The concept car "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" demonstrates with engines from Formula E how quickly engineering from motorsport can find its way into series-production vehicles.

The concept car "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" shows with impressive performance how fast modern motorsport technology can be put on the road. The "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" provides a good example of the technology transfer from racing to a close-to-production drive concept. The all-electric vehicle has four Formula E engines with a total output of 880 kW (1,200 hp). They come from the Formula E racing car ABT Schaeffler FE01. All four drives have been in use for the entire second Formula E season - extremely successful. At the same time, these electric motors are the basis for Lucas di Grassi's World Championship drive from his 2016/2017 Championship season.

Schaeffler has been active in the world's first electric racing series ABB FIA Formula E since its first season. The automotive supplier is one of the electromobility pioneers who believe in the vision of electrically powered motorsport. The electric racing series is an ideal test laboratory for the development of electromobility technologies for Schaeffler and fits perfectly with the corporate strategy "Mobility for tomorrow", with which the global technology group is helping to shape the future of mobility.

The close-to-production relevance for development, in which knowledge about holistic understanding of the system, drive, software and battery management flows directly into all development areas of the Schaeffler Group, is particularly reflected in this "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" concept vehicle: In the "Schaeffler 4ePerformance", the respective competence areas have Schaeffler Motorsport, the Schaeffler E-Mobility division, and the Schaeffler Engineering and Compact Dynamics subsidiaries, complemented by ABT Sportsline's overall vehicle expertise. The steel body of a mass production vehicle serves as the basis for the impressive high-performance vehicle. The realization of the project goes back to a common idea of Lucas di Grassi and Prof. Peter Gutzmer with the aim to learn the maximum from the formula E for the series.

The "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" is powered by four 220 kW Formula E engines from the victorious racing car ABT Schaeffler FE01. Overall, a purely electric drive power of up to 880 kW (about 1,200 hp) is available, which accelerates the concept car in less than 7 seconds from 0-200 km / h. By means of a spur gear, each individual engine is connected directly to a wheel. Two motors each share a gear housing and thus form an electrical "twin axis". With this architecture, a wheel-selective control of the drive torques (torque vectoring) can be realized. The necessary energy comes from two batteries with a total capacity of 64 kWh. "Due to the free scaling of the drive power, the vehicle represents a driving test laboratory for Schaeffler. Currently, we are testing and developing our own vehicle dynamics control based on physical vehicle and tire modeling. Especially in the field of software-based vehicle dynamics control, we are learning a lot, "says Simon Opel, Head of Special Projects Motorsport at Schaeffler.

"Just as Schaeffler brings its technical expertise to Formula E right from the start, the technology group is also a pioneer and partner for component and overall system solutions in electric mobility for series production in road traffic," says Prof. Peter Gutzmer, CTO of Schaeffler. The automotive supplier offers a variety of products for the electromobility and electrification of the entire powertrain: from technologies for 48-volt hybridization and series-tested high-voltage hybrid modules to modularly designed e-axes, as in the first series solutions in China Shortly be used in European well-known luxury e-vehicles. "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" could be the supplement for a series drive concept of a high performance electric sports car.

The facts at a glance

Engines from the Formula E racing car Abt Schaeffler FE01 (season II)
Integration of four electric motors with 220 kW each (Pmax)
Total power of 880 kW (about 1200 hp)
MGU with 320 Nm peak
In <7 seconds from 0 to -200 km / h
Wheel-selective drive
Battery capacity: 64 kWh
Concept and overall design vehicle: Schaeffler Technologies
Overall design and production Transmission: Schaeffler Engineering
Vehicle body: Schaeffler Technologies & ABT Sportsline
Efficiency of engine and transmission at full load about 95 percent
Here you will find the highlight clip "Schaeffler 4ePerformance" .