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Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 concept
Mercedes-Benz is formally entering Formula E electric-car racing for the upcoming 2019-2020 season, and for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show it has revealed what it terms a “teaser” version of the racing car, called the EQ Silver Arrow 01.
Mercedes says that it “provides an idea of the team’s Formula E campaign to come.” The vehicle won’t be shown in its final livery, according to a release “at a later stage ahead of the season opener.”
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“The blue touches and the subtle contrast between matte and gloss in conjunction with the star motif at the rear of the vehicle convey the concept of progressive luxury in electric motorsport,” said chief design officer Gordon Wagener of this version, in a company press release, with notes that the horizontal blue line symbolizes Mercedes’ electrification-focused EQ brand and is in contrast to the green hue of its Formula 1 car, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+.
“Formula E is going to be a completely new playing field for us,” said Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “But we are looking forward to the challenge of demonstrating the performance of our intelligent battery-electric drives in motorsport and of giving a positive boost to the EQ brand.”
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Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 concept
The upcoming 2019-2020 racing season will be the first one in which Mercedes will compete in both Formula 1 and Formula E.
Season 6 of Formula E, slated to start in December 2019, will also include Porsche for the first time. With the current Season 5, BMW entered as a manufacturer team, and Nissan entered Formula E, replacing its Renault affiliate.
Mercedes lists the top speed of its car as 174 mph, with an acceleration time of 0-60 mph in about 2.7 seconds.
READ MORE: New York race closes out Formula E season and multi-car strategy
The current season is the first with an all-new Gen2 racing car, with “halo” cockpit protection for the driver, higher power and top speeds, and no full-car swaps mid-race. At 52-kwh and 849 pounds, the battery that needs to power all Formula E cars for the entire 45-minute races is a product of McLaren Applied Technologies and Lucid Motors (Atieva), with Sony cells.
Three of 13 Season 5 races have already been held, with the next one on March 10 in Hong Kong and the season ending with two Brooklyn street circuit races on July 13-14, 2019.
