Mercedes-Benz reveals first real all-electric racecar

Mercedes-Benz has pulled the cover off its first ever all-electric racecar on the eve of the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.

Dubbed the EQ Silver Arrow 01, which is a nod to the automaker’s flashy electric concept racecar, it’s what Mercedes-Benz will use to compete in EV racing series Formula E starting at the end of 2019, The Verge reports.

Formula E was launched in 2014 as an all-electric alternative to Formula One and other gas-powered motorsports. What started as a relatively novel idea (other attempts had been made at electric racing, though almost none succeeded) has flourished into a sport with a legitimate, if modest, following. The series is currently in the middle of its fifth season, and it already pits a bevy of high-profile automakers against each other every month, including Audi, BMW, Nissan, and Jaguar. Porsche is also set to join the series starting next year.

Mercedes-Benz announced it was joining Formula E back in 2017, and it won’t be coming into the series cold. It will take over a team that is already running in Formula E called HWA, which should help give the automaker — which is the reigning constructors’ champion in Formula One — get a running start. In fact, HWA used to run Mercedes-Benz’s racing team in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing series, which the German automaker left last year in favor of Formula E.

Mercedes-Benz announced it was joining Formula E back in 2017, and it won’t be coming into the series cold. It will take over a team that is already running in Formula E called HWA, which should help give the automaker — which is the reigning constructors’ champion in Formula One — get a running start. In fact, HWA used to run Mercedes-Benz’s racing team in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing series, which the German automaker left last year in favor of Formula E.