Mercedes unveils first Formula E car

Mercedes has unveiled its first Formula E car ahead of its debut in the all-electric racing championship later this year.

After confirming its intended entry to Formula E back in 2017, Mercedes has been ramping up its preparations for its debut in the series at the start of the 2019/20 campaign, due to start this December.

The German marque released a video featuring its new Formula E car this morning ahead of its official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland this week.

The car, known as the Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01, is Mercedes' first all-electric race car, and will be on public display in Geneva from March 7-17. It has been launched in a special teaser livery, with the final design set to be unveiled later this year.

"The countdown to our entry into Formula E has now officially begun. Our team has obviously been working behind the scenes on this project for quite a while now, but when you see the car in our teaser livery for the first time, you know that the project has entered a serious phase," said Toto Wolff, Mercedes' head of motorsport.

"Formula E is going to be a completely new playing field for us. But we are looking forward to the challenge of demonstrating the performance of our intelligent battery-electric drives in motorsport and of giving a positive boost to the EQ brand."

Mercedes laid the foundations for its Formula E entry through the HWA Racelab team, which made its debut at the start of the 2018/19 season last December.

HWA currently races with Venturi powertrains, but will switch to becoming Mercedes' factory operation for the start of Season 6 in December.