Mercedes unveils its first Formula E race car
The EQ Silver Arrow 01 is clearly meant to sell the brand's EV efforts.
Mercedes-Benz said it would participate in Formula E this year, and now you know what it'll bring to the track. The tri-star badge has unveiled its first racer for the all-electric league, the EQ Silver Arrow 01 (no real relation to the Silver Arrow concept), and it's clear it will at least be competitive. The machine will pump out up to 340HP during qualifiers and in FanBoost mode (272HP in normal racing, 306HP in attack mode), and hit 62MPH in a brisk 2.8 seconds. There's a 52kWh battery to keep it humming throughout the entire race.
Those performance figures sound familiar, they should -- they're comparable to what you'll get from competitors like Jaguar. While Formula E entrants don't need identical components this year, league requirements will dictate a common level of performance.
You're not looking at the final livery, and motorsport team lead Toto Wolff warned that there was "a lot of work to do" before Mercedes' two vehicles start participating in Formula E on December 15th. It's still a big step, though, and it's notable that Mercedes is the only automaker participating in both Formula E and Formula 1. Not that you'd expect less than a strong presence this season. The company is launching the EQC SUV this year, and racing will both serve as a promotional tool and inform future EVs.
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