Audi Unveils Electric Racing Car 'e-tron FE07'

First Appearance at the Formula E FIA World Championship

Audi e-tron FE07 (Photo by Audi)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jihee Kim] Audi announced on the 27th that Audi Sport will unveil the newly developed ‘Audi e-tron FE07’. The Audi e-tron FE07 is an electric racing car equipped with the new Audi MGU05 motor generator unit, capable of accelerating from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, boasting over 95% efficiency across the entire vehicle. It is scheduled to make its debut on the race track during testing held in Valencia, Spain.

The 2021 season, starting in mid-January in Chile, marks the first year that Formula E is officially held as an FIA World Championship. Allan McNish, captain of the Audi team, said, “Motorsport has always played an important role in Audi and technology development,” adding, “It symbolizes Audi’s most famous slogan, progress through technology.”

Stefan Aicher, Head of Audi Sport E-Powertrain Development, emphasized, “The Audi e-tron FE07 is equipped with a completely new electric powertrain developed internally for the first time,” and “We pushed the limits in every area for this project.” Audi developed the new MGU inverter unit entirely in-house for this World Championship.

As a result, the newly developed powertrain ‘Audi MGU05’ features an internal rotor concept, external magnets, a high-efficiency cooling system, and a single-speed electric drive with six electrical stages. Additionally, through lightweight materials and intelligent vehicle integration, a much lighter powertrain was developed compared to previous units. Aicher stated, “To improve efficiency, we undertook various attempts in developing the new MGU, resulting in a new MGU inverter unit weighing less than 35 kg.”

Efficiency is the core element of Formula E. Tristan Summerscale, Audi Sport’s Formula E project leader, said, “To maximize efficiency, we explored every possible way to minimize energy loss.” Testing cycles conducted on the in-house test bench pushed the entire high-voltage system of all powertrains to their maximum performance levels. He added, “Our overall powertrain efficiency exceeded 95%, and the new MGU inverter unit boasts over 97% efficiency under all driving conditions.”

The ‘Audi e-tron FE07’, driven by Lucas di Grassi and Ren? Rast, features a refreshed design with a striking orange color, the unique green of Audi’s manufacture team ‘Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’, and a white primer coat covering the entire front of the vehicle.

The Audi e-tron FE07 will officially debut this weekend at the Valencia racing track. By February 1st, a total of 12 teams will conduct joint testing at the ‘Circuit Ricardo Tormo’ before sending all vehicles and equipment to South America, where the FIA World Championship will be held.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.