Ahead of the 2018/19 season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, NIO 333 Formula E Team will reveal it's Season 5 challenger and enter its record-breaking EP9 hypercar into the Hillclimb at the 25th Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, UK between 12 and 15 of July.
Twinned with the Formula E Season 4 double-header finale in New York City (14 and 15 July), where the team will battle to finish the season on a high, NIO will reveal it's new Gen2 car on the NIO Brand Experience Stand in front of Goodwood House in the UK as part of its Performance Programme.
Alongside the reveal, the Chinese manufacturer will also run its all-electric hypercar, the EP9, up the hill for the very first time. "Whilst we have competed in the FIA Formula E Championship since its inception and have showcased NIO’s single-seater EV technology through fierce competition on the world’s city streets, this will be the first time that anyone has seen the NIO EP9 Supercar run in anger," said Gerry Hughes, Head of Performance Programme and NIO Formula E Team Principal.
Celebrating 25 years of the Festival of Speed, its founder the Duke of Richmond will choose his 25 favourite moments from the first 25 events, which will be celebrated over the four days. Back in 1993, the year of the inaugural of the event, the suggestion of competing in an all-electric car in the festival's epic Hillclimb event was laughable. Fast forward 25 years, however, and it's a very different story. After smashing the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record last year, the Chinese marque will be looking for a repeat performance as the EP9 attempts to beat Nick Heidfield's (Mahindra Racing) electric record of 48.59 seconds, set in 2017 behind the wheel of his Mahindra M4Electro.
Tasked with piloting the car up the narrow track, past Goodwood House and the infamous shale wall to the top of the hill is Scottish racing driver Peter Dumbreck. "We are all extremely excited at the thought of Peter Dumbreck unleashing the ground-breaking performance of the NIO EP9 Supercar, where man and machine are being reunited for the first time since Peter’s record-breaking assault on the Nordschleife in May last year," added Hughes. "It's our time to take to the global stage and as such, NIO will also be exhibiting during the four days of the event, where the public will be able to obtain a unique insight into the NIO brand and its achievements in the world of EV technology through an unparalleled visitor experience.”
The company, founded in November 2014 as an electric vehicle manufacturer, has been racing in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural 2013/14 season. Since then, the marque has set up shop in Shanghai, Beijing, San Jose, Munich, London and nine other locations, launching its first production car - the ES8 SUV - in 2017.
Looking forward to Season 5, NIO will be one of nine manufacturers to take to the grid when the action kicks off in Ad Diriyah on 15 December 2018.