Mitch Evans and Sam Bird stay on for a third season with Jaguar TCS Racing.
Jaguar TCS Racing has pulled the covers off its I-Type 6 – its race car for the upcoming Formula E Season 9 – with an all-new black, white and gold livery. The new season will mark the debut of the Gen3 electric cars, pegged to be Formula E’s most powerful, efficient and fastest yet.
- New cars feature front and rear powertrains
- Produce 476hp; has a 320kph top speed
- Pre-season test in Valencia on December 13-16
Jaguar I-Type 6 sports new livery
The Gen3 Formula E racers are the first-ever formula cars to feature front and rear powertrains. As a result of this, they also do away with rear hydraulic brakes. A 250kW motor at the front works in conjunction with a 350kW motor at the rear to deliver a total of 600kW – that’s double the regenerative capability of the Gen2 cars.
They’re over 50kg lighter than their predecessors and 100kW more powerful, delivering 350kW (476hp) and a top speed of 320kph. With a narrower car and shorter wheelbase, the new cars have also been designed to deliver better racing.
To save costs, the carbon fibre chassis and battery are common across all 11 teams. Manufacturers can design their own powertrain (including the motor, transmission, inverter and rear suspension). Jaguar’s 2023 racers also feature a new carbon black and satin white livery, complete with gold accents. The asymmetric design will be unique for both cars.
2023 will also be the first season where Jaguar will supply its powertrain tech to another team – Envision Racing. This means there will be four Jaguar-powered cars on the grid next year.
Jaguar to use Formula E to develop JLR EVs
Jaguar has emphasised that its Formula E efforts will continue to be a real-world test bed for Jaguar Land Rover’s electric vehicles – for electric powertrains, sustainability and software technology. This is in line with JLR’s transition into an all-electric luxury car company from 2025.
On the back of the recent departures of BMW, Audi and Mercedes, Formula E pushed for the Gen3 cars to be more relevant to brands when it comes to technology transfer to road cars. The new battery, for example, is far smaller and lighter than any road-going equivalent.
Wolfspeed also comes onboard as the team’s official Power Semiconductor Partner. This partnership extends to the wider JLR brand as well, with Wolfspeed set to supply silicon carbide semiconductors for the next generation of JLR’s EV inverters.
“As we head into our seventh season in Formula E, I have been reflecting on how far we have come as a team. Jaguar TCS Racing has a vital role to fulfil beyond the success of the racetrack, and it remains a privilege to play our part supporting the reimagination of Jaguar as an all-electric brand from 2025,” said James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal.
Jaguar 2023 Formula E driver line-up
Going into a season of big changes, Jaguar has opted for consistency in its driver line-up with Mitch Evans and Sam Bird staying on for a third season. Evans finished second in the 2022 championship, staying in the title fight till the very end of the season. Together, he and Bird helped the team score its biggest points haul so far in Formula E, en route to fourth place in the teams’ championship.
“The new Jaguar I-TYPE 6 gives us a lot more to play with, with more power and speed, and the team and I have been working tirelessly to make sure we maximise this effectively to use it to our advantage,” said Evans.
Bird had to sit out the end of the 2022 season due to injury, but he’s put his recovery period to good use. Bird said, “I’ve taken the off-season to reset, come back stronger and I’m hungrier than ever to do well for the team.”
2023 Formula E: calendar and new sporting regulations
Season 9 of Formula E is set to be the championship’s longest to date with a record 17 races. Three new street tracks join the calendar with Hyderabad, Cape Town and Sao Paulo confirmed. Set to be held on February 11, the Hyderabad E-Prix will see the championship host it’s first-ever race in India. Adding to the existing teams, Maserati and McLaren also enter the championship for Gen3.
Formula E has also tweaked its sporting regulations ahead of Season 9. Races will now run to laps instead of the previous format of 45 mins-plus-one-lap. Fanboost has been discontinued as well.
A new ‘Attack Charge’ stop will be trialled at select races later on next year. The Gen3 cars feature a battery capable of receiving 4kWh of energy within 30 secs. At races where this format is trialled, drivers will have to take a mandatory 30 secs fast charging stop during a pre-determined period in the race. This will unlock two Attack Mode power boosts (increasing power output from 300kW to 350kW) to be deployed later.
The existing Attack Mode format will continue in the remaining races. Additionally, it is now mandatory for every team to feature a rookie driver in at least two Free Practice 1 sessions during the season.
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