Taking Inspiration From Various Porsche Models
If you believe the reports, Porsche was developing a mid-engine rival to the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTB, McLaren 720S, and Lamborghini Huracan. While it remains to be seen if such a project is still ongoing (or if it ever existed), the following renderings show us what form such a vehicle could take. The following creation has been dubbed the Porsche 988 Vision and been created by Invisive. Taking inspiration from various Porsche models, the supercar looks every bit as special as you鈥檇 hope a new mid-engine supercar from Stuttgart would. Up front, there are a few aspects that particularly stand out, most notably the bulging wheel arches that are typical of Porsche. As the rendering has been designed to accommodate an engine between the two axles, it has an overall shape somewhat similar to the 918 Spyder hypercar. As a result, there鈥檚 large air intakes on the sides to feed the powertrain, a low roofline, and a sleek glass engine cover. The 918 design traits continue with eye-catching taillights and a rear wing that seamlessly extends upwards from the decklid.
Off it, e-Gaming races give the public the chance to race on simulators directly against their driving heroes. At Berlin, there was even 'ghost racing', which allows the public to compete against the drivers on the track in real time through a simulator. We have very clear as a target. Other Championships are forgetting about that, their audiences are getting older and older every year. Young people today are the most difficult people to engage, because they are all on the internet. So we want to become more digital every year. The emphasis on innovation does not, however, detract from the sport itself. In fact, its competitive nature is one way in which comparisons to F1 are a moot point. Heading into Berlin, after nine rounds of racing, there was still few clues as to who would win the championship this season. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne of the sport's leading team DS Techeetah, led the way by a single point ahead of team-mate Andre Lotterer. But while Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes saunter towards perennial titles, in FE, only 28 points separated first from sixth, following a season that has seen eight winners from the first nine races.
With three more circuits to go after Berlin - including a double-header in New York - everything is still to play for. The reason the competition is so tight is in part due to its format. Drivers have two practice sessions, before do-or-die qualifying. They head out in groups of six and five, based on Championship position. The first group are the leaders, which puts them at a disadvantage due to the untested track surface. They have one out-lap, one warm-up lap, then a fast lap. The top six fastest will go again in 'super pole' to decide top spot. But that's all the time they get on track. In the Panasonic Jaguar team garage, Kiwi driver Mitch Evans, who still has a shot at the title in sixth, heads out in the second group. It's very tricky, none of the engineers will be speaking with Mitch when he's on track, the pressure is too great,' Jaguar's Amanda Stretton tells Sportsmail, as silence descends, and the pre-race buzz quietens.
Lotterer, a German racer and one of the favourites, fluffed his qualifying lap by failing to complete it in time from group one. Has an opportunity presented itself? Disappointment crackles over the radio. Evans is initially three-tenths of a second down off the leaders. The lap wasn't my best for sure, but I didn't have the peak grip that I had (on Friday) so there's a few factors that could have caused that,' Evans later tells Sportsmail. Despite his disappointing qualifying, Evans was only 0.695 seconds behind Vandoorne, who posted the fastest time before 'super pole'. The margins on the track are also extremely tight, mainly due to the cars and the rules that govern them. The chassis and battery are uniform, with the power-train at the back of the vehicle the only area where the teams are allowed to get hands on. But the cars, once criticised for their lack of speed and 'only' producing 80 decibels worth of noise, have been transformed for season five. The introduction of the Generation 2 car has changed the landscape; gone are the derided mid-race pit stops, a feature of previous seasons, where drivers would change cars to use a new battery.
This year, the battery lasts the entire race, while the noise they produce sounds like a hypersonic jet from a sci-fi movie. It feels a bit like driving in the future,' says ex-F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein, who races for FE team Mahindra Racing. These cars, it feels different but in the end it still feels the same like a racing car. Evans' team-mate in Jaguar garage is one of six British drivers on the grid, Alex Lynn. The 25-year-old was brought in after Nelson Piquet Jr parted company with the team midway through the season. The former F1 driver had scored just a point this term, following a smattering of crashes. Piquet Jr's difficulties highlight that ex-F1 drivers do not dominate the championship. On Saturday, former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa qualified in 19th, and would finish the race only four places higher, despite picking up his first podium in Monaco.