Porsche 975 RSE GEN4 hits 816 PS

Electric race cars just got a lot less niche. Porsche has taken the wraps off the 975 RSE, its new Formula E machine for the GEN4 era, and the headline is simple — this thing is much faster, much grippier, and much closer to a conventional top-tier single-seater than Formula E cars used to be. That matters because Formula E has spent years being framed as clever but compromised. The 975 RSE is Porsche’s argument that the compromise phase is ending. ### What is the 975 RSE? It’s Porsche’s next Formula E car, built for the championship’s fourth-generation rules and set to replace the 99X Electric from the 2026-27 season onward. Porsche revealed it on April 20, 2026, and the car has already been testing since November 2025. Porsche says the name marks a new chapter for its electric motorsport program, not just a mild evolution of the current package. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why does 816 PS matter? Because that number changes the category’s image. The 975 RSE makes 600 kW — 816 PS, roughly 804 hp — in Attack Mode and qualifying trim, while normal race mode is 450 kW, or 612 PS. Porsche also quotes 0-100 km/h in about 1.8 seconds. That puts the car in a different conversation from older Formula E machinery, which was quick but rarely described in the same breath as the fastest open-wheel cars. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why is all-wheel drive a big deal? Because traction has always been one of the weird limits in Formula E. Earlier cars had huge instant torque but not always the grip to use it cleanly. GEN4 adds permanent all-wheel drive, which means the 975 RSE can deploy power far more aggressively out of slow corners and off the line. Basically, Formula E is moving away from “energy management car that happens to be fast” and toward “proper high-grip race car that also happens to be electric.” (racing.porsche.com) ### What else changed besides power? Aerodynamics and tires. Porsche says the GEN4 rules bring significantly more downforce and new Bridgestone tires, which together should make the car faster through corners, not just in straight-line bursts. There are also two bodywork configurations — a lower-downforce race setup and a higher-downforce qualifying setup. That sounds small, but it’s a major shift for a series that historically leaned more on efficiency than aero grip. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### How fast is “fast” here? Porsche says top speed is more than 330 km/h, and one of its own pages lists 335 km/h. That’s the number that makes people look twice, but the bigger story is the full package. A Formula E car that can hit that speed, launch to 100 km/h in 1.8 seconds, and carry more aero load starts to look less like a specialist city-racing machine and more like a serious benchmark for electric performance engineering. (theevreport.com) ### Is this just a show car? No — this is the real direction of travel for the series. Porsche’s test car had logged 1,860 km by early April, and the company has been talking openly about in-house development work around the powertrain and components. So the reveal is marketing, sure, but it’s marketing attached to a car already deep into development. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why does Porsche care so much? Because Formula E is where Porsche gets to prove that EV performance is not a consolation prize. The company calls the 99X Electric its most successful single-seater so far, and the 975 RSE is meant to push that story further — more power, more grip, and more visual drama. For a brand built on motorsport credibility, that’s the whole point. (racing.porsche.com) ### Bottom line The 975 RSE is not just Porsche making its Formula E car faster. It’s Porsche betting that Formula E is finally ready to look and feel like a top-flight racing series without the old asterisks. If GEN4 delivers what these numbers promise, the category stops being interesting “for an EV series” and starts being interesting, full stop. (racing.porsche.com) (newsroom.porsche.com)