Porsche has pulled the covers off what it believes is the most radical single-seater in Formula E history, the 975 RSE, and the numbers attached to Gen4 suggest that the championship is about to leap into a different league of performance. With a peak attack-mode output of 600 kilowatts, the equivalent of 816 PS, the new electric racer is built to hit 335 km/h on the straights of the 2026/27 Formula E calendar — and to get there from standstill in roughly 1.8 seconds.
For championship returnees such as Pascal Wehrlein, the jump feels like a different sport.
"The new Porsche 975 RSE is a really cool race car. The GEN4 is extremely fast and great fun for us drivers," the 2024 Formula E world champion said.
Wehrlein was equally direct about what the new bodywork says to the outside world.
"I also like the look of the 975 RSE. The aerodynamics make the car look uncompromising," he said.
His Porsche team-mate Nico Müller, already deep into testing mileage, echoed the view that the Gen4 machine will rewrite what drivers can demand of a Formula E car.
"The 975 RSE and its competitors are a massive step forward for the sport," Müller said. "I'm a big fan of how aggressively you can drive."
The headline specification changes run from the battery to the bodywork. Where the outgoing Gen3 Evo car delivered 300 kW in race trim, the Gen4 platform produces 450 kW (612 PS) in normal mode and 600 kW (816 PS) when attack mode is unlocked. Energy recovery climbs dramatically too, from 600 kW of regen on the previous generation to 700 kW on Gen4, channelled into a 51.25 kWh usable battery. Total weight is pegged at 954 kilograms without the driver.
Perhaps the single most visible engineering revolution, though, is under the skin of that body kit. For the first time, Formula E cars will race with aerodynamic downforce as a genuine performance factor rather than an afterthought — a development that Gen4 technical project leader Olivier Champenois called a natural consequence of the championship's pace.
"Within roughly a decade, Formula E has become so fast that aerodynamic downforce is now a necessity," Champenois said. "We are talking about up to 150 percent more downforce compared to the GEN3 Evo."
For Porsche in particular, who entered the championship as a factory outfit in 2019 and sealed its maiden drivers' title with Wehrlein in 2024, the new platform is seen as vindication of a long-held argument about where electric motorsport sits in the wider automotive conversation. Porsche Motorsport vice president Thomas Laudenbach used the reveal to underline how far the category has come.
"The GEN4 shows how far electric vehicles have evolved. When the championship started in 2014, every driver needed two cars per race," Laudenbach said. "EVs are not only catching up with the standards we are used to; their strengths are becoming increasingly evident, on the track and on the road."
Florian Modlinger, Porsche's director of factory motorsport for Formula E, said the on-track entertainment should benefit as much as the headline data points.
"The races should become even more attractive, as the new cars are considerably faster," Modlinger said.
The Gen4 era formally begins with the 2026/27 season later this year, with Porsche now in an intensive development programme at its Weissach base and at private test venues across Europe. The 975 RSE has already covered more than 1,800 kilometres of running, and fans got their first glimpse this week of the car — and of rival liveries from Citroën Racing and others — taking to a circuit under its own 600 kW power.
For a championship that once had drivers physically climb out of one car and into another to finish a race, that top-line attack-mode output alone is a reminder of just how quickly electric racing has matured. Gen4 promises the fastest lap times Formula E has ever produced, and Porsche's 975 RSE intends to be the weapon that sets them.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/porsche-975-rse-unleashed-formula-es-gen4-era-hits-335-kmh-and-600-kw). Visit for full coverage.*