Former F1 David Coulthard was left stunned after driving Formula E’s new Gen4 car in Monaco, insisting the acceleration was something he had “never experienced” in his life.
On Sunday morning at the Circuit de Monaco, ahead of the second race of Formula E’s Monaco E-Prix, Coulthard completed four laps in the new car.
It marked his first experience driving the car, with several aspects of Formula E’s new machine leaving him hugely impressed.
The Gen4, which will be introduced competitively next season, features permanent all-wheel drive, produces 600kW (815bhp), can accelerate from 0-100km/h (0-60mph) in 1.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 335km/h (208mph).
Coulthard also drove Formula E’s current car, the Gen3 Evo, in a Monaco demonstration two years ago, although the Gen4 took his experience of the all-electric series to an entirely new level.
Asked if the laps felt incredible, David Coulthard told ApexF1News in an interview immediately after his run: “Yeah, they did. Busy for me too! It was so good of Formula E to give me the chance to drive the Porsche for a couple of laps, just to remind myself of the streets.
“The standout thing, first of all, is the permanent four-wheel drive and the 600kW of power. The acceleration is more than I would’ve been used to in my career. I did a standing start right at the end as well, and it’s very consistent. It’s less than two seconds to 100km/h. That’s impressive, to be able to just go like this without worrying about spinning up the rear tyres.
“What I would say is that there’s some compliance in the car, so the kerbs don’t make the car jump around so much. I was being, let’s say, respectful of the kerbs. I expect the race drivers would just murder them, but in the few laps that I had, it wasn’t the time to find out. As you know, the chicane — if you get it wrong — can launch you into the barrier.
“So overall, I would say the most familiar feeling was from the front axle at the chicane or Rascasse, where you can feel it sort of sliding on the tyre, because there is a limit of grip for every race car at any point. But that’s, let’s say, the most comparable feeling to what I would be used to.
“But from the moment you accelerate off the corner, that’s another world of grip and acceleration.”
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‘I’ve never experienced that in my life’
The Gen4 is expected to significantly reduce the gap to Formula 1, with the lap-time difference in Monaco anticipated to be within five seconds.
Its acceleration is reportedly 30 per cent faster than that of a current F1 car, a sensation that left David Coulthard almost speechless.
The Scotsman, speaking on the global Formula E broadcast, described the car as “not normal” and said the iconic Monaco tunnel felt like “warp speed” — something he had never experienced, even in Formula 1.
Discussing his comment about the tunnel feeling like something out of Star Wars, Coulthard explained: “That’s exactly what it feels like. Of course, I can tangibly understand and trust the acceleration and trust the car, but when I said the lights were going like warp speed, I’ve never experienced that in my life.
“Now, it’s either because I’m not a racing driver anymore or because the four-wheel drive and 600kW are so impressive that your mind has to adapt.
“Of course, by the time I’d done a couple of laps, I was then used to it, but I was going from no racing to suddenly being in a high-performance car. Thankfully, I was out at Circuit Paul Ricard a couple of weeks ago driving the classic RB7, so thankfully the senses had already been awakened.
“But what I’d be amazed to see is just how quickly a professional driver could go around this racetrack, because I had big margins everywhere and it really felt like the performance potential was so much greater.”
