Electric Racing Series Invades New York City

The Formula E racing series is a lavish celebration of electric vehicles, and this past weekend’s New York City ePrix put this e-gala on the grandest stage in the world.

Created as a means to “demonstrate the potential of sustainable mobility,” the series facilitates a very public showcase for electric vehicle innovation. And the latest leg on this international tour was the first international motorsport series to take place within one of the five boroughs of New York City.

Ultimately, the DS Virgin Racing team – owned by eccentric billionaire Richard Branson – took the checkered flag in both legs of the race, but the implications of the series go far beyond winners and losers.

For one, ePrix competitors face strict vehicular minimum and maximum weight restrictions, and since a midrace recharge doesn’t make for a thrilling spectator sport, teams are limited to two cars (with a single charge each) for each leg of the race.

This introduces a certain strategic element to the ePrixs – competitors can’t floor it the whole race and hope to finish atop the standings. The NYC course at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook was a 1.947 km track consisting of 10 turns – 4 left, 6 right – and the key was conservation. Cars reached up to 140 mph, and while regenerative braking helped bolster the batteries, the race was necessarily limited (about 45 minutes/leg).

And if you’ve ever been inside a Prius or any of the multitude of EVs or HEVs, you know how quiet they are. The ePrix is no different. CBS summed it up rather succinctly – “The Formula One-style, open-wheel cars reach speeds of 140 mph but only about 80 decibels, compared with 130 decibels for the cars with combustion engines. Instead of screaming down the straightaways the way F1 cars do, FE cars buzz like giant colorful hummingbirds.”

The Venturi racing team (which holds the EV speed record of 341 mph), along with their technical partners at ROHM Semiconductor, gave me a preview on Friday, and I’m fascinated by the series, itself, and ROHM’s application of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices in Venturi’s vehicles.

Each team uses two cars out of necessity (a 22-minute race isn’t conducive to a spectator sport), but advances in battery storage (and other technologies) will reduce the vehicle count to one for future ePrix seasons.

PSD will keep you up to date on this fascinating application of electric vehicle technology.