Formula E already existed 37 years ago
07/16/2018
Formula E is currently entertaining fans in the big cities with electric-powered formula cars. But "Formula E" already existed 37 years ago. Back then, however, the cars were designed by the Volkswagen Group to be economical.
In 1981, economy was the order of the day, as high fuel prices and increased environmental awareness among buyers led to a demand for efficient cars. VW offered a "Formula E" version of almost every model. For an extra charge, the customer received a very long top gear (either as an additional fifth gear or as an extended fourth gear (3+E) in the smaller cars), a gearshift indicator so that the driver could shift up early, a fuel consumption indicator (in top gear) and aerodynamic optimizations, which in the Golf, for example, meant the spoiler of the GTI model and a trim on the A-pillar, and in the Jetta a rear spoiler. The Polo and Derby also received a specially optimized 1.1-litre engine with high compression and the Passat a start-stop system
As a result, the Formula E models achieved impressive savings, as reported by Auto Motor und Sport in issue 6/1981 : the Polo needed 6.68 liters of gasoline per 100 km (savings of 17.5%), the Golf 7.50 liters (minus 15%) and the Passat 8.65 liters (minus 9.7%).
The testers from AMS then carried out a long-distance drive in which they simply emptied the tank in the direction of France and the Passat managed almost 1000 km.
These would actually still be quite acceptable consumption figures today (apart from theoretical standard values), but not all customers liked these long top gears, which were also available from other manufacturers such as Audi or BMW. In any case, the Formula E variants disappeared again and hardly any are likely to have remained. Or when was the last time you saw a gear knob with an "E" for the position of the top gear instead of a "4" or "5"?
