4 ms·

So now Formula E has enough juice to last a full race with no car swap in the middle. There are also efforts to bring Formula E to city centres - and the people

So now Formula E has enough juice to last a full race with no car swap in the middle. There are also efforts to bring Formula E to city centres - and the people - but will anyone be watching? I would like to see this electric car racing take a different direction - imagine if you could press a button on the dash and have your car emulate any of many open wheel single seater cars of the past. Just getting started? Try the 'Formula Challenge Japan' mode or maybe give an F2 car from the 1970's a spin. If you get really brave then you could put it into one of those Red Bull F1 car modes. You could have all the characteristics of each car ported over from a simulator/game but be out on the track. As well as this open seater 'Formula E' with a difference there could also be a normal car with things like a roof and passenger seating, this could be electric and simulate any number of cars. Porsche GT3 RS? Fine. There could be a fake manual gearbox, fake RPM redline and all of that exhaust noise nonsense also simulated. Or maybe you would like to see what it is like to go round the track in a retro Ferrari 275 with a big V12 singing away. Perhaps the next lap could be tried in Testarossa mode, with the Miami Vice Classic car simulated. Or maybe you wondered what those Group B rally cars were really like, so you could just go into 'Lancia Delta Integrale mode' and not have the 'benefit' of a tank full of gasoline underneath one's seat. Perhaps petrol could be faked too, a smell created that does not have the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons but gives the 'garage' impression. As well as being greener, such simulator-cars would also be easier and cheaper to maintain than a fleet of ICE race cars. This would make track day racing more fun and accessible.

huntie 9y ago
So you want an electric race car to feel like some other car? This really isn't possible at all. No matter what you do, a Testa won't handle like a Miata because you can't change weight on the fly. Really all that you could do is reduce the power of the car on the fly which doesn't give the same experience.
- Theodores 9y ago
  Yeah, you just put bricks in the bonnet or boot. Easy.
  - joshu 9y ago
    You’ve never driven any of these cars, have you?
  - huntie 9y ago
    This only works for increasing weight, so you would have to use something lightweight like a Miata. The problem with this is that a Miata won't be able to take 600 whp. If you throw too much power into a car you'll just warp the frame. To some extent you can reinforce the frame, but there is still a limit. Regardless, adding weights to the car is going to destroy the car's center of gravity which will really mess up handling. You can test this with any car, put 100 lbs in your trunk and drive it around. It's very noticeable.
  - jkldsadfaf 9y ago
    The miata is one of the lightest cars in the market. You cant add bricks to a Tesla and make it lighter. And you can't change wheel base, weight distribution, ect, nilly willy.
    - joshu 9y ago
      He thinks "Miata = 50/50 balance" as if wheel size, suspension geometry, overall weight, are irrelevant.
joshu 9y ago
I don’t think you really understand what actually makes cars drive differently.
ryaneager 9y ago
The Blackbird from the Mill[1] does exactly this. Designed to be used in shooting car commercials without the actual car. 1. http://www.themill.com/portfolio/3002/the-blackbird%C2%AE http://www.themill.com/portfolio/3002/the-blackbird%C2%AE
- djaychela 9y ago
  Not exactly - the Blackbird is designed to be able to change wheelbase and track to suit the vehicle that will then be placed in the shot using CGI. It doesn't replicate the driving dynamics (which as mentioned elsewhere here is largely a function of things that cannot easily be changed, such as weight distribution, not solely a function of traction balance/response which could be programmable in a suitable electric vehicle. There is of course all of the suspension and steering geometry to take into account as well as the damping/springing performance and so on). Not to say that the Blackbird isn't an impressive device, but it's not what the OP is referring to above (nor is what they say possible with current technology, IMO).

huntie 9y ago

So you want an electric race car to feel like some other car? This really isn't possible at all. No matter what you do, a Testa won't handle like a Miata because you can't change weight on the fly. Really all that you could do is reduce the power of the car on the fly which doesn't give the same experience.

Theodores 9y ago
Yeah, you just put bricks in the bonnet or boot. Easy.
- joshu 9y ago
  You’ve never driven any of these cars, have you?
- huntie 9y ago
  This only works for increasing weight, so you would have to use something lightweight like a Miata. The problem with this is that a Miata won't be able to take 600 whp. If you throw too much power into a car you'll just warp the frame. To some extent you can reinforce the frame, but there is still a limit. Regardless, adding weights to the car is going to destroy the car's center of gravity which will really mess up handling. You can test this with any car, put 100 lbs in your trunk and drive it around. It's very noticeable.
- jkldsadfaf 9y ago
  The miata is one of the lightest cars in the market. You cant add bricks to a Tesla and make it lighter. And you can't change wheel base, weight distribution, ect, nilly willy.
  - joshu 9y ago
    He thinks "Miata = 50/50 balance" as if wheel size, suspension geometry, overall weight, are irrelevant.

joshu 9y ago

I don’t think you really understand what actually makes cars drive differently.

ryaneager 9y ago

The Blackbird from the Mill[1] does exactly this. Designed to be used in shooting car commercials without the actual car. 1. http://www.themill.com/portfolio/3002/the-blackbird%C2%AE http://www.themill.com/portfolio/3002/the-blackbird%C2%AE

djaychela 9y ago
Not exactly - the Blackbird is designed to be able to change wheelbase and track to suit the vehicle that will then be placed in the shot using CGI. It doesn't replicate the driving dynamics (which as mentioned elsewhere here is largely a function of things that cannot easily be changed, such as weight distribution, not solely a function of traction balance/response which could be programmable in a suitable electric vehicle. There is of course all of the suspension and steering geometry to take into account as well as the damping/springing performance and so on). Not to say that the Blackbird isn't an impressive device, but it's not what the OP is referring to above (nor is what they say possible with current technology, IMO).