Formula E CEO reveals new Gen4 details

Faster cars and longer races are on the agenda for the next era of the all-electric series, with the plan being for the new cars to be capable of reaching 100 km/h in less than two seconds.

The current Gen3 cars go from 0-100 km/h in around two seconds, a full one-second faster than what was possible when the series was born back in 2014. Formula E has come on leaps and bounds since Gen1, thanks to the technology continuing to evolve.

When Formula E hit the streets for the first time in Beijing back in 2014, the cars had a top speed of 140 mph. A car swap was even required during races, as the batteries couldn't last an entire race.

Nowadays, the Gen3 challengers have a top speed of 200 mph, whilst car swaps are very much a thing of the past. Gen4 is going to be even quicker, further reducing the deficit in performance between Formula E and F1.

Current public technical data regarding the Gen4 cars show that they will be all-wheel drive and have a power output of 600kW, as well as a 700kW recuperation. It means that the cars will go from currently producing around 469 bhp to just over 800 bhp.

It's a big step forwards for Formula E and one which is already being intensively planned for, with Dodds having big hopes for the next era of the sport.

"Battery technology and powertrain technology are developing so quickly that it feels like we're only in the early stages of the technology," Dodds said in an interview for the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), Formula E's new principal partner.

"When we started this series 10 years ago, you actually had to stop halfway through the race to change the car. In two to three years, we will have the next, fourth (car) generation. We expect these cars to reach 100 km/h in less than two seconds."

A key change for the Gen4 era of Formula E is that the battery developed by Podium AT will have a capacity of 55kW, 16.5kW more than the battery currently used.

Thanks to the Gen4 battery having a much larger capacity, races will be able to be extended. A Formula E race currently lasts for up to 50 minutes, with Dodds believing that the races could be over an hour from Season 13 onwards.

"Our races today last around 45 to 50 minutes," added Dodds. "We hope that we will then be able to drive races lasting up to 1:10 hours or 1:15 hours."