Nick Heidfeld will drive a season four Formula E car for the first time in public at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Mahindra Racing M4Electro has so far only been driven in private testing, and wasn’t due to be debuted until pre-season testing at the end of the 2016-17 championship.
However with the Indian team having made solid progress with their new challenger they felt confident enough to give it a run on the hillclimb this weekend.
For Heidfeld it will be a return to the venue where he set the fastest ever lap time of 41.6 seconds in 1999 while driving a McLaren MP4/13.
And by setting the record for an open-wheeled all electric car the German will be the first driver to hold two records on the Goodwood hillclimb.
Speaking about the decision to debut their season four challenger early, Mahindra Team Principal Dilbagh Gill said they couldn’t think of a better way to unveil the new car.
Gill said, “We’re excited to bring Nick and the M4Electro to Goodwood in a bid to set the fastest open-wheel electric record on the hillclimb.
“We are always looking to push the boundaries as a team and we couldn’t think of a better way to introduce the season four challenger to fans and automotive enthusiasts alike than at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.”
Although the new car should be faster than this year’s iteration, the run will provide a stark contrast between the pace of a Formula E car compared to other series – especially the Formula 1 time set by Heidfeld back in 1999.