A Look at Play and Drive’s Electric Formula 4e Prototype

Every week in the Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up I highlight the incredibly exciting developments that are occurring daily to bring sustainability to motorsport. What always makes me smile is that those involved in these sustainability developments are motorsport people through and through. They look at sustainability as a problem to solve but still maintain that which makes motorsport a sport. Today I look at Play and Drive‘s electric Formula 4e prototype.

The Goal

Play and Drive’s Guillaume Meura is a motorsport person to the core. His mission at Play and Drive is to combine sustainability with full speed all out racing. After creating an all-electric karting championship in his native Spain, Guillaume has set his sights on single-seaters and is currently testing an all-electric Formula 4 prototype called the Formula 4e. What drew me to this project (and I did mention it in one of my Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up columns) is his goal of ensuring that this car can race “flat out.” These cars are racing on full -size FIA-grade circuits flat out for 15 minutes. There will be no energy or temperature management from the driver, just flat out racing. Recent testing at the MotorLand Aragón FIA track (5.344m) a very long and complicated track for an electric race car because you need to go flat out for more than 20 seconds in three places proved in testing that it was up to the task.

The video above demonstrates how the F4e more than handles the track.

The Car

The Formula 4e is based on a first generation Mygale F4 chassis. The production car will be based on the 2^nd generation chassis with HALO and with a new specific reinforcing structure to support the new total weight. Here are the prototype’s stats:

• Car weight: 650Kg
• Battery Capacity: 36,0kW.h
• Race Power: 160Hp (120kW)
• Qualifying Power: 190Hp (190kW)
• Race Top Speed: more than 210km/h on FIA tracks
• Qualifying Top Speed: more than 220km/h on FIA tracks
• Race time: 15min on FIA tracks
• Charge Time: 50min
• Exclusive “flat out” technology
• No Energy management
• No Temperature management

Testing continues and hopefully we will see a race series featuring these cars on a racetrack soon!