Formula E’s GEN4 era opens on December 18 in Jeddah, and it is the biggest technical reset the championship has attempted since it started racing in 2014. There’s a new car, new power stats, a new drivetrain layout, two different race formats on double-header weekends, and a 21-race calendar that finally puts these things on permanent circuits instead of concrete canyons. If you wrote the series off during the car-swap years, this is the season that earns another look.
GEN4 is the biggest jump between generations the series has made
The GEN4 Formula E car boasts 600 kW of output power and about 805 hp, to be available in qualifying and Attack Mode. Race power, the number that matters for the majority of the race, climbs to 450 kW from GEN3 Evo’s 300 kW, a full 50 percent increase.
Top speed is 335 km/h, or 208 mph. The car weighs 954 kg and runs from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 4.4 seconds. To put that into reference with something street-legal, the current Porsche 911 Turbo S with all-wheel drive takes 8.4 seconds to reach the same speed. The race car is nearly twice as quick to 124 mph. Jaguar projects its car will exit the Monaco tunnel at 277 km/h (172 mph), over 30 km/h faster than its GEN3 machine and nearly 80 km/h faster than the GEN1 car it ran a decade ago.
Battery capacity has increased 43 percent to 55 kWh, and regeneration is up to 700 kW from GEN3’s 600 kW. Yes, the regen is actually higher than the car’s own peak output. That’s a whole 100 kW more than its Attack Mode. GEN4 pulls energy back harder than it can put it down, and more than 40 percent of the energy used across a race comes back through the brakes.
GEN4 recovers energy at 700 kW, which is 100 kW more than its own 600 kW Attack Mode peak.
More than 40% of the energy used across a race comes back through the brakes.
All-wheel drive
Formula E calls GEN4 the first open-wheel race car with active all-wheel drive operating in every phase of a race. GEN3 Evo had a front motor, but it only woke up for qualifying, race starts, and Attack Mode. GEN4 runs a 350 kW front at all times, which means just its front axle alone matches the entire MGU-K output of Formula 1’s 2026 power unit (469-475 horsepower).
Surrounding it is a setup very familiar to current street cars: traction control, ABS, an active differential, and full brake-by-wire. In a high-performance dual-motor electric car, none of that should be considered a crutch. Torque split between axles, regen blending against the friction brakes, and slip control across four driven wheels make the powertrain what it is. FIA technical manager Vincent Gaillardot has noted that four-wheel drive is far easier to implement electrically than mechanically, which is exactly why manufacturers building performance EVs want to be in this paddock. The problems being solved on track are the problems showing up in the next generation of dual-motor street cars.
Double-headers now run two different races
The format is the most interesting change to a Formula E weekend in years. At double-header rounds, one race is the standard 45-minute E-Prix on a low-downforce aero package with a mandatory PIT BOOST stop and an eight-minute Attack Mode use. The other is E-Prix Unleashed, a 30-minute sprint on high downforce with no pit stop and six minutes of Attack Mode.
The long race rewards energy management and the patience to sit in traffic conserving battery while looking for the right opportunities to overtake. The sprint rewards taking advantage of every second and maintaining grip constantly. Teams good at one may be average at the other, and running both across a single weekend should make it obvious who actually built a good car.
Better Locations
Twenty-one races across 13 cities makes this the biggest season in championship history, and the locations show the sport is changing. Circuit of The Americas joins on February 6, Zandvoort has a double-header on June 18 and 19, and the London race moves to Brands Hatch on May 29 and 30. Those are permanent circuits with elevation, camber, and corners built for speed, which is a welcome difference from the tight street layouts that the series depended on in the past.
U.S. viewers get two dates, with Austin on February 6 followed by Miami on February 20. The season runs from Jeddah on December 18 through a Tokyo finale on July 24 and 25. Pre-season testing lands at Jarama outside Madrid from November 16 to 20.
The grid is shifting too. Porsche adds a second factory team, putting four factory cars on the grid, a move which follows the company standing down from the World Endurance Championship. Opel arrives for its first Formula E season, taking the place of DS Automobiles, which is leaving after 11 years. Andretti switches from Porsche to Nissan, and Lola continues with Yamaha. Several full driver lineups are still unannounced.
- TestNov 16-20JaramaPre-season testing
- R1-2Dec 18-19JeddahSeason opener
- R3Jan 16Mexico City
- R4Feb 6AustinCircuit of The AmericasNew permanent circuit
- R5Feb 20Miami
- R6Mar 13São Paulo
- R7Apr 17Sanya
- R8-9May 1-2Monaco
- R10-11May 8-9Berlin
- R12-13May 29-30LondonBrands HatchNew permanent circuit
- R14-15Jun 18-19ZandvoortNew permanent circuit
- R16-17Jun 26-27Madrid
- R18-19Jul 10-11Shanghai
- R20-21Jul 24-25TokyoSeason finale
Amped Auto’s Take
This is the first time the hardware feels like it has caught up to what the sport deserves.
We have watched Formula E try to find its footing for a decade, and this is the first time the hardware feels like it has caught up to what the sport deserves. Eight hundred horsepower in a 954 kg open-wheel car with a full-time 350 kW front axle makes for a seriously capable race car by any standard. The circuits matter just as much. Brands Hatch, Zandvoort, and COTA are going to make the on-track dynamics very interesting to watch. This series is growing into its own, and we cannot wait to watch it in December.
