Audi have launched their first ever Formula E challenger ahead of the 2017-18 championship.
Having provided support to the Abt Schaeffler Audi team for the past two seasons, Audi increased their stake in the sport by taking a controlling interest in the team.
In addition to a new white livery, the Audi e-tron FE04 will also feature an entirely new powertrain, which the team claims sounds different to previous iterations.
Former team owner and principal Hans-Jurgen Abt has also made way, with former Le Mans winner Allan McNish taking over the role having shadowed the team for the past year.
Speaking at the launch, Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management at Audi said, “After nearly 40 years of being successfully active in motorsport on the highest level, Audi now becomes the first German automobile manufacturer to compete in Formula E in order to test and advance the development of new technologies for production.
“Our first single-seater race car is a portent of our product offensive in the field of electric mobility that we are ringing in with the Audi e-tron in 2018.”
The team also announced that reigning champion Lucas di Grassi will run with the number one on his car, and that his team-mate Daniel Abt has been signed as an Audi factory driver.
Given the change in ownership, the team has also been renamed to Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler.
