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Porsche unveil their Season Six Formula E challenger – the 99X Electric

Porsche have revealed their debut Formula E contender that’s due to contest the 2019/20 season – the 99X Electric on a Twitch Livestream, becoming the first racing team in history to unveil a new car on the gaming platform.

Unveiled by drivers Andre Lotterer and Neel Jani, the car will be sporting it’s traditional Porsche racing colours of red, white and black. The livestream itself was enough to cause a stir on social media, with the whole thing lasting about four hours before the car was revealed at the Porsche Digital GmbH building in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

As for the name of the car, Porsche had a very specific reasoning for why they landed on 99X Electric. ‘The highest number, nine, was used twice, to re-emphasise the importance of the Formula E project for Porsche, while the X stands for the forward-looking approach and prototype racing,” reads an official statement from the Porsche.

The German manufacturer are set to make their highly anticipated debut in Formula E at the season opening double-header round in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia in November after initially unveiling the project back in 2017. Many leading figures from their ultra successful period in the World Endurance championship will be helming their all-electric effort, with head of FE operations Amiel Lindsey having previous experience as Porsche’s team manager during their LMP1 programme, as well as Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Fritz Enzinger overlooking the whole project.

“Today is an important day. With the premiere of the Porsche 99X Electric, we are taking a big step towards the Porsche works entry in Formula E. I am really proud of our team, which has shown a high level of commitment to the Formula E project. Now I am looking forward to seeing the Porsche 99X Electric on the racetrack.” said Enzinger during the unveil.

It’s no secret that Porsche have been putting in extensive work in preparation for their maiden voyage in all-electric single seater racing, and they’ve put in serious mileage since unveiling the initial car at their test base in Weissach back in March, with then-test driver Brendon Hartley doing most of the leg work. And with each team in Formula E allowed 15 days of allotted private testing before the official pre-season test in Valencia in October, it’s believed that the team from Stuttgart have one more session left before the team arrive at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo with all the other teams in just under two months time.

And with their recent announcement this past week that they’ll have TAG Heuer as the title sponsor for their Formula E effort, there’s no doubting the team’s credentials and motives moving into their most ambitions project to date.

So, with just three months left until Season Six kicks off, Porsche are the first to unveil their challenger, and they’re definitely not here to make up the numbers.

Photos: Porsche