Unmistakably homemade: the Porsche 99X Electric.

White, black and red: the Porsche 99X Electric unmistakably bears the factory’s famous motorsport colors. Yet that's not the only thing that makes it a true Porsche. It has something that cars from Flacht always have: the art of innovation.

As is often the case in racing, there are some regulations with car development in Formula E. And that is definitely a good thing – as it guarantees equal opportunity in terms of technology and brings motorsport back to the forefront. Nevertheless, there are some opportunities to express one’s own artistic innovation in the development; this is what will differentiate the cars in the end.

The Formula E race cars look dynamic. Fast and modern, indeed futuristic. And that is evident as they whiz around the cities of the world with their whirring electric motors. The Formula E race cars don't really look any different from one another except for their paintwork: all teams start with the newly introduced Gen2 standard chassis used in the last season. What the cars still have in common are the batteries and tires: 18-inch tires for wet and dry roads. So far, there is not a lot of difference between the electric cars. However, the differences are hidden away in the assembly of the overall car system and in a central location: the drivetrain. The Porsche E-Performance Powertrain developed by Porsche represents the Holy Grail of the Porsche 99X Electric. No team really wants to reveal the development details, but Malte Huneke, Technical Project Leader Formula E, has hinted: “We focused on building a highly effective drivetrain with the utmost level of efficiency.” Porsche benefits here from a wealth of motorsport experience – knowledge from the LMP1 project was optimally applied particularly in the development of the powertrain’s 800-volt technology with its permanently excited synchronous machine. The 800-volt technology enables a high continuous output and good weight management with a short charge time. Thanks to this knowledge, the 99X has broken the mold, which will make all the difference: electric motor, transmission, differential, drive shaft, and other car parts, such as the brake-by-wire system and the control unit, are manufactured in-house at the Motorsports Centre in Flacht and is, in this way, typically Porsche: made for motorsport.

In the final few weeks before the first race of the season, focus will now be placed on carrying out all the last fine tuning work. It’s not much longer until it gets serious for the TAG Heuer Formula E Team and the new race cars.