Porsche Taycan Formula E safety car revealed

Formula E has announced that the Porsche Taycan Turbo S will become its safety car for the 2022 championship.

Replacing the one-off MINI Pacesetter and the BMW i8 Roadster that both supported the pure-electric race series last year, the Porsche Taycan safety car's first outing will be on January 28 at the first race held in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Wrapped in a multicoloured livery that's said to represent every team on the grid, the Taycan safety car will sport the number 22 – signalling the number of entrants that will compete in the FIA-backed championship.

Incredibly, thanks to its dual electric motors that produce a combined 560kW/1050Nm, the Taycan Turbo S is as quick as the last-generation FE racers, taking 2.8 seconds to reach 100km/h from rest.

As well as the extra lights and light bar, the conversion from road car to safety car has seen the Taycan's rear seats junked to help accommodate a full roll-cage.

Six-point harness race-spec bucket seats, in-car fire suppressant system and a high-tech communications and data logging system have also been added.

Commenting on the new Taycan safety car, Porsche motorsport boss Thomas Laundenbach said: "We’re proud that Formula E has entrusted a Porsche with this task – one that is important for the safety of its drivers.

"With the Taycan Turbo S as the official safety car, we’re making an important contribution to track safety and also underlining the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport. The distinctive design illustrates our commitment to the successful future of this innovative racing series."