The Porsche Taycan is the new Formula E safety car

This isn’t just a Porsche Taycan wearing a fancy frock. This is your new Formula E safety car.

We’ll start with the, ahem, obvious. See that multicoloured livery? Course you do, can’t miss it. Well, it represents the colours of all 11 teams competing in the championship, as well as the colours of the FIA and Formula E. Oh, and it’ll also wear the number 22, to represent – yep, you guessed it – the 22 drivers on the grid.

Naturally, there have been other modifications to ensure the Taycan is up to safety car standards, including a high-vis lightbar positioned on the roof and flashing lights integrated into both front and rear bumpers. It’ll shine brighter than a full moon, this thing.

The interior hasn’t escaped either, as the car comes complete with a new roll cage, bucket seats with six-point seatbelts, Marelli data logger, that all-important fire extinguisher and high-tech communication system.

There’s no change to the road-going Turbo S's 93kWh battery and dual-motor set-up, not that long-standing Portuguese safety driver Bruno Correia should have too much to complain about with 751bhp to play with. In layman’s terms, that translates as 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 162mph. What you'd call Not Slow, then.

“We’re proud that Formula E has entrusted a Porsche with this task – one that is important for the safety of its drivers,” said Thomas Laudenbach, vice president Porsche Motorsport.

“With the Taycan Turbo S as the official safety car, we’re making an important contribution to track safety and also underlining the importance of Formula E for Porsche Motorsport. The distinctive design illustrates our commitment to the successful future of this innovative racing series.”

Expect to see the Porsche Taycan in its new role at the opening round of the championship on 28-29 January in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.