Lucid Motors out of California has confirmed that it is supplying the standard front drive unit for Formula E, the world’s leading electric racing series.
The unit that Lucid is supplying weighs just 70.5 pounds and produces 469 hp, with a maximum rotor speed of 19,500 rpm. It accomplishes a stunning 14.7 hp/kg and combines motor, inverter, differential, and transmission.
Each team can choose its own rear motor unit, but all of them will be using the Lucid unit up front, primarily to help the front wheels recover up to 250 kW of regenerative energy.
The technical specs for Lucid’s race motor are just as impressive as the one used in its production car – in some aspects, it is the same motor. The unit, internally known as the “micromotor,” is a half-scale version of the existing motor unit in the Lucid Air and integrates some of the same design traits.
This is not Lucid’s first time in Formula E, as the company has supplied the 54 kWh battery packs for four seasons in the Gen 2 car. These battery packs allowed for a single charge per race instead of having to use two separate cars.
Despite CEO/CTO Peter Rawlinson’s skepticism about racing technology’s impact on production vehicles, Lucid is bringing a scaled-down version of the drive motor from its production Air sedan to Formula E.
With the Lucid Air Sapphire, an ultra-high-performance, tri-motor vehicle, set to arrive for deliveries later this year, it’s possible that some high-speed runs and track records will be made and that race findings will find their way back to production vehicles.
Lucid Supplies Formula E Image Gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: GREENCARREPORTS
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