Why Formula E chose an Assetto Corsa modder to showcase its new GEN4 car
Formula E has chosen Assetto Corsa modder Race Sim Studio to bring its new GEN4 car to sim racing. We found out the reasons why from RSS's Director, Ali Goz.
Make no mistake, this is a seismic shift for sim racing: an FIA-accredited World Championship has turned to an independent modding studio to create a virtual equivalent of its latest car.
Sure, we’ve seen other licensed vehicle mods appear in AC before: the Dallara Stradale and Authentic Simulation’s Rush SR are two notable examples. We’ve seen similar in other sims, too, with the Scuderia Glickenhaus SCG 007 in rFactor 2, courtesy of United Racing Design.
But creating an entire World Championship grid from the ground up is a whole new level.
Approach
“Formula E approached us in 2025, and the project has been in planning and development ever since,” said RSS’s Director, Ali Goz.
“We knew very early on that it was something we wanted to be involved with, so the last year has involved a lot of familiarisation and internal development to prepare for it properly.”
Formula E is set to enter its GEN4 era for the 2026-27 season, with an all-new car that may shock traditional motorsport fans (if you’ll pardon the pun). The all-electric GEN4 car will have a maximum power output of 600 kW (around 805 bhp), all-wheel-drive and will do well over 200 mph in its low-downforce configuration.
To put this into perspective, the Hypercars you see racing in the World Endurance Championship have a mandated total power output of 500 kW (671 bhp). In terms of mass, a GEN4 is 954 Kg, while a Hypercar is around 1030 Kg, Balance of Performance dependent.
With a 0- 62 mph time under two seconds, the GEN4 is quick. Seriously quick. 124 mph in 4.4 seconds quick, in fact.
One big caveat, though, is that these impressive performance figures are only available in Qualifying and Attack Modes. The car’s regular 450 kW still equates to 600 bhp, however, representing a 50% increase over the outgoing GEN3 Evo model. The extra pace of the new cars may well win over many traditional motorsport fans as a result.
Reasons
RSS’s track record speaks for itself. Over the years, it has produced incredibly realistic facsimiles representing modern Formula 1, GT3, and Hypercar categories, but has also covered historic GTs and single-seaters.
It has even created a range of tools and models to make the most of AC’s infamous Custom Shaders Patch, adding an ever-growing list of functions that Kunos could only dream of at its 2014 release.
“The Formula E team understood the value of focused, high-quality vehicle development,” posited Goz.
“A large studio or game project may need to cover hundreds of cars, whereas we can spend far more time on the detail, systems and behaviour of a single vehicle,” he said, citing the fleet-footedness of a small development team as a major advantage for a project like this.
“We’re confident in what we do, and I think Formula E recognised that as an opportunity to represent GEN4 at a very high level while also helping shape how the category should feel in simulation,” he continued.
RSS’s previous experience of bringing both F1 (Formula Hybrid) and WEC’s (MP-H) complicated electrical systems to AC no doubt factored into Formula E’s partnership decision-making.
“The Formula Hybrid range gave us a lot of experience with complex energy systems, deployment logic and driver controls, while the Formula E project pushed us into some different areas technically,” explained Goz.
“The two projects have complemented each other quite well. Over the last nine months, especially. Improvements to our own technical staff, development tools and systems have allowed us to push things further than we could before.
“Formula E was also refreshing in a different way. The regulations, car architecture and intended behaviour are very clearly defined, so there is a strong technical direction to work towards,” he said.
“Formula E and the people involved on their side have supported us very well throughout development.”
Content
Although unable to go into specifics, Goz highlights that RSS was “given what we needed to build the project to the level we wanted,” including enough data to authentically model the GEN4’s unique characteristics.
This means the car’s active all-wheel-drive will be present, alongside its incredibly efficient braking system, which can regenerate up to 700 kW, meaning the car can harvest 50% of its required race energy through braking alone. Adjustable ABS and traction control will also feature, with the championship’s Attack Mode and Pit Boost accurately represented.
Sim-based Formula E content already exists in rFactor 2, which has been the platform of choice for the Formula E: Accelerate esports competition over the past few years, so there’s a reasonable chance that AC takes on this mantle in future, although this has not been confirmed by either RSS or Formula E.
Detail
But sim racers will be glad to hear that the GEN4 will be fully playable offline, too, replete with RSS’s typical attention to detail.
“Because the vehicle doesn’t operate around conventional Assetto Corsa structures, one of the bigger challenges was making it fully usable offline,” explained Goz.
“That included teaching the opponent AI to understand and follow the category’s systems and rules, manage energy targets, lift and coast, reduce deployment through their own throttle inputs and use the available systems to optimise their performance autonomously.
“Getting all of that working convincingly in Assetto Corsa took several months in itself. A true Formula E championship involves more than simply putting races into a calendar. You also have different event and session formats, such as E-Prix and Unleashed, alongside the circuit requirements.
“Our system already allows races to be configured around different Formula E formats, so the foundations are there,” he said, raising hopes that a convincing offline Formula E experience will be accessible in AC when the GEN4 debuts.
Liveries
Although no release date has been slated for RSS’s GEN4, the 2026-27 Formula E season begins on 16th January*, with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and the Jaguar TCS Racing team no doubt eager to claim back-to-back Drivers’ and Teams’ titles, respectively.
“The team liveries will come from us, and we’re working to make sure each brand is represented as accurately as possible,” said Goz.
“They are planned as additional content rather than part of the first version of the release. At the moment, the real-world liveries are still subject to change, particularly as GEN4 testing has not yet begun in full,” he stated, indicating that although all the 2026-27 Formula E liveries won’t be available as part of the initial release, they will appear later.
RSS’s Formula E partnership is a bold step for the UK-based modder, and many major players across the motorsport and sim racing worlds will be closely monitoring its progress. No pressure, then.
“For us, having FIA Formula E become the first major championship to take this particular route is a huge privilege.
“More importantly, I think it’s a very positive step for sim racing in general. Hopefully it demonstrates what can be achieved when a championship works directly with specialist creators, and opens the door to more opportunities like it in the future,” concluded Goz.
*Formula E’s planned season-opening December races in Saudi Arabia have been rescheduled to April ‘27,
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