Development began in September 2012, with Formulec EF01 serving as an early prototype to demonstrate the concept — a chassis built by Mercedes GP with Siemens motors. Lucas di Grassi was appointed the official test driver for promotional purposes.
McLaren Electronic Systems was confirmed as the motor, transmission, and electronics supplier in November 2012. Spark Racing Technology, partnering with Dallara, was contracted to build 42 cars. Michelin was announced as exclusive tyre supplier in March 2013, and Renault joined as technical partner in May 2013, bringing expertise from its Formula One and Renault Z.E. (Zero Emission) road car programmes. Williams Advanced Engineering, part of the Williams F1 group, designed and supplied the battery system.
The car was publicly revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show on 10 September 2013 by FIA president Jean Todt and Formula E Holdings CEO Alejandro Agag. The first official track trials were held at Donington Park in July 2014, with teams completing a combined total of 1,222 laps before the season began.
The electric motor was built by McLaren Electronic Technologies, weighing 26 kg and producing a maximum of 270 bhp with 140 Nm of instant torque. It was originally developed for the McLaren P1 road car. Only rear-axle drive was permitted; traction control was forbidden.
The car carried a 28 kWh Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) designed by Williams Advanced Engineering. This battery capacity was insufficient to complete a full race distance — drivers had to stop mid-race and swap into a second identical car, a distinctive procedural quirk of the Gen1 era that the championship later eliminated with the Gen2.
Maximum power was limited to 200 kW (268 hp) in qualifying and practice. During races, a power-saving mode of 180 kW (245 hp) applied, with a push-to-pass FanBoost system allowing an additional 30 kW (40 hp) temporarily. The maximum energy delivery to the motor was capped at 30 kWh per race.
Dallara built the carbon/aluminium honeycomb survival cell and bodywork. The suspension used double steel wishbones with pushrod-operated twin dampers and torsion bars at the front, with spring suspension at the rear. Brakes combined conventional hydraulic systems with regenerative braking. A Hewland paddle-shift sequential gearbox with fixed gear ratios was used for cost control.
An 18-inch Michelin tyre compound was used, designed to function in both wet and dry conditions with a single compound for the entire weekend, eliminating compound strategy. O.Z. Racing supplied magnesium wheels.
Acceleration: 0–100 km/h in approximately 3 seconds
Maximum speed: 225 km/h (FIA-limited)
Minimum weight (including driver): 888 kg
Battery weight alone: 320 kg
The SRT 01E was a spec car: every team and driver raced an identical chassis, with only the powertrain open to manufacturer development from Season 2 onwards. The equal-chassis format allowed teams to differentiate through powertrain engineering, making it both a cost-control mechanism and a technical competition. The car was replaced after Season 4 (2017–18) by the SRT05e (Gen2), which introduced a larger battery capable of covering a full race distance, eliminating the mid-race car swap.
The SRT 01E was commissioned into MAK-Corp's Hyperstimulator platform for promotional use at Formula E events. The car also appeared in Forza Motorsport 5, rFactor 2, and EA's Real Racing 3 mobile game.
The SRT 01E was the founding artifact of electric formula racing at the top level, demonstrating that battery-powered single-seaters could compete on tight city-circuit courses and attract mainstream manufacturer interest. Its car-swap procedure, however unusual, generated on-track drama and safety theatre that defined the early fan identity of the series. The Gen1 era produced many of Formula E's most celebrated early moments and established champions including Nelson Piquet Jr., Sébastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi, and Jean-Éric Vergne.