Formula E Car Technical Specifications

Mahindra Racing Formula E Car

The 2014 season of the Formula E Championship will feature only the SRT_01E.

The Spark-Renault SRT_01E has been designed by Spark Racing Technology which is a consortium of vehicle and vehicle component makers, which include Renault, McLaren Electronic Systems, Williams Advanced Engineering, Dallara and SPARK.

SPARK is in charge of designing the car; components like the chassis, aerodynamic components, suspension etc will be handles by the company.

Dallara is charge of designing and construction of the carbon-fibre and aluminium monocoque chassis which will be the backbone of the whole race car.

McLaren Electronics is in charge of providing the electric motor that will power the car, the gearbox and other electronic equipment on the car.

Williams Advanced Engineering will take care of the battery and related components.

Tech-specs:

• L x W in mm: 5000 x 1800
• Weight: 800 Kg
• Engine: 180 BHP (limited) /140NM electric engine, mid-mounted, with a push-to-pass button that increases power to 270 BHP
• Transmission: 4-speed sequential
• Front suspension: Double steel wishbones, pushrod operated, twin dampers and torsion bars
• Rear suspension: Springs
• Wheel: 18-inch, fitted with all-weather treaded tyres from Michelin

Performance:

• 0-100 KMPH in 3 seconds
• Top speed of 220 KMPH

Bird wins Putrajaya ePrix

Sam Bird won the second round of the Formula E Championship in Malaysia.

The Formula E Championship has seen two winners in two races as Sam Bird took the chequered flag in Malaysia. 

Daniel Abt started the race from third, but didn't get going very well and dropped to the rear and finished 10th. It was Katherine Legge who lost control on braking and turned Michela Cerruti in the process. Matthew Brabham soon spun as he raced down into the chicane, slamming into the side pod of Nick Heidfeld, who seemed to escape the contact unscathed. All this took place on the opening lap, prompting a safety car.

Sam Bird took over the lead on the ensuing restart. He pulled away until the eighth lap when Franck Montagny squeezed Nick Heidfeld into the tire barrier at turn five, igniting another full-course yellow.

The race resumed on lap 13 and the safety car was not needed for the remainder of the event. Daniel Abt switched cars very early in the going and therefore, was leading the race with less than ten laps remaining. He was running low on power though and was forced to crawl at a snail's pace in order to make it to the finish.

Abt lost the lead to Sam Bird with five laps remaining before the checkered flag. Bruno Senna lost the rear and slammed the wall on the final lap of the race while attacking Buemi for the final spot on the podium, dropping him to 14th.

Lucas Di Grassi still leads the Drivers Championship with his second place finish in Putrajaya. Buemi made sure that he took the final place on the podium.

Race Result

1. Sam Bird

2. Lucas di Grassi

3. Sebastien Buemi

4. Nico Prost

5. Jerome d'Ambrosio

6. Karun Chandhok

7. Oriol Servia

8. Antonio Felix da Costa

9. Jaime Alguersuari

10. Daniel Abt

Mahindra Verito Vibe

Mahindra made a surprising move when they launched an under four metre hatch.

Verito sedan also known as Logan when Mahindra and Renault were together was a huge success story.
Vibe is actually a trimmed version of the Verito. Vibe cannot be called as a hatch because when we open the boot, the rear glass remains at its fixed position. This actually is one of the problems in the Vibe. The fixed position of the glass makes loading luggage or bulky stuff very difficult.

Moving in, Vibe is one of the few cars that can easily and comfortably seat 3 people at the back. There's enough shoulder and leg room for the passengers at the back. That's one of the many good things about this car.

Coming to the fuel efficiency,  it can do just better than 12 kmpl in the city and around 16 kmpl on the highway which are very good figures.

The Vibe has the same 1.5l diesel engine that we saw in the Logan and now in the Verito and also the Duster. It is available in 3 variants,  D2 , D4 and D6. D2 is priced at Rs. 6.8 lakhs, D4 at Rs. 7.1 lakhs and D6 at Rs. 8 lakhs.

At 172mm, the ground clearance of the Vibe is more than some of the SUV's which allows it to take on any kibd of roads.

The major let down of the Verito Vibe is the cost. It is priced at Rs. 8 lakhs which is higher than the expected cost.

The overall on road dynamics are very good. The Vibe can easily reach 100s on the highway and gives a good control. The looks are same as the Verito. The interiors are good but not that great. They could have been better considering what Mahindra have done to the XUV.

The Vibe is a nicely built spacious and a tough car which is a bit low on the styling and also loses out on the price. It could have done much better had Mahindra priced it better.