Porsche wishes to be the sole supplier of batteries for the 2018 edition of Formula E racing event, Motorsport has reported.
This has come in the wake of a call on part of the FIA to replace the 28 kWh battery that is currently in use by the teams. Supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering, the said battery turned out to be woefully short to complete a full race on a single charge. As such, drivers now have to go through the rather odd sequence of making a pit stop after they have exhausted their charge and hop on to a new car with a fully charged battery for the remaining part of the race.
FIA, which takes care of all aspects pertaining to the all-electric racing event, wants to do away with that starting 2018 and is keen to have newer batteries with better range installed on the racing cars.
Porsche's tender application is currently being evaluated with a formal decision expected next month when the Hong Kong ePrix gets underway, Motor1 reported. That said, the report also expressed hope of an earlier decision when the World Motorsport Council meets this coming week.
However, Porsche isn't alone in the race to emerge as the sole supplier of Formula E batteries. According to Verge, there are nine submissions in all with companies like Red Bull Technology, Renault, Citroën DS, McLaren, SAFT and Williams Advanced Engineering, to name a few being in the fray.
The Indian auto major Mahindra, which has recently been in news after having acquired Pininfarina, was also in the list, but is believed to have pulled out in the last minute as it chose to allocate its resources to other more pressing areas.
As for Porsche, while the sports car manufacturer is yet to field a racing team in the event, it still is fancying its chances from the experience it gained from developing the batteries and other related system for the 919 Hybrid LMP1-H car. Worth mentioning, the 919 Hybrid had gone on to win the current edition of the World Endurance Championship.
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