Formula E is holding its 100th race this weekend with a South Korean double "marking the end of an era for the electric series." From a debut in 2014 around the stadium built for Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics, Formula E "reaches its century milestone on Sunday by racing near the stadium that hosted the 1988 Seoul Games." The season's final race will be the end of the road for the Gen 2 era, with next season "bringing in a new generation of cars that will be faster, lighter and more efficient than anything seen so far." Series co-Founder Alberto Longo: "Eight years ago everyone was laughing at electric vehicles basically and the limited range that they had. ... If someone would have told me that we were going to be so successful in such a short time, I would have thought they were probably a little crazy." The Gen 2 car doubled the battery capacity and removed the need for pitstops to change cars. With Gen 3, "the cars will be racier still" (REUTERS, 8/11).
FE's Gen 3 is likely to feature "more 45-minute races." CEO Jamie Reigle said, "We’ve decided to go with speed and nimble as opposed to distance. In simple terms, the weight difference all comes down to the battery. If we wanted to go longer, we’d just put a bigger battery in the car. Ultimately, we took the view that speed and having a punchy race format is more important." The current Gen 2 cars boast a top-end speed of about 175 mph. Next year, the car "should be able to hit 200 mph on the longest straights" (AUTOWEEK, 8/11).
