With the historic influence of motorsport—new technologies like disc brakes originated at the cutting edge of racing before migrating to mass-produced street cars—it could also benefit the average driver. The doubling of range in a few short years is far more than what we’ve seen on the roads. The original Tesla Roadster from 2006, for example, launched with a range of 244 miles on a full charge. The newer, much smaller Model 3 on sale this year comes with a 310-mile range.

The new car comes to Formula E at the same time as the likes of Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are all joining the championship. And in those five years, many of those carmakers have gone from ignoring electric cars or criticizing them to embracing them as the future of car manufacturing.

The latest season of Formula E starts Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on  Dec. 15.

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