Do you need help? Please contact our support team from 9 to 17 CET via support.pressclub@bmwgroup.com.

PressClub United Kingdom · Article.

New FIA Formula E Safety Car from BMW Group made its debut at Rome E-Prix: the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW.

As ‘Official Vehicle Partner’, BMW Group has been closely linked with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship since the very first race around seven years ago. Since the Rome E-Prix (ITA) at the weekend, a new FIA Formula E safety car leads the field: the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW.

BMW Motorsport
·
Motorsport Cars
·
BMW M Motorsport
·
FIA Formula E
·
John Cooper Works
·
MINI Electric
 

Press Contact.

Helen Wilson
BMW Group

Tel: +44-1252-92-1928

send an e-mail

Author.

Helen Wilson
BMW Group

As ‘Official Vehicle Partner’, BMW Group has been closely linked with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship since the very first race around seven years ago. Since the Rome E-Prix (ITA) at the weekend, a new FIA Formula E safety car leads the field: the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW. The fully electric car was designed by BMW Motorsport with racing technology, making it perfectly suited to the special requirements of a FIA Formula E safety car. FIA President Jean Todt and the official FIA Formula E safety car driver Bruno Correia (POR) were among those won over at the race weekend with plenty of safety car action.
 
“The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the top electric racing series as well as an efficient way to promote urban sustainable mobility,” said Todt. “The new Official Safety Car - the MINI Electric Pacesetter - is a case in point. As safety is one of the FIA's top priorities, we’ve collaborated with BMW Group and Formula E to develop a car model to play this key role. I have had the pleasure to test it in Rome last weekend and its first outing has met the expectations. It has reminded me of nice memories as I started to compete in Rally in a Mini Cooper.“
 
In light of adverse weather conditions and turbulent races with several incidents, the new FIA Formula E safety car was called into action four times on its debut in Rome. Both races were started behind the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW, and the race on Saturday ended behind the safety car after incidents shortly before the finish. The incidents gave Correia plenty of opportunities to get to know the car.
 
“It is fantastic to have a fully electric car leading the Formula E field,” said Correia. “The MINI Electric Pacesetter is perfect for the narrow street circuits of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The handling of the car is fantastic. And thanks to the modifications for use on the racetrack – for example, the suspension and the brakes – the MINI is extremely fast and agile.”
 
The positive verdict of former racing driver Correia is a great description of the unique character of the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW. In this instance, BMW Motorsport did not convert an existing road vehicle into the FIA Formula E Safety Car. Instead, the engineers used the new MINI Electric (combined fuel consumption: 0.0 l/100 km; combined energy consumption: 17.6 – 15.2 kWh/100 km according to WLTP, 16.1 – 14.9 kWh/100 km according to NEFZ, combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km) as a basis to design a totally new safety car.
 
“We approached the project both in terms of safety and handling as if we were building a racing car, and started with the body in white of the MINI Electric,” described Rudolf Dittrich, head of vehicle development at BMW Motorsport. “The result is a car that sets standards in braking power, cornering performance and agility. And it is precisely these areas that are crucial on the narrow street circuits in Formula E.”
 
In addition to the body in white, the powertrain is another component taken from the production vehicle. Only details were modified to meet the specific requirements of a safety car, and it yields 135 kW of power and 280 Nm of torque. This sees the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW sprint from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds (production: 7.3 sec.), from 0-60mph in 3.6 sec. (production: 3.9 sec.) and from 80-120 mph in 4.3 sec. (production: 4.6 sec.).
 
The brakes are largely identical in construction to those of the MINI John Cooper Works GP (combined fuel consumption: 7.3 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 167 g/km). For the chassis, the basic concept was adopted from production; however, numerous components - for example, the spring damper system - were replaced with motorsport elements. A totally new feature is the Kevlar underride guard familiar from rallying, which primarily protects the battery when driving roughly over kerbs. The size, profile and rubber compound of the tyres have also been modified for use as a safety car.
 
Through the consistent use of carbon and CFRP in the construction of the specific bodywork modifications - some of which were even produced using 3D printing - the BMW Motorsport engineers were able to achieve a weight reduction of 130 kg compared with the production MINI Electric, and thus an unladen weight of around 1,230 kg. The safety car contains all the modules required by the FIA for passive safety. In the interior, the driver has all the required systems such as radio, GPS, transponder and the control panels for the lighting system.
 
Alongside the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW, the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car (fuel consumption (combined): 2.0 l /100 km; energy use (combined): 14.5 kWh /100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 46 g/km)*, which has been modified specially for racing use, will continue to be appearing as Formula E safety car. The fleet also includes the BMW i3s (Power consumption in kWh/100: 14.6-14.0 (NEDC); 16.6-16.3 (WLTP), electric range in km: 278-283 (WLTP))* as ‘Race Director Car’ and the BMW iX3 (Power consumption in kWh/100: 17.8-17.5 (NEDC); 19.0-18.6 (WLTP), electric range in km: 450-458 (WLTP))* in its roles as ‘Medical Car’ and ‘Rescue Car’.
 
Click HERE for more information about the MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW.

ENDS

The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2020, the BMW Group sold over 2.3 million passenger vehicles and more than 169,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2020 was € 5.222 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.990 billion. As of 31 December 2020, the BMW Group had a workforce of 120,726 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.

www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupView
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmw-group/

MINI Press Office Contacts:
Helen Wilson
Senior Press Officer, BMW & MINI Communications
Tel: 07815 372480
Email: Helen.Wilson@bmw.co.uk

Georgina Cox                                                      
MINI Media Relations Manager
Tel: 07815 370878               
Email: Georgina.Cox@mini.co.uk

Emma Begley
General Manager, Product and Internal Communications
Tel: 07815 371062
Email: Emma.Begley@bmw.co.uk

Graham Biggs                
Corporate Communications Director
Tel:  07815 376867
Email:  Graham.Biggs@bmw.co.uk

Media website:
www.press.bmwgroup.co.uk
www.mini.co.uk
www.twitter.com/miniuk
www.facebook.com/miniuk
www.youtube.com/miniuk  

Article Offline Attachments.

Article Media Material.

My.PressClub Login

PressClub Information

RSS NEWS FEED.

Open Website

With the PressClub RSS service, you can also receive publications as a news feed. Choose from various topic-specific feeds as needed, or use the feed with the latest articles to stay up to date.

CO2 emission information.

The values for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and energy consumption shown were determined in a standardised test cycle according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the version currently applicable. The figures refer to a vehicle with basic configuration in Germany and the range shown considers transmission (automatic or manual) and the different wheels and tyres available on the selected model and may vary during the configuration.

The values of the vehicles labelled with (*), are already based on the test cycle according to the new WLTP regulation and are translated back into NEDC-equivalent values in order to allow a comparison between vehicles. More information on the transition from NEDC to WLTP test procedures can be found here.

These figures are intended for comparison purposes and may not be representative of what a user achieves under usual driving conditions. For plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles the figures have been obtained using a combination of battery power and petrol fuel after the battery had been fully charged. Plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery electric vehicles require mains electricity for charging. The CO2 emissions labels are determined according to Directive 1999/94/EC and the Passenger Car (Fuel consumption and CO2 Emissions Information) Regulations 2001, as amended. They are based on the fuel consumption, CO2 values and energy consumptions according to the NEDC cycle.

A guide on fuel economy and CO2 emissions which contains data for all new passenger car models is available at any point of sale free of charge. For further information you can also visit this link.

Search Settings.

Press Release
Press Kit
Speech
Fact & Figures
Spanish
  • Language of Attachment
  • Arabic
  • Chinese - simplified
  • Chinese - traditional
  • English
  • English - UK
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Multilingual
  • Russian
  • Spanish
Updates
Top-Topic
Submit
Reset
 
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
 
Login