By alley - Mar 31, 2016, 2:31 AM ET

FE: Roborace design concept revealed

Formula E has released the first concept images of the car for its new Roborace driverless support series. The category for autonomous vehicles will join the FE bill for its third season in 2016-'17.

Roborace has appointed Daniel Simon, best known for his work designing futuristic car concepts for movies, as its chief design officer. Simon was previously a senior designer at Bugatti. His other motorsport work includes designing liveries for the HRT Formula 1 team and its then-chief Colin Kolles' later LMP2 project.

"We're living in a time where the once separated worlds of the automobile and artificial intelligence collide with unstoppable force," said Simon. "It's fantastic to be part of this journey; it triggers all my big passions – motor racing, design and advanced technologies."

Technical analysis of RoboRace prototype

Simon's Robocar design will generate most of its downforce from its floor and active bodywork rather than traditional aerodynamic wings.

"Beauty was very high on our agenda and we work hard to merge the best performance with stunning styling," he said. "It was important to us that we generate substantial downforce without unnecessary parts cluttering the car to maintain a clean and iconic look. This is largely made possible by using the floor as the main aerodynamic device and we are currently developing active body parts that are more organic and seamless than solutions today."

Roborace CEO Denis Sverdlov sad the aim was for the Robocar to be "one of the smartest ever to be made" and that "thanks to Daniel it may also be the most beautiful car ever to touch a road surface."

He added: "It's gaming, motorsport, technology and entertainment all rolled into one."