BMW will challenge Audi and Jaguar in Formula E electric racing

By Stephen Edelstein Published July 12, 2017

Andretti Formula E race car — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Formula E, the race series for electric cars, will gain a new high-profile entrant in 2018.

BMW confirmed it will enter Formula E as a manufacturer for the series’ fifth season, which kicks off in 2018 and runs through mid-2019. The German automaker already has a relationship with the Andretti Autosport team, but will step up its commitment significantly. Among other things, BMW will supply its own powertrains to the team.

Recommended Videos

“This project is thoroughly driven by technology. We are using Formula E as a development laboratory, operating under unique conditions that prevail in motor racing,” said BMW board member Klaus Frohlich. “The borders between production and motor racing development are more blurred at BMW i Motorsport than in any other project.”

BMW’s announcement came shortly after Audi confirmed that it would launch its own Formula E team next season. Like BMW, Audi plans to convert an existing partnership with an independent team into a full-on factory effort. A currently has a technical partnership with the Abt Schaeffler team, and will take that team’s spot on the gird when Formula E’s fourth season kicks off in Hong Kong in December.

Formula E has attracted a lot of attention from automakers in a relatively short period of time. Jaguar, Mahindra, Renault, and Citroen’s DS sub-brand all have their own teams. So do startups Faraday Future, NextEV, and Venturi. Mercedes-Benz may enter the series as well. In addition to its partnership with Andretti Autosport, BMW currently supplies the pace car and various support vehicles for Formula E.

BMW will plunge headfirst into Formula E just as the series implements major rule changes, aimed at improving the quality of the racing. These changes include larger battery packs that can hold enough charge to last a whole race, eliminating the current mid-race car changes. All teams will continue to use the same chassis, but it will be a sleeker new design.

Alongside its Formula E entry, BMW will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018, marking its first appearance at the legendary French competition in seven years. BMW will race in the GTE class for production-based cars, although it has not disclosed which one of its models it plans to race.

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

2023 Audi Q4 E-Tron first drive: the predictable and traditional EV SUV we need

Audi Q4 E-Tron SUV in blue.

Audi, like so much of the car industry, dipped its toe into EV production starting with splashy, aspirational models. The E-Tron SUV and E-Tron GT sport sedan are stunning and powerful, but even the more mainstream of the two starts at $71,000. With sights set on shifting a large portion of its production to EVs, it's this car, the 2023 Q4 E-Tron, that is Audi's most significant EV yet.

Starting under $50,000, this EV-only comfortably sized 5-seat SUV is the new entry point for electric Audis. But the fact that it's electric actually isn't particularly interesting, and that's by design.

Cars

The all-electric BMW i7 is a home theater on wheels

Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

BMW is no stranger to electric vehicles. It launched the quirky i3 hatchback in 2014, and followed it up more recently with the i4 and iX. But now BMW is making its flagship vehicle electric.

The BMW 7 Series is the automaker’s biggest, most opulent sedan, and for the 2023 model year, it gets a redesign that includes a first-ever electric variant. The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (to use its full name) will start shipping to U.S. dealerships in November alongside gasoline 7 Series models (a hybrid version will arrive later as well).

Cars

BMW shows off an electric car with color-changing paint at CES 2022

A color-changing BMW iX electric SUV.

From engine sounds to seat massagers, modern cars let drivers personalize almost everything. At CES 2022, BMW is taking that idea a step further with a concept version of its iX electric SUV that sports color-changing paint.

The effect relies on E Ink, the same electronic paper technology used in e-readers. Millions of microcapsules approximately the diameter of a human hair are embedded in an exterior wrap made from laser-cut electronic paper segments, according to BMW. They contain negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. Activating an electric field causes different amounts of each pigment to collect on the surface, shifting the color between black, white, and gray with the press of a button.