With A Whirr, Not A Roar, Auto Racing Drives Toward An Electric Future
Formula E is an all-electric auto race — like Formula 1, but battery-powered. And some of the innovation seen on the race track could eventually make it to your driveway.
Earlier this month, two dozen low-slung, open-cockpit race cars sped around the streets of Red Hook in Brooklyn.
A distinct high-pitched whizzing sound pierced the air, instead of the usual growl of revved-up race car engines. That's because these cars were powered entirely by batteries rather than gasoline.
Welcome to Formula E. It's like Formula 1, but it's all-electric.
"Combustion engines are over," Alberto Longo, the co-founder of Formula E, said in early July. "End of story."
Formula E has declared itself the future of racing. At a time.
