Liberty Walk brings Formula E flair to the Tokyo E-Prix

Liberty Walk has never been a firm that worries about upsetting purists. Across the years, renowned tuner Wataru Kato has sparked controversy by cutting, riveting and fitting wide-body kits to everything from Ferrari F40s and Lamborghini Miuras to Nissan Skylines for Lando Norris. He is now moving into unfamiliar-and perhaps his most contentious-territory yet: Formula E.

Liberty Walk Formula E cars arrive at the Tokyo E-Prix

For this weekend’s Tokyo E-Prix, Andretti will field two Liberty Walk-liveried Formula E cars, because it seems two Japanese night races risked being a little too understated. Who better to raise the temperature than Kato-san?

Formula E’s technical rules are, naturally, not quite so accommodating of wheelarches capable of creating their own microclimate or negative camber sharp enough to slice cheese. As a result, founder Wataru Kato has had to limit his contribution to the cars’ wraps.

The Liberty Walk livery draws its inspiration from an R34 GT-R, with an unmistakably unsubtle Fast and Furious flavour in its chrome-and-blue scheme. It has been applied to British FE champion Jake Dennis’s and FE rookie Felipe Drugovich’s Andretti Porsche 99X Electric GEN3 Evo race cars for the Tokyo double-header around the city’s neon-lit bay. Its chrome finish is intended to gleam under the floodlights at Tokyo Big Sight, venue for Formula E’s first Japanese night race.

GEN4 Formula E car builds momentum

The partnership comes at a timely point for Formula E. Its upcoming GEN4 car enjoyed an unusually high-profile appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Dan Ticktum took second in the Timed Shootout with a 42.46-second run, pushing Formula E further into the mainstream.

Due later this year for the 2026/27 season, the GEN4 car delivers 50 per cent more power in race trim than the GEN3 Evo, producing 450kW-about 603bhp. Attack Mode lifts output to 600kW, or roughly 804bhp, 71 per cent more than the current car can produce. Goodwood proved that it is seriously quick: it fell short of victory by under half a second and set the fifth-fastest shootout time in Goodwood history. Better still, it finally resembles a proper race car, which is a major victory in itself.

Formula E title battle remains wide open

The penultimate event for the present generation of cars could prove equally compelling, with the championship unusually unsettled at this point. Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein heads the standings on 141 points, although Jaguar’s Mitch Evans is only nine behind. Oliver Rowland is third with 114, ahead of António Félix da Costa on 111, Jake Dennis on 109 and Edoardo Mortara on 103.

That leaves the leading six drivers separated by only 38 points, while 58 are available across Tokyo’s two races alone. A poor qualifying session, a meeting with a concrete wall or badly judged Attack Mode timing could transform the standings before the championship reaches London. Who's your money on?