As a brand new Formula E season is about to begin
this Saturday, fans across the world will get to feast their eyes on 22 new
Gen2 cars, new tracks, new rules and even new drivers. Among those new pieces of
machinery is the DS E-TENSE FE19, built entirely in-house by DS Automobiles in
Versailles just outside of Paris. The FE19 is said to have a power output of
338 HP and can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds.
Behind the wheel of this battery-electric racer will
be DS Techeetah drivers Andre Lotterer and reigning Formula E champion,
Jean-Eric Vergne. The pair won’t even have to swap cars anymore during races,
as the larger 52 kWh battery should go the distance.
Another innovation is Attack Mode, which temporarily
increases the power level from 200 kW (in race mode) to 225 kW for a brief
period of time, helping drivers overtake. Somewhat similar to Formula One’s DRS
system, Formula E drivers will need to go through an activation zone in order
to gain access to this new mode. Unlike in F1 though, Formula E drivers will
have to leave the racing line in order to activate the system.
Saturday’s Formula E season opener takes place on
the new 2.5 km street circuit of Ad Diriyah in Saudi Arabia.
