Ahead of its 2019-2020 Formula E entry, Mercedes-Benz has just unveiled their first all-electric racecar. The Stuttgart carmaker launched its Silver Arrow 01 today at the Geneva Motor Show, citing the battery-powered racer as “an important source of technology for the Mercedes family in the future.” This new EV racer will turn Mercedes into the only car company to currently compete in both Formula One and Formula E.
The season, the sixth for the electric car series, kicks off in late 2019 and will also see Porsche join the pack. It means Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche will all be competing in a single competition, alongside newer rivals DS, Mahindra, Nio and Venturi.
The colors on the EQ Silver Arrow 01 represent a teaser livery – Mercedes says the blue line along the flanks represents the EQ brand, and ties into the similar Petronas green line streaked upon the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ Formula One car.
“The blue touches and the subtle contrast between matte and gloss in conjunction with the star motif at the rear of the vehicle convey the concept of progressive luxury in electric motorsport,” said chief design officer Gordon Wagener of this version.
Formula E is going to be a completely new playing field for us,” said Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “But we are looking forward to the challenge of demonstrating the performance of our intelligent battery-electric drives in motorsport and of giving a positive boost to the EQ brand.”
Mercedes lists the top speed of its car as 174 mph, with an acceleration time of 0-60 mph in about 2.7 seconds.
The current season is the first with an all-new Gen2 racing car, with “halo” cockpit protection for the driver, higher power and top speeds, and no full-car swaps mid-race. At 52-kwh and 849 pounds, the battery that needs to power all Formula E cars for the entire 45-minute races is a product of McLaren Applied Technologies and Lucid Motors (Atieva), with Sony cells.
Entrants can design their own electric motors, inverters, gearboxes, and front brake ducts. These measure ensures cost control while allowing them to focus on how to extract the best battery performance.
