British engineering consultancy, DEE-Ltd, has revealed details of its concept and initial plans for Formula Genesis – a new entry level single seater ‘eco’ race series.

The programme has been conceived specifically to incorporate and promote a range of high performance low carbon products and technologies – and also to plug the current gap between the top of competitive karting and the entry stages of the UK motorsport ladder. More importantly, says DEE-Ltd, it is designed as an affordable category, not least to attract young, aspirant drivers and engineers into motorsport.

Warwickshire-based DEE-Ltd (Development Engineering and Enterprise) has teamed up with a number of UK race car manufacturers to propose an engine and chassis design for the Formula Genesis programme, which it says will allow competitors to buy a car and compete for a season at a fraction of the cost of current Formula E on offer.

The Formula Genesis car is based around a supercharged version of Toyota’s 3-cylinder 1KR-FE engine. The lightweight 1.0 litre engine fits in with current industry trends towards downsizing and boosting to achieve improved performance, reliability and fuel efficiency. DEE-Ltd believes the widespread use of the engine in existing production road vehicles makes it a cost effective platform on which to base a race series. Supercharging the stock engine is claimed to boost the power output of the 70 kg unit to around 120 bhp, with few changes necessary to the base engine, meaning that re-builds and running costs are comparatively low.

The production Toyota 1KR-FE engine is used extensively across the current Toyota range, and is also found in PSA Peugeot Citroen and Daihatsu products. DEE-Ltd currently holds the European rights for the import, distribution and application of Toyota engine and powertrain products.

Source: DEE-Ltd

Tags: 1KR-FE engine, DEE-Ltd, Formula E, Formula Genesis, karting, motosport, racing, Toyota