WATCH: What happens when a Formula E car and one of nature's fastest animals go head-to-head?

What happens when you line a cheetah up against an FIA Formula E Championship car in a head-to-head drag race?

FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile)  Formula E released a video of a race between cheetah and and Formula E Championship car and it is going viral.

Just picture it – Jean-Eric Vergne, a Formula E car and…a cheetah on a desolate landing strip in southern Africa. Not your everyday scenario and, luckily, we won’t make you imagine it for long.

“We knew the similarities in performance between the Formula E car and a cheetah, so we were curious to see the outcome,” said Formula E Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag.

This was not just for fun as FIA claimed that  there’s a more important reason why they chose to do this.

“Aside from being the fastest land animal, the cheetah is one of the most endangered creatures on the planet. With just 7000 remaining in the wild, the species is wide-ranging and sparsely distributed, needing large landscapes to survive, which makes it particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation – threats that are exacerbated by a changing climate,” said Formula E founder.

He added that Formula E is offering more than a global motorsport championship, the all-electric street racing series aims to provide a solution to climate change by acting as catalyst for the uptake of electric vehicles, particularly in city centers.

By encouraging more people to switch to smart, electric mobility, it’s possible to make our society cleaner for future generations, while helping to preserve habitats for species like the cheetah.

“What’s even more important is to determine the outcome for the future for not only us, but the cheetah and other animals we share our planet with. We only have one planet and we must address the issues we currently face from the source and electric cars can play a key role in reducing C02 emissions worldwide,” said Agag.

But, as we all know, a racing car is nothing without a driver – although Formula E’s support partner Roborace is working on that one. In the meantime, we needed a pilot and who better to call on than TECHEETAH driver Jean-Eric Vergne?

“There are only around 7,000 cheetahs still living in the wild and we have a strong desire to raise awareness for the main threats they face, such as illegal trade of cubs for pets, loss of prey due to habitat loss and fragmentation aggravated by climate change. I’m really proud to have participated in this film and stay tuned for some exciting news to come following the documentary,” said Vergne.

 

This film was overseen by conversation experts and animal welfare organisations and is released in partnership with Animal Issues Matter, Cheetah Outreach and Endangered Wildlife Trust.

What is Formula E

Formula E is a new FIA motor racing championship featuring single-seater cars powered exclusively by electricity.