German performance car brand Porsche on Monday released more details about its next generation all-electric race car, the 99X Gen3, which will battle in the all-electric Formula E racing series for the 2023 season. The third-generation vehicle is smaller and more powerful than the last, but it’s the newly doubled energy-recuperation capability that’s poised to have the biggest impact on Porsche’s racing strategy.
Lighter, smaller
The Gen3 Formula E chassis has a shorter wheelbase and a narrower track than the previous chassis. The recycled carbon-fiber race car is also lighter, coming in more than 110 pounds lighter overall than the previous 1,990-pound minimum weight, despite the presence of a whole extra electric motor/generator on the front axle.
Battery capacity hasn’t been stated, but we know that the pack is composed of cells made from sustainably obtained materials and that the pack itself is around 220 pounds lighter than the Gen2 unit. Porsche says that at the end of the racing season, it will be able to recycle or reuse the cells — for example, in large-scale portable power storage.
The full-electric race car features a more powerful 350-kW rear drive motor and a 250-kW front motor for regen only.
Antuan Goodwin/CNETThe front suspension, body and structure are standardized across all Gen3 Formula E teams and cars, coming from a common supplier. However, Porsche was able to flex its engineering muscle designing the 99X’s ultralightweight rear chassis structure as well as its unique powertrain, differentials and driveshafts, and suspension rear-end components.
Teams will also need to acclimate to new tires from Formula E 2023 season supplier Hankook. The new rubber will be composed of natural materials and recycled fibers, and will be recycled after every race weekend.
Read more: Porsche’s 99X Electric Race Car Might Be the Wildest-Looking Thing in Formula E
Dual-motor regeneration
The 99X Gen3 features dual electric motors — one for the front axle and one for the rear. The rear axle’s 350-kW (around 469 horsepower) electric drive motor is 100 kW more powerful than last year’s power plant, both under acceleration and when recapturing energy when braking, which should lead to higher top speeds and more exciting racing.
The front motor is only used for regenerative braking, able to recoup around 250 kilowatts under full load. All together, the 99X Gen3 boasts a massive 600 kW of regeneration potential, 2.4 times more than last season’s car and enough to reclaim around 40% of the energy expended driving.
Gen2 Formula E cars had already advanced to the point where an entire race could be completed on one full charge. The Gen3 cars will be able to do more with an even smaller, lighter reserve, despite the increased power in qualifying and race modes. The 99X is also capable of accepting 600-kW bumps from stationary boost chargers during pit stops — that’s nearly double the power of the fastest public DC fast-charging stations.
The 99X and the rest of the Gen3 cars will battle for electric supremacy in the 2023 Formula E series.
Antuan Goodwin/CNETSoftware-driven race strategy
In addition to balancing front and rear axle regenerative braking, the 99X also features friction brakes for the front wheels, but not the rears. What brakes get used when and where in the race will be decided by bespoke software tuning that will develop over the course of the racing series.
With so much standardized hardware, software and strategy will be the key differentiator between the various Gen3 teams this season. Porsche and the rest of the Formula E field will need to balance regenerative braking, friction braking, attack power and more for each track.
The new Porsche 99X Gen3 race car will make its Formula E World Championship racing debut at the beginning of Season 9 when the green flag drops on the Mexico City E-Prix on Jan. 14.
