First-Gen Formula E Cars Will Soon Be up for Sale

Those that crave battery-powered speed can soon satisfy themselves…if they have a couple hundred grand lying around.

byJames Gilboy|
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As part of the update to its second generation of cars, electric racing series Formula E will reportedly sell off a slew of first-gen cars to interested collectors.

Formula E itself owns the 40 identical cars, which it originally purchased in 2013 at €400,000 apiece, or €16 million in total ($18.2 million today). Their reported planned sale prices of $200,000 to $289,000 (varying based on each individual car's provenance) are, by comparison, a bargain.

"I think people will look back on this era of racing with fond memories," said Formula E CEO, Alejandro Agag, according to Bloomberg. "It was the beginning of something special."

"The current cars are still fit for purpose," continued Agag. "They've provided us with four seasons of exciting, intense, and unpredictable racing. I know there’s a lot of interest from collectors and they could even be used for racing purposes."

First-generation Formula E cars have power outputs of 150 kilowatts (201 horsepower) in race mode, and 200 kilowatts (268 horsepower) in qualifying mode. Though it may not sound like much, the cars themselves were required to weigh no less than 880 kilograms (1,940 pounds), giving them the approximate power-to-weight ratio of a Chevrolet Corvette

Formula E's second-gen cars that debut later this year will make the same race power as first-gen cars did in qualifying mode, and an additional 50 kilowatts in qualifying mode for a maximum of 335 horsepower. Coming as soon as 2020, third-gen Formula E cars could feature as much as 670 horsepower, but with how close the racing already is in Formula E, 2018's power boost will be more than enough to make the sport even more spectacular than it already is.

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