Formula E - FIA's new racing car category

[daiquiri]

Just read it today: FIA has created a new racing car category along the lines of the Formula 1. The main difference - the cars will be electric:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/home
http://www.formulaeracing.com/

Though this news is not directly related to boating, I believe that this new racing category is here to stay and that the technical developments which the competition shall bring in the near future will have a significant impact on the nautical world too. Thinking about new battery technologies, electric motors technologies, overall energy and propulsive efficiency, perhaps new materials and construction techniques.

And, besides the economical aspect (the FIA doesn't do things without possibilities of profit), there is imo the psychological and the cultural impact the new event will bring on the general public. Just like the last AC has drawn the attention of the masses to the possibilities of hydrofoils, I believe that this initiative by FIA will act as a catalyst and an accelerator for the implementation of the electric technology in other transportation sectors - nautical included.

The cars, with designs admittedly optimized for takeovers, will race in the urban circuits and the new show will start in the 2014.

My personal opinion is that pretty soon (I say, 5-7 years time, the minimum necessary to further enhance the power-storage technology) we shall see a similar development in the world of powerboat racing too. Opinions on this?

Cheers

P.S.: I like the jet-aircraft like sound of the cars: http://www.fiaformulae.com/guide/sound

 

[michael pierzga]

Hmmm...when you go to an F1 race the sound of the engines is intense.

What will a FE race sound like ? Silent..only Squealing rubber ? Will they have sound effects on giant speakers ? VROOOOM. VROOOM.....


Hmmmmmmm

 

[daiquiri]

Depends on what you like. As an aeronautical engineer, I just love the sound of jet engines and high-frequency air-vortices. The flypast of a fighter jet with full afterburners is a near-ecstasy experience. One of few things which can make me scream in joy.

The sound I am hearing in that video resembles that of a fast-flying glider (so, it qualifies ), plus a buzz from the high-revving electric motor.

 

[michael pierzga]

What makes the sound ? Airflow ?

The only electric cars i familiar with..the Renault, is silent

WHOOOSHHH

 

[daiquiri]

What makes the sound ? Airflow ?

Airflow, yes. Precisely, the high-freq sound is due to vortices around the cars wings and (to a lesser extent) the body.

You would hear the same sound coming from an F1 car, if you could eliminate the engine roar.

 

[daiquiri]

However, the intention of the OP was not to discuss the sound and the aerodynamics of the Formula E cars...
The intention was to inform about the latest developments in the world of automotive sports, and how it might (imo) very soon have a big impact on the boating industry.

We might be about to witness a moment when the electric-propulsion shall experience a real boom in the boating, and it might come sooner than we could have foreseen it just a couple of years ago. I am not saying that the technology is sufficiently mature yet. What I am saying is - get ready to accept and use the new technologies, don't find yourselves unprepared when it happens!

 

[michael pierzga]

Yah...at beer oclock we were wondering d what the battery packs will be.


Pit stop change the tires and battery pack ?

 

[michael pierzga]

Ultra light packs for qualifying ?

 

[michael pierzga]

Turbo packs for the start and first pit stop.....

 

[daiquiri]

Yes, why not? Imo, you could be spot-on on all three points...