Jaguar TCS Racing has revealed the I-Type 6, its race car for the upcoming Formula E Season 9. This comes in an all-new black, white and gold livery. The new season will mark the debut of Gen3 electric cars, pegged to be Formula E’s most powerful, efficient and fastest yet.
The Gen3 Formula E racers are the first-ever formula cars to feature front and rear powertrains. As a result, they also do away with rear hydraulic brakes. A 250kW motor at the front works in conjunction with a 350kW motor at the rear to deliver a total of 600kW, the regenerative capability of the Gen2 cars.
They are 50kg lighter than their predecessors and 100kW more powerful, delivering 350kW (476hp) and a top speed of 320kph. With a narrower car and shorter wheelbase, the new cars have also been designed to race better.
To save costs, the carbon fibre chassis and battery are common across all 11 teams. Manufacturers can design their own powertrain (including the motor, transmission, inverter and rear suspension). Jaguar’s 2023 racers also feature a new carbon black and satin white livery, complete with gold accents. The asymmetric design will be unique for both cars.
2023 will also be the first season where Jaguar will supply its powertrain tech to another team — Envision Racing. This means there will be four Jaguar-powered cars on the grid next year.
Jaguar has emphasised that its Formula E efforts will continue to be a real-world test bed for Jaguar Land Rover’s electric vehicles — for electric powertrains, sustainability and software technology. This is in line with JLR’s transition into an all-electric luxury car company from 2025.
Formula E pushed for the Gen3 cars to be more relevant when it comes to technology transfer to road cars. The new battery, for example, is smaller and lighter than any road-going equivalent.
Wolfspeed also comes onboard as the team’s official Power Semiconductor Partner. This partnership extends to the wider JLR brand as well, with Wolfspeed set to supply silicon carbide semiconductors for the next generation of JLR’s EV inverters.
“Jaguar TCS Racing has a vital role to fulfil beyond the success of the racetrack, and it remains a privilege to play our part in supporting the reimagination of Jaguar as an all-electric brand from 2025,” said James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal.
Jaguar has opted for consistency in its driver line-up with Mitch Evans and Sam Bird staying on for a third season. Evans finished second in the 2022 championship, staying in the title fight till the very end of the season. Together, he and Bird helped the team score its biggest points haul so far in Formula E, en route to fourth place in the teams’ championship.
Season 9 of Formula E is set to be held on February 11, the Hyderabad E-Prix will see the championship host its first-ever race in India. Adding to the existing teams, Maserati and McLaren also enter the championship for Gen3.
Formula E has also tweaked its sporting regulations ahead of Season 9. Races will now run to laps instead of the previous format of 45 mins-plus-one-lap. Fanboost has been discontinued as well.
