Because the long-awaited Formula E championship is such a dramatic departure from all other forms of open-wheeled racing, the championship is being feverishly promoted around the world and the most recent preview took place in front of some stunned crowds at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t4FmNwI2-o[/youtube]
For this year’s championship which interestingly doesn’t start until September, all teams will use the same Spark-Renault SRT_01E. In the following videos it can be seen driving on the infamous Las Vegas strip as well as performing some almost completely silent donuts in front of some mystified onlookers. As for those on the Las Vegas strip which saw it driving past, most of them probably thought it was a Formula One car!
Because the Spark-Renault SRT_01E is the sole racing car, a total of 42 Spark-Renault SRT_01E’s will be produced because in Formula E, instead of having pit stops to refuel (or in this case recharge), driver’s will simply hop into their second Spark-Renault SRT_01E and get back on track. It’s hoped that the Spark-Renault SRT_01E will only serve as the sole entrant for the 2014 season with teams then encouraged to invest in their own cars for future seasons.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q3jTxTcIn4[/youtube]
Powering the Spark-Renault SRT_01E is an electric engine delivering a total of 270 hp. However, just 180 hp will generally be on tap with the additional 90 hp coming through a “push to pass” button.
