| Gen 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Car Details | ||
| Manufacturer |  Spark Racing Technologies
| |
| Model | Gen 4 | |
| Chassis |  Dallara
| |
| Motor | Magneti Marelli
| |
| Battery | Podium AT
| |
| Tyres |  Bridgestone
| |
| Formula E Record | ||
| Début | TBC | |
| Entries | 0 (0 Starts) | |
| Poles | Wins | F.L.s |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 | |
| T.P.s | 0 | |
The Gen 4, alternately known as the Generation 4, is an upcoming base car and ruleset for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, set to debut at the start of the 2026/27 season.[1] Announced shortly after the Generation 3 era of Formula E, Gen 4 would aim for another marked step in performance for the FE Championship, with plans for 600kW maximum power output, 700 kW of regen, and further development of front axle deployment which had been introduced with the Gen 3 Evo ruleset.[2]
The winners of the tenders for various parts of the car, including chassis, battery and tyre suppliers, would be announced in December 2023, with Spark Racing Technologies remaining as the series' official chassis supplier, and were expected to again work with Dallara for their design.[1] Elsewhere, Italian battery maker Podium AT would join the series as the battery supplier, Magneti Marelli took the front powertrain bid, while Bridgestone secured the tyre contract, marking their first involvement with FE.[1]
The remaining parts of the car would be developed by manufacturers entering the series, with Jaguar, Porsche, Lola Cars, Nissan and Maserati all continuing on in the series having competed in the Gen 3 era.
Concepts[]
The Gen 4 ruleset was set to be a major evolution of the previous rulesets in terms of performance, with greater power outputs and an increase in both re-gen and battery capacity, the latter having been largely unchanged since the second generation rules around the Spark SRT05e.[3]
Chassis[]
The design of the chassis was retained by Spark Racing Technologies for a fourth consecutive rules cycle, with the French racecar specialists expected to make a new bespoke car for the series in partnership with another firm, expected to be Dallara after their previous experience working together for all previous FE cars.[1] This design would incorporate advances found throughout the evolution of the Gen 3 car, which included a new steering geometry to counter issues with accidents and reinforced front suspension to counter the extra weight of the front MGUs.[1]
Front Powertrain[]
The tender for the front powertrain was won by Magneti Marelli, who had previously worked as a powertrain partner for Mahindra, and had also supplied back-up brake systems for the Gen 3 ruleset.[1] The front powertrain was expected to be the main source of performance improvement, with the system expected to be active all the time (rather than only under Attack Mode conditions as with Gen 3 Evo) and with a matching or slightly lower power output compared to the rear axle.[2] Indeed, overall the power output for the whole powertrain was expected to hit 600 kW for the Gen 4 ruleset, while the series also aimed for an ambitious 700 kW of re-gen power through the front and rear axles, with the front powertrain remaining a spec-part.[2]
Battery[]
The battery tender was won by Italian battery specialists Podium AT, who moved into FE for the first time as a result.[1] The Gen 4 ruleset would task them with building a battery with a maximum capacity of 55 kW, a 16.5 kW increase in the capacity of the Gen 3 battery, and one which would have to be robust enough to cope with increased re-gen of 700 kW and potentially fast charging if the series wished to continue its experiment with the Pit Boost concept introduced during the 2024/25 season.[3] There was also hope to increase the race distances with the increased capacity, with an aim to run races for over an hour, up from average 45 minutes most E-Prix ran to during the Gen 2 and Gen 3 eras.[3]
Tyres[]
Bridgestone were revealed as the winners of the tyre tender for Gen 4, meaning they would replace Hankook as the series' supplier and enter FE for the first time in any capacity.[1] The expected plan for Gen 4 was to introduce slick tyres to the series for the first time, a major change after the series previous insistence on using roadcar style treaded tyres, with a variant of cut slicks for mixed or wet conditions as a back-up option.[2]
Development History[]
The series would hold a number of meetings with teams, active manufacturers and interested manufacturers ahead of announcing the Gen 4 ruleset, hoping to create a ruleset that would attract new manufacturers and encourage its existing entrants.[2] Indeed, the FIA and Formula E would share all of their simulation data with manufacturers who signed up to the Gen 4 rules ahead of the November 2024 deadline, while any manufacturer who wished to homologate a car for the series would have a final deadline of mid-2025 in order to do so.[2] The series and FIA would also work with the Formula E Teams and Manufacturers Association for the rules, who gave feedback to the series about the plans before the tenders were finalised, and would continue to be updated as the series formalised its plans for Gen 4.[2]
Competitive History[]
Gen 4 is set to debut at the start of the 2026/27 season, with teams expecting delivery of their first development cars in the winter of 2025/26, and would last until the conclusion of the 2029/30 season.[1]
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 'Formula E’s GEN4 suppliers confirmed', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/12/2023), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/486580, (Accessed 14/12/2024)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Sam Smith, the-race.com, (The Race, 12/05/2023), https://www.the-race.com/formula-e/details-of-formula-es-gen4-car-plan-revealed/, (Accessed 14/12/2024)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nick Golding, 'Formula E CEO reveals new Gen4 details', racingnews365.com, (Racing News, 12/02/2024), https://racingnews365.com/formula-e-ceo-reveals-new-gen4-details, (Accessed 14/12/2024)