We’re in something of a purple patch if you’re a fan of clever new technology in single-seat race cars. Out in the Middle East, the autonomous A2RL crew held another race at Yas Marina, one that by all accounts was a lot more impressive than the last time the self-driving race cars competed against a human. Formula E teams are getting ready for the debut next year of their Gen4 era, which sees cars with real downforce and almost twice as much power. Meanwhile, we only have a few months left before we see the results of F1’s new technical rules change, as the sport adopts far more powerful electrical propulsion and active aerodynamics. But what if there was an electric single-seater that was faster around a track than any of these?
That’s the idea behind the DRG-Lola, a racing concept designed from the ground up by Lola Cars, the storied-now-reborn British race car manufacturer, and Lucas di Grassi, veteran of the hybrid LMP1 sportscar days and FIA Formula E champion. Di Grassi is one of the more thoughtful racing drivers out there and is a passionate advocate of clean technologies in racing—in 2020 he shared his earlier thoughts on where Formula E could take its technical direction.
The DRG-Lola is much closer to reality than that 2020 concept; di Grassi has relied on existing battery and motor technology, rather than some uninvented unobtanium to make it all work. It generates 804 hp (600 kW) from a pair of electric motors driving the front and rear axles and is powered by a 60 kWh battery pack that’s arranged in modules on either side of the driver’s cockpit.
