Opel's first single-seater for Formula E now has a name: GSE 27FE

Opel, the German brand of the Stellantis group, has just unveiled the single-seater with which it will compete in Formula E from next season. As we have already mentioned here at HighMotor, Opel will take over from DS in this competition, after the French firm announced its departure.

A few weeks ago, Stellantis announced a reorganization of its Formula E structure. After several years competing, DS will withdraw, leaving its place to Opel, which will debut with a new official team. Previously, Citroën had already replaced Maserati internally. In this way, Opel and Citroën will be the two brands representing the Stellantis group in the competition.

The name of Opel’s new single-seater, GSE 27FE, follows the tradition of the German manufacturer: GSE refers to its most sporting electric vehicles, the number 27 corresponds to the 2026/2027 season, and FE clearly identifies Formula E. The prototype was presented during joint tests at the French Paul Ricard circuit, in Le Castellet, with all the manufacturers that take part in Formula E. In this same setting, the new Porsche 975 RSE was also driven.

For now, the GSE 27FE sports eye-catching neon yellow, black and white livery, faithful to Opel’s sporting style in competition. This will not be the final design we see next season, however, since that one, with the sponsors included, will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show next October.

Welcome to Formula E

In Formula E, the chassis, battery and front axle are standardized components identical for all teams, in order to control costs. However, each manufacturer freely develops the rear propulsion system, the suspension and the management software. Stellantis will thus take advantage of the experience accumulated by Citroën.

Although the cars may look very similar at first glance, technical differences do exist and these are what determine performance in each race. The fourth-generation Formula E single-seaters (Gen4) deliver up to 600 kW of power, and have acceleration superior to that of a Formula 1 car thanks to all-electric all-wheel drive, also capable of reaching a top speed of up to 335 km/h. On the other hand, the energy recovery system under braking that they feature is capable of generating up to 700 kW momentarily.

“What we are presenting today goes far beyond a simple prototype. This single-seater is a strategic technological accelerator for the development of our series production models, especially our high-performance GSE models. After many hours on the test bench, we are now integrating the entire propulsion system into the vehicle and will start running on track from early May.”