1,200 pounds (6 times that of current Formula E requirements). Despite the heavy lifting required to change batteries, pit crews could still extract and replace the batteries in less than 30 seconds, the feat almost requiring its own billing on the event!
The cars featured a standard open wheel-type suspension system with Penske coil-over shocks that could be tweaked from circuit to circuit, with a rear-end that was easily accessible to expedient powertrain replacement.
As we’ve seen during the second season of Formula E, students in the Formula Lightening Series were permitted and encouraged to experiment within the series’ guidelines. Modifications to the engine were allowed in the rotor and windings, which produced exponential horsepower discrepancies between teams.
However just as we see today, more power meant shorter running times, meaning the old ‘hare vs tortoise’
strategy still applied. The unique power system also meant that teams running over the maximum weight could run even more power by simply adding more batteries – a concept NEXTEV racing probably wouldn’t turn their nose up at.
The last Formula Lightening race was held at Mid-Ohio in October 2004, ten years before the first Formula E race in Beijing.
Formula Lightening Series Stats
Engine
Maximum Wt.
Tires
Width
Overall Length