Porsche’s first fully electric sports car has been announced as Formula E’s new Safety Car.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which carries the colours of all 11 competing teams, will make its debut at the Season 8 opener later this month.

“Formula E is delighted the Porsche Taycan Turbo S will serve as the Championship’s safety car from Season 8,” said Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle.

“The Porsche Taycan Turbo S is the pinnacle of high-performance electrified vehicles and will light up Formula E city racetracks around the world.

“In designing the Formula E safety car, Porsche reimagined the critical on-track safety function to be a powerful symbol of the championship’s commitment to an electrified future and the unity of the competitors in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

Porsche Motorsport vice-president Thomas Laudenbach was pleased to see the Taycan used in such a prominent role.

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

“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.

“Although we’re rivals out on the track, we’re spreading this message to the world together.

“What’s more, we hope that this also enables us to appeal to a younger target audience who are not yet motorsport fans.”

Diriyah, Saudi Arabia will host the first two rounds of the Formula E season on January 28-29.