Charged with excitement

The first German automotive manufacturer to compete in the growing FIA Formula E championship, Audi sport has unveiled the new vehicle livery and announced a new team structure ahead of the coming 2017-2018 season.

Building on the success of Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in 2017, which saw Audi works driver, Lucas di Grassi crowned as Formula E Champion, Audi sport will now build on its presence in the electric formula with a factory-backed team. 

“After nearly 40 years of being successfully active in motorsport on the highest level, Audi now becomes the first German automobile manufacturer to compete in Formula E in order to test and advance the development of new technologies for production,” says Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development, AUDI AG. 

“Following quattro, TFSI, TDI, hybrid drive and many other innovations, our first single-seater race car is a portent of our product offensive in the field of electric mobility that we are ringing in with the Audi e-tron in 2018,” Mertens says.

Speaking at the presentation of the new Audi e-tron FE04 race car, Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass was excited at the potential of the new car and of the team as a whole. 

“Together with our technology partner Schaeffler, we have developed a completely new powertrain,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “You can immediately tell this by looking at the new carbon housing of the powertrain. The car also sounds different because we’re pursuing new avenues in technology.” 

The Audi group’s first all-electric race car, the Audi e-tron FE04 boasts a basic livery, and for the first time in his career, Lucs di Grassi will start the new season with the number 1 on his new car. Joining him in the second career is Daniel Abt who has now become an official Audi works driver. The pair have formed a strong bond as drivers, the 33 races held to date having seen them achieve 24 podiums, six victories and four pole positions. 

Former Formula 1 driver and three times LeMan winner, Allan McNish, has been announced as team principal. The Scotsman was closely associated with the team throughout this, the third season, and from this new season, the formula’s fourth, he will also officially lead and represent the squad. 

Significant research and development has gone into the new race car. In Formula E, the teams and manufacturers are allowed to develop the powertrain consisting of the motor, transmission, parts of the suspension and the respective software. The combination of the motor and transmission is the centrepiece of the Audi e-tron FE04. The engineers primarily focus on designing the motor-generator unit for ever greater efficiency. To transmit the power to the wheels, Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler will be using a high-efficiency transmission with only one gear in the 2017/2018 season which kicks off in Hong Kong on December 2 this year. But before the season opener, there is still much to do, with the cars presented this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria as part of the E-Mobility Play Day, before heading to Valencia, Spain for the only official Formula E pre-season tests ahead of the new season.