The RaceBird electric powerboat sets the stage for E1 Series racing

Updated 1259 GMT (2059 HKT) May 9, 2022

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The RaceBird is the world's first electric racing boat, developed for new powerboat series E1, which is set to launch in Spring 2023. Lloyd Images/ E1 Series

With two hydrofoils on each side of the vessel, the body of the RaceBird is lifted out of the water as it accelerates, reducing water resistance and thus increasing speed and efficiency. Lloyd Images/ E1 Series

E1 is the brainchild of serial sports entrepreneur Alejandro Agag, who having launched Formula E and its off-road counterpart Extreme E, is now turning to the water. Pictured, Agag with the all-electric first generation Formula E car on an ice cap near Nuuk, Greenland, in September 2016. Handout/Getty Images Europe

Formula E has taken motor racing to urban streets, and it's hoped that E1 events will also take place in major cities. E1 is in negotiations with cities around the world, with Venice, Budapest and Monaco all likely destinations for the first season. Pictured, a Formula E car races alongside a passenger train in the London E-Prix, April 2021. Handout/Getty Images Europe/Jaguar Racing via Getty Images

Agag is joined in the venture by the founder of boat maker SeaBird Technologies, Sophi Horne (center), and former F1 engineer Rodi Basso (right). Lloyd Images/ E1 Series

Despite the RaceBird's futuristic look, Horne has drawn her inspiration for the design of the boat from nature and the way that birds skim over the surface of water Lloyd Images/ E1 Series

As well as Formula E, Agag has launched Extreme E -- off-road racing for electric vehicles. Pictured is McLaren's Extreme E car with its hand drawn livery, in Glasgow, Scotland, November 2021. Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson Collection/Getty Images