Porsche and Mercedes are joining Formula E next
season. But they aren’t the German automakers connecting to the electric grid. BMW, which is stepping up its involvement in the series. And it
just ran its new electric racer for the first time.
The new BMW iFE.18 ran at the BMW Driving Academy in
Maisach, on the outskirts of Munich. Factory racing driver Tom Blomqvist
handled driving duties. And along its flanks is printed its mission statement:
TechLab for BMW iNEXT.
That’s what the Bavarian automaker calls its forward-looking
electric vehicle project. And its first fully electric race car serves as its
test bed. The German marque has been part of the Formula E program from the
beginning. But its involvement has revolved principally around providing its i3
and i8 hybrids as support vehicles. It’s now stepping up its collaboration with
the Andretti team.
The iFE.18 is based on the second-generation chassis
that the series organizers revealed in Geneva, but with the manufacturer’s own
electric powertrain package. Compared to the i3, the iFE.18 is 50 percent
lighter, 66 percent more compact, revs 400 percent higher, and produces 100
percent more power.
Once testing is complete, it will get its own unique
livery to represent the new BMW i Motorsport program. We’ll be on the lookout
when the series undertakes its next test session in Spain next week.
