DS Penske unveil special retro livery for final Formula E appearance
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
DS Penske have unveiled a special livery for the upcoming London E-Prix, ahead of what will be their final Formula E appearance.
The livery features a striking golden shade that serves as a memory to the days of the DS Techeetah outfit that ran from Seasons 4 to 8, the strongest era in the championship for the DS name.
It serves as a mix of the black-and-gold DS Penske livery of the Gen3 era with the golden predominantly witnessed on the face of the car, amalgamating the past with the present.
"A golden return for the season finale," read the post on DS Penske's socials, revealing the throwback livery. DS Penske had revealed a teaser for the special livery on the previous day, with a golden cover over a Gen3 Evo Formula E car in a glittering social media post.
The gold/black undertone has been a regular feature on all of the manufacturer's Formula E machines since their entry to the all-electric championship in 2015. The French outfit first partnered up with Virgin Racing (now Envision Racing) during the Gen1 era, with Jean-Éric Vergne and Sam Bird leading the charge to third in the standings.
But the bulk of their success would come during the Gen2 era. Having joined forces with the erstwhile Techeetah outfit from Season 5 in the Gen2 era, the DS name has won two world championships, split between Vergne in the 2018-19 campaign and later António Félix da Costa in the truncated 2019-20 campaign.
da Costa's title win in 2020 still remains the largest winning margin for any Formula E driver, arguably the peak of the team's success in the championship. All in all, the DS Techeetah outfit achieved 10 race wins during the Gen2 era, coming through both drivers and their successful title runs.
After taking over the assets of the erstwhile Dragon Penske team, DS entered the Gen3 era with Penske, as Season 8 champion Stoffel Vandoorne joined forces with Vergne for one of the strongest line-ups in the series.
However, the DS name is yet to achieve a championship, as Vergne and Vandoorne managed to achieve a collective best of third in the standings in Season 10.
Max Günther remains the last driver to win for the French manufacturer, taking victories at Jeddah and Shanghai in Season 11 and finishing fifth in the standings.
However, the current campaign hasn't gone as strongly for Günther and new teammate Taylor Barnard, as both drivers have only scored 56 points collectively so far. Barnard has scored the team's best finish of fourth in Mexico City.
DS Penske have been hurt by a combination of poor race pace and difficult strategic gambles, with Barnard sliding back from top positions in both Tokyo E-Prix this year, only finishing on the fringes of the top 10 in both races.
The team will be looking for a final flourish and a send off for DS Automobiles in London, as they chase a first podium finish of the season, and potentially even a race victory. A throwback livery may come as a great throwback to help the team resurrect their tough season, and end on a strong note.
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