Porsche, the Challenge of a New Era of Formula E

Porsche's Formula E car for the next two seasons,New Porsche 99X Electric UnveiledThe first time the car was built, it was a new, all-electric, open-wheel racer. This all-electric open-wheel racer complies with the latest regulations of the third generation of Formula E cars, called GEN3 Evo, and is fully modified with technology developed in-house at Porsche.

The new Porsche 99X Electric made its online debut on October 24, 2024. It was unveiled in a video featuring Bruno Correia, Formula E safety car driver and GEN3 Evo development driver.Key innovations include drive actuation of the front wheels, high-grip tires, and an improved front wing.

World Champion Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa, last season's most victorious driver, will continue to be the official drivers of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team. In addition, former world champion Jake Dennis and new Porsche works driver Nico Muller will be at the wheel of the two Andretti Formula E customer cars.

Porsche's unique technological evolution

This evolutionary model continues the pedigree of Porsche's most successful formula sports car: the GEN3 version of the Porsche 99X Electric won the Drivers' World Championship for the second year in a row: in the 2022/2023 season, Dennis won the title; in the 2023/2024 season In the 2022/2023 season, Dennis won the title, and in the 2023/2024 season, Wehlein won the title.

The concept remains the same.
Regulations limit the amount of energy that can be used. This forces teams and drivers to optimize all aspects of the car's efficiency. Manufacturer-developed components were allowed to change to GEN3 Evo. Weissach, Porsche's development department, seized the opportunity to exploit the optimization potential identified in the past two seasons and made improvements, especially with regard to the drivetrain. Homologation of manufacturer components will once again be valid for two seasons. The fourth generation of GEN4 will be introduced in season 13 (2026/2027).

What's new in GEN3 Evo

The major innovations of GEN3 Evo relate to the standardized hardware of all participating teams and manufacturers.

From now on, the front wheel drive can be activated during qualifying duels, race starts, and attack mode.This temporarily puts the car in four-wheel drive and enables the Porsche 99X Electric to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in approximately two seconds. The new technical challenge is how to activate the front-wheel drive more efficiently, and the knowledge gained here will be applied to Porsche's production vehicles.

The new model can be identified primarily by its improved front wing. The new shape improves stability and withstands better contact. Further changes were made to the covers behind the roll bar and in front of the rear wheels.

Coloring that symbolizes an advanced electric sports car

The new colors on the Porsche 99X Electric's body are Purple Sky Metallic and Shade Green Metallic. These are the colors that Porsche unveiled earlier this year for its top-of-the-line electric sports car, the company's most powerful production car everColors used for the Taikan Turbo GTIt is. Purple and green tones replaced the traditional black, white, and red combination.These colors symbolize the transfer of technology from motorsports to mass-produced vehicles.

Main specifications of the new Porsche 99X Electric

The main technical data of the Porsche 99X Electric (GEN3 Evo) are as follows

- Drive Output:
- Normal operation: 300 kW (408 hp)
- Attack mode, during qualifying duel: 350 kW (476 hp)

- Power transmission:
- Normal driving: Rear
- In Attack Mode, Qualifying Duel, and Race Start: Four-wheel drive

- Acceleration performance:
- 0-100 km/h: approx. 2.0 sec.

- Energy regeneration:
- Up to 600 kW regenerative power (brake energy recovery)
- Approximately 50% of driving energy during the race is due to brake energy recovery

- Braking system:
- Regenerative braking system: up to 250 kW electric braking force at front axle and 350 kW at rear axle
- Additional friction brake on front axle ("brake-by-wire" system)
- Front brake disc outer diameter: 258 mm
- Rear axle friction brake activated only in emergency situations (when regeneration does not work)

- Tires:
- Hancock iON lace with profiles for both dry and wet
- Two sets per car per race weekend (three sets for doubleheader)

- Lithium-ion battery:
- Supplied as standard component
- Usable storage capacity: 38.5 kWh
- Weight: 285 kg

- CCS charging system (Combined Charging System):
- Supports ultra-fast charging with up to 600 kW charging power

- Weights and dimensions:
- Weight: 862 kg including driver
- Overall length: 5016 mm, overall width: 1700 mm, overall height: 1023 mm
- Wheelbase: 2970 mm
- Minimum ground clearance: 65 mm max.
- Front tread: 1440 mm
- Rear tread: 1380 mm

Porsche's proprietary components

Porsche's proprietary key components include pulse inverters, electric motors, gearboxes, differentials, rear axle driveshafts and other drive components, as well as rear axle cooling, support and suspension components, and operational software.

Meanwhile, major standard components include chassis and body, wheels and tires, front axle drives, cooling, suspension components, and accumulators.

Porsche's entry into Formula E

The 2024/2025 season will mark Porsche's sixth entry in Formula E. In addition to the works team, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team, the American customer team Andretti Formula E will also compete with the Porsche 99X Electric.

This innovative electric racing car concept was developed at the Weissach facility, which operates on a carbon neutral basis. Through its participation in world championships, Porsche is demonstrating its leadership position among traditional automakers in the areas of electrification, sustainability, and technology. The experience gained in Formula E is a valuable insight for Porsche's electric mass-produced sports cars.

With the introduction of the new Porsche 99X Electric, Porsche is expected to further increase its competitiveness in Formula E and at the same time further advance its development of electric sports cars. It will be interesting for Porsche fans to see how this latest technological achievement will be reflected in future Porsche electric sports cars.