Spark Racing Technology (SRT) is a

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

manufacturer specialized in the development and engineering of high-performance

e-mobility An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...

cars and modules. The company was founded by

Frédéric Vasseur Frédéric Vasseur (born 28 May 1968 in Draveil, Ile-de-France) is a French motorsport engineer and manager with a long career managing Formula-series teams. He was the managing director, CEO, and team principal of the Switzerland-based Alfa R ...

to become the sole

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

supplier for the

FIA Formula E Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who ...

but is now involved in other projects as well.

History

The company was officially registered in October 2012.

Formula E

In 2010,

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

team built the ''Formulec EF01'' car in an effort to get a supplier deal for the newly forming all-electric series. It was later chosen as the base vehicle for the development of the new chassis. In November 2012, the Formula E promoter and organiser, Formula E Holdings, declared that Spark Racing Technology was officially mandated to design and build all 40

Spark-Renault SRT_01E The Spark-Renault SRT_01E, also known as the SRT01-e (since the 2015–16 season) or the Spark Gen1 (after the introduction of the successive Gen2 chassis), was an electric formula race car designed for the inaugural season of Formula E, in 20 ...

single-seaters.

SRT01-e

The car was developed in collaboration with

McLaren Electronic Systems McLaren Applied Limited is a British technology company that works in conjunction with companies such as GSK, NHS and more. Its electronic division, McLaren Electronics, manufactures parts such as engine temperature and pressure sensors for F ...

Williams Advanced Engineering Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

. In the inaugural season, all teams ran this car as the series was fully

spec Spec may refer to: *Specification (technical standard), an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service **datasheet, or "spec sheet" People * Spec Harkness (1887-1952), American professional baseball pitcher ...

. Starting with the 2015–16 season, teams were allowed to develop their own

powertrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

s and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

with the other parts remaining spec. Teams had the option to revert to

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

's "SRT01-e" powertrain from the inaugural season, which

Team Aguri Team Aguri, formerly Amlin Aguri and officially the Team Aguri Formula E Team, was an international motor racing team founded by former Formula One and 24 Hours of Le Mans driver Aguri Suzuki (Executive Chairman) and Mark Preston (Team Principal) ...

and Amlin Andretti took advantage of in the 2015–16 season. Spark updated the chassis for the 2016–17 season, introducing a more complex front wing. The chassis was in competition for four seasons ( 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18) and 45 ePrix events.

SRT05e

The

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

put the chassis supply for the seasons 5 to 7 out to tender. Spark won the new tender with a completely redesigned chassis which included the

halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

safety device. The chassis' lifespan was later extended to four seasons, with a visual update package originally planned for the car's third season (

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

), being delayed to 2021–22, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. This update package is known as Gen2EVO.

Other projects

* In 2019, Spark was confirmed as the official car provider for the new

Extreme E Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness ...

series. The Extreme E SUV, the

Spark Odyssey 21 The Spark Odyssey 21, stylized as ODYSSEY 21, is an electric off-road racecar designed by Spark Racing Technology for the Extreme E championship. Development and promotion It was first announced in August 2018, that Formula E would operate a ...

was revealed at the 2019

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...

. * Spark Racing Technology is a shareholder and technical partner of FUELL. The company, which is a partnership between Spark,

Erik Buell Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson Corp. Buell is a pioneer of modern race moto ...

and Vanguard Motorcycles, develops

electric bike An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist ...

s. * The

Beltoise BT01 The Beltoise BT01 is an electric GT race car built by Beltoise eTechnology. It was also presented at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. Overview The Beltoise BT01 was designed to be an all-electric competition GT, developing , allowing it to go from 0 to ...

: The first vehicle of

Beltoise eTechnology The Beltoise BT01 is an electric GT race car built by Beltoise eTechnology. It was also presented at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. Overview The Beltoise BT01 was designed to be an all-electric competition GT, developing , allowing it to go from 0 to ...

. A 100% electric GT, designed for competition and driving courses. The BT01 reconciles motorsport and sustainable development.

References

{{reflist Electric sports cars Formula E French racecar constructors Manufacturing companies established in 2012