for the looks or steering the air around the wheels or reducing wake (minimizing the effect of wake created by the turning front wheels for example). Not to mention formula e is an energy saving formula so adding downforce and drag only means the drivers would need to lift and coast even more to have enough battery. With more downforce driving at same constant speed would consume more energy due to drag so they don’t want to do it. Even if adding downforce should allow them to drive flatout bigger portion of the track. Which in a roundabout way makes the form over function of the formula e aero be actually functional. Can’t add downforce because it is energy saving formula so make the car look “cool” and have a lot less downforce and drag instead.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
4th February 2020, 16:14
Thanks for that response, @socksolid. You make a good point about downforce being a negative.
Robbie (@robbie)
4th February 2020, 16:23
@socksolid Agreed and well said. The last thing electric vehicles need is drag from downforce. Nor drag from any other aspect. I can see where they’d be more concerned about the design helping the cooling of batteries, and otherwise simply to make them look sleek and cool, and also to be durable in the close and confined venues at which they race. I’m sure those front wings as well as the bodywork ahead of the rear tires are meant moreso as durable bumpers than as aero (read downforce) bits.
anon
4th February 2020, 19:17
@socksolid, the thing is, the way that they have styled most of the bodywork will probably actually have the opposite effect – in that the efficiency of the aerodynamics of the car will probably be worsened by the addition of some of those components.
For example, when Formula 1 explored having a similar style of rear wings over the rear wheels – the Central Downwash Generating concept – it turned out that having those split rear wings over the rear wheels was significantly less efficient than having a single rear wing, with most of the benefits failing to materialise in practise.
The reduced aspect ratio will worsen the lift induced drag, whilst placing those wings in close proximity to the turbulent wake spilling off the rear tyres meant they worked extremely inefficiently. You’ve ended up with the worst of both worlds, in that you’ve designed something that is both inefficient at producing downforce, but also inefficient in terms of the drag coefficient of that aero piece.
I am not sure that the argument that Formula E “is an energy saving formula so adding downforce and drag only means the drivers would need to lift and coast even more to have enough battery” is necessarily valid either. Around most circuits, the performance of a car generally tends to be traction limited at a far earlier stage than it is drag limited – cutting drag in that way probably will not make a significant difference in performance or in terms of energy consumption at most circuits, because it is rarely the case that the cars will be operating for an extended period of time in a situation where aerodynamic drag will be dominating the performance of the car.
socksolid (@socksolid)
5th February 2020, 14:50
Just because a car has a wing doesn’t mean it adds meaningful amount of drag and downforce. Those separate rear wingy things are purely for looks and shaped as such that there is probably no difference in having them or not for downforce levels. All it might do is help the diffuser work little better but all in all it is just for looks. If you put a wing on a car and angle it such that it is perfectly flat with the airflow the only thing you have to worry about is making sure it is actually flat with the air flow (which is not 90 degree flat) and surface friction with the boundary layer. Not to mention those wings are not in clean air either so chances are they really don’t do anything. No positive, no negative.
socksolid (@socksolid)
5th February 2020, 14:59
I wasn’t going to comment on the energy saving aspect of formula e because I think it is blatantly obvious. But anon make a comment about formula e being traction limited. So why is formula e traction limited? Because it runs on road car tires. Why does it run on road car tires? Because it makes the car consume less energy. Less downforce and less tire grip means during a lap less time is spent on throttle.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
4th February 2020, 10:41
I think it’s a great descision to finally get rid of the wheel covers. They would maybe finally be taken more seriously and the bumper car nonsense will be eliminated.
bosyber (@bosyber)
4th February 2020, 19:50
I saw that Marc Priestley also thought that was likely the reason for that @pironitheprovocateur, and if so, I hope it works, because for me the sometimes extreme amount of bumper-cars is one of the things that detracts most from the racing in FE.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 15:03
@bosyber
Always spiced up British Touring car
bosyber (@bosyber)
6th February 2020, 8:07
@bigjoe – honestly, haven’t watched much British TC – though DTM some. On those narrow tracks Formula E tend to have, I found it a bit much over the last two seasons, as it tended to effectively block overtaking, and at those chicanes (great they are now reducing them, I think they might not be needed as much any more) it often led to the silly blockages, in my view. Clearly, no getting close to each other isn’t great either. There is a balance to be found, and I hope the gen2 evo shown here helps there.
Thegamer23
4th February 2020, 10:46
Rumors suggest that the quali power might be increased to 400 cv (290 kW) by the end of Season 8. (Gen 2 batteries are designed for that output)
The new aero might be needed to handle that power better.
Looks menacing, aggressive. More of a racing car if you ask me.
The finn might grow on me.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
4th February 2020, 12:38
That’s interesting info. @hazelsouthwell – your take on this, please?
Dan (@danstimo)
4th February 2020, 10:51
I have always liked the look of the car and this looks good too. I just wish they’d get these onto some proper racing circuits and out of these narrow street circuits that just bore me with bumper car style racing.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 15:03
@danstimo
Isn’t there a new single seater with electric motors coming out? Sounds like that’s for you.
petebaldwin (@)
4th February 2020, 12:06
Urgh…. Liked the look of these before the shark fin has ruined it.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th February 2020, 12:16
It looks a bit closer to an F1 car than before.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
5th February 2020, 0:41
@jerejj exactly. For futuristic they must mean more and more 2008 like.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
4th February 2020, 13:28
The rest of the car doesn’t look too bad but the shark fin is horrid & totally ruins the overall look of the car for me. The thing looks like it’s just been stuck on & doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the car, Just looks terrible imo.
DAllein (@)
4th February 2020, 13:35
Wait, I don’t see Banana Skin container!
vjanik (@vjanik)
4th February 2020, 14:45
Ah yes. They needed to add a billboard too.
Luke Longnecker
4th February 2020, 14:56
It’s not the aesthetics I dislike – it’s the circuits.
FE could be fun to watch on a proper track, but right now I think it’s almost unwatchable.
Robbie (@robbie)
4th February 2020, 16:24
I don’t disagree.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 15:00
Yeah like Hungary and Monaco and the same versions out east.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
4th February 2020, 16:03
This is nothing like a shark fin.
Why did this ever get used as a definition? If anything, it looks more like a swordfish (e.g Sailfish).
A shark’s dorsal fin (always implied) does not extend down it’s back!
Sorry, winds me up… Change it now!
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
4th February 2020, 19:13
No, you improve your imagination.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
4th February 2020, 22:29
@pironitheprovocateur What? Imagine an animal to be nothing like it really is for the purposes of describing a man-made machine?
I really do have better things for my imagination…
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
4th February 2020, 21:06
“Shark Fin”, Dorsal Fin what-ever you want to call it. Just another place to sell space to sponsors.
For the aero discussion, there will be all manner of ruminating on pro’s and con’s, but in the end, does it matter.?
Being a spec-series, all the cars drag the same aero stuff around the circuits so whether it creates down-force, drag or some counter moment in yaw, do the fans or drivers care ..?? Not likely. Does it matter, same again.
Looking forward to the day when someone smacks a wall and knocks half of the appendages off, and then proceeds to set about passing the field.
They could have achieved the same result building the spec chassis into an ex-military drop tank. It wouldn’t look “cool or sexy” but the effect on the racing wouldn’t be much different. Of yes, and add a really BIG Shark Fin.
JC
4th February 2020, 23:02
Looks great, would have been nicer to slim down the side bodywork but appreciate there’s a lot of stuff to squeeze in there.
With more peak power coming too, the first Formula E World Champion will be proud of their car!
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 14:59
The drivers have always looked like they were having a good time. That’s what it’s all about. Or at least used to be ,before big money took over motorsport.
Joseph (@bigjoe)
5th February 2020, 14:57
The great thing about FE is that they can do whatever the hell they want whenever they want, without their fans moaning and groaning.
Thankfully they don’t have to appease traditionalists. Or listen to the negative comments above.
bosyber (@bosyber)
6th February 2020, 8:11
I agree that FE is quite unburdened, and that’s for the good – I do not like all things they do, but I enjoy what they are trying to build, and I still think visiting the Berlin Tempelhof GP is one of the most relaxed ways I had of watching motorsport live (easily reachable, good track, and a park next to it where you can go and get in – I do think the Austria GP does some of that well too – not so much the reachable by public transport! – but probably for a large multiple of the sum it requires in Berlin).
Joseph (@bigjoe)
8th February 2020, 9:35
Pre race build-up is a must watch even if you don’t like the style of racing. It’s very laid back with everyone being so approachable.
The pundits and commentary team seem like best buddies with everyone.
The interview with Simona de silvestro was great .
“We have some fantastic manufactures in Formula E now…Porsche… Mercedes..Audi…BMW..they’re all here. Is there pressure on your team, considering who else they are racing against ?”
Her smile whilst he was asking, was worth a thousand words… :)
Andy Dancer (@spartan2000)
9th February 2020, 12:28
They need to hold a few races at proper circuits where overtaking is ACTUALLY possible. Thruxton, Brands, or Donnington perhaps.