The circuit occupies temporarily closed public roads on the Central Harbourfront, a district at the northern edge of Hong Kong Island with direct views across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon. As is typical for Formula E street circuits, the layout is constructed and dismantled around each event rather than serving as a permanent racing facility.
The circuit made its debut on 9 October 2016 as the opening round of the 2016–17 Formula E season, hosting the Hong Kong ePrix. A total of four races were held across three seasons — the 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19 campaigns — with the final event taking place on 10 March 2019.
The circuit's continued use was undermined by a regulatory problem: FIA rules require Formula E tracks to be at least 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in length, but the Hong Kong layout measured only 1.860 km. For the 2019–20 season, in which two additional teams were expected to join the field, the FIA insisted the circuit be extended to comply with the minimum length. Lawrence Yu, governor of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, explained the difficulties: expanding westward was blocked by the Hong Kong West Kowloon rail terminal that linked the area to the airport, while extending the circuit eastward through a tunnel was considered too dangerous given the speeds at which cars would enter it. Faced with no viable expansion route, the Hong Kong ePrix was dropped from the 2019–20 Formula E calendar.
In March 2023, Hong Kong was selected to host the final two rounds of the 2023 FIA World Rallycross Championship season. The event marked the first time in World RX history that a street circuit was used for the series. A 1.225 km (0.761 mi) layout was designed on the Central Harbourfront, reusing sections of public roads from the Formula E circuit and incorporating gravel sections on the Central Harbourfront Event Space to create the mixed-surface track characteristic of rallycross.
Track construction delays forced last-minute alterations the day before the race weekend, requiring the two longest asphalt straights to be removed from the design. The shortened circuit ran to 0.802 km (0.498 mi). Despite the disruption, the races took place as scheduled.
Hong Kong did not feature on the 2024 World RX calendar. The event organiser was reported to owe approximately HK$10 million in unpaid debts to suppliers, ending the venue's involvement with the championship after a single season.
The Hong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit is one of the few venues to have hosted two distinct international series — Formula E and World Rallycross — on the same stretch of public roads. Its urban setting, with the backdrop of Victoria Harbour and the Kowloon skyline, gave it an unusually dramatic visual character among contemporary street circuits. However, the site's geographic constraints prevented Formula E from extending the layout to meet evolving regulations, while financial difficulties cut short the venue's rallycross chapter, leaving its motorsport legacy confined to a narrow window between 2016 and 2023.
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