Formula E: The Future of Racing?
Here are six reasons why FIA Formula E racing should excite you.
A couple of weeks ago I got to watch the inaugural New York City Formula ePRIX, and I had a great time. That’s not just because the nice folks at Harman and BMW flew me out to the Big Apple, put me up at a nice hotel and planned fun events around the Formula E festivities. I genuinely had a fun time watching electric cars race around their 10-turn, 1.21-mile Brooklyn circuit.
Skeptical? Do you fear the future of racing is as gloomy as a day drowning in the Bermuda Triangle? Last night did you eat an extra pound of saturated fat so your shortened lifespan would prevent you from seeing the demise of petrol-powered racing?
There’s no need to take those extreme measures. Here are six reasons why.
Formula E Race Cars Sound Really Cool
Anyone who tries to tell you FIA Formula E is a silent racing series should call 1 (800) Miracle-Ear because if they’re not deaf, then I’m not typing words into an article you’re reading. Formula E race cars make noise — a wonderful noise, in fact. The electric motors build revs just like the race cars to which you’re accustomed. Do you like Star Wars? Great, because Formula E cars sound like pod racers. How cool is that?
Also, I like how I needn’t worry about using earplugs every time I go near the race track. I love the loudness of conventional race cars, but I also like my hearing, and would prefer to go my entire life without having to call Miracle-Ear.
@FIAformulaE action from the stands at the @Qualcomm New York City ePRIX. pic.twitter.com/uTP4p9yQnp
— Manuel Carrillo III (@mc3films) July 28, 2017
Racing is Racing
Just like how Ford vs. Chevy people aren’t really car people, people who detest Formula E aren’t really racing people. As my racing-expert colleague Bradley Brownell says, “Racing is racing.” The action at the Brooklyn ePRIX was intense with cars “trading paint” and elbowing one another for a chance at the podium. If you can’t get excited by that, are you really a racing person?
Fossil Fuel-Powered Racing Is Here to Stay
I choose to unsubscribe to petrol-powered doomsday thinking. You can go ahead believing anything fuel-powered will be outlawed like a Schedule I drug, but I’m choosing the more optimistic route. Plus, history is on my side.
It’s been more than 100 years since horses lost their market leadership in transporting people, yet horse racing remains a $25 billion industry with more than $119 billion gambled in 2015. Put that piece of Schedule I information in your doomsday pipe and smoke it.
Formula E Racing Is Yet Another Way for Automakers to Learn How to Make Your Car Better
At the end of the day, racing is one big scientific research lab. Yes, there are attractive flag girls and there’s plenty of alcohol to consume if you wish, but racing is merely a step in an automaker’s scientific method. From practice and qualifying to checkered flag and beyond, the data are being gathered, knowledge is being gained, and every piece of the race car, from propulsion to body panels to tires gets improved. Those improvements trickle down to your car.
Now Tech Companies Are Funneling Their Resources Into Racing
You’re forgiven if you failed to recognize that company name I mentioned along with BMW at the beginning of this article. You may be unaware of Harman’s existence, but you know their products well. Harman is a technology company that is the parent of well-known brands like Harman Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Lexicon, Revel, and Mark Levinson, among others.
But beyond great-sounding speaker systems, Harman’s engineering powers a lot of the in-vehicle technology (IVT) that you may not see or hear, but you certainly experience. Vehicle telematics, infotainment software, hardware like screens that won’t shatter in a car accident, anti-hacking technology — all of that is often powered by Harman unbeknownst to you.
Harman IVT can be found in Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, to name a few. In total, Harman connected car technology and audio is equipped in more than 50 million vehicles on roads worldwide. Here’s a video they’ve made that details how they’re improving the consumer’s driving experience. I happen to make a cameo in it as well.
By default, every person who buys a new car today is a consumer of IVT, yet according to Harman’s research, only 37 percent of new vehicle buyers are aware they are active IVT consumers. It’s that lack of awareness that prevents more consumer adoption of advanced IVT that automakers offer as optional extras.
During my trip to New York City, I got to drive the new BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance and test out the latest in around-view monitor technology. Now, in addition to having a bird’s-eye view of your car, without even using the touch screen, you can use gesture control to pull the virtual camera all the way around the vehicle to get an enhanced sense of how close you are to the curb, or other vehicles. In New York City traffic, this feature was incredibly useful when I needed to navigate around a demolition derby-spec 2001 Camry that was blocking two lanes and adding another 10 minutes to my 1.5-hour, 3.2-mile slog down Manhattan Island.
ALSO SEE: What Forum Members Have to Say About FIA Formula E
Yes, that’s how long it takes to drive 3.2 miles in Manhattan. Still, it’s pretty cool how cars today can make you feel like the all-seeing eye amid Manhattan traffic hell. And all of that tech is Harman-powered.
Granted, Harman isn’t specifically developing around-view monitors on the racetrack, but knowledge derived from their sponsorship of Formula E bolsters that technology.
Tech and FIA Formula E Symbiosis Gives You Another Excuse for Sunday Fun
Tech’s interest in automobile racing is a new channel for racing development. An incredible amount of research goes into battery technology. That’s because batteries are everywhere. They’re in our mobile phones, appliances, gadgets, and now they power our homes and cars. Batteries are only going to be a greater part of our lives as time marches on. If batteries were only in cars, battery tech R&D would be limited to the automotive industry, and that would mean minimal advancement. Instead, batteries are everywhere, so the R&D comes from myriad sectors, and that means accelerated advancement for all.
Now that there’s an electric racing series, you have the backing of all that electric R&D to make a new racing series better. Consequently, I think it’s entirely possible within 10 years for a Formula E car to outpace a Formula One car, and recharge faster than a Formula One car can refuel.
Will Formula E cars sound better than Formula One cars within 10 years, though? I doubt it.
Photos and Twitter Video by Manuel Carrillo III