I just finished reading an article in the April issue of Popular Science (page 36 and 37) about the Formula E Racecar that will be racing in the FIA's Formula One international racing series. The car is built by Spark-Renault SRT and there will be 42 of them racing, with each team racing three cars. The power train will use two McLaren motor generator units, linked to a 6-speed sequential transmission. The interesting thing is that the motors will produce only 180 brake horsepower, although they will have a feature that will boost the power to 270 hp for a few seconds that can be used for passing. Their sound level is said to be only 80 decibels. (Typical F1 IC car produces 130 decibels.) The FIA is considering adding some sort of noise maker to the cars so that workers in the pits will be able to hear them coming during the race.
