Audi has become the first German car maker to enter the all-electric Formula E motorsport series. Audi has managed to pull this off by buying the ABT Sportsline team, now renamed as Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler.
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 new E-Tron FE04 features a completely new drivetrain, developed in collaboration with Schaeffler and paired to a single-ratio transmission. Technology partner Schaeffler has also helped Audi develop a new carbon housing for the powertrain. The Audi Formula E team also showcased their new livery that features white, metallic green and black colours.
Peter Mertens, Audi’s member of the Board of Management was quoted saying, “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.”
The German manufacturer also recently announced that it will have more than 20 electrified road-going models in its range before 2025 including plug-in-hybrids and fully electric cars.
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