Actress Gul Panag Pays Tribute To Mahindra BE6, Formula-E Racing Team
Mahindra’s factory team now has a strong presence in Formula-E, the all-electric, single-seater, open-wheel racing series for electric cars. The sport itself is relatively new, having been established just over a decade ago, with the first race held in 2014. Mahindra Racing has been competing since the very first season. Now, Indian actress Gul Panag has shared a ‘2025 recap’ post on Instagram, detailing Mahindra Racing’s journey so far in Formula-E and paying tribute to the factory team and the BE6 and the company’s (production) EV journey so far. This soulful post is now attracting a lot of attention online.
The actress shared a bunch of pictures showing her posing with Mahindra electric cars from different eras. From the humble E2O to the BE6 Formula Edition and two of the team’s Formula-E cars. All these pictures have stories, which Panag mentioned in the long description.
‘Some journeys don’t begin at a launch. They begin with belief.’- says Panag in her post. She then talks about how she has been part of the company’s racing history and was able to see the factory team’s evolution from up close.
Mahindra Racing joined Formula-E in its inaugural season (2014-15). Back then. electric racing was ‘an idea people were trying to make sense of.’ Panag, in her post, says ‘I was there when Mahindra stepped in early- as one of the first manufacturers to believe that electric wasn’t a compromise, but the future.’
Over the years, she was able to watch races in Morocco, London, Berlin, and Paris, often from Mahindra’s garage- an experience many enthusiasts dream of. She even got to drive Mahindra’s M4Electro Formula-E car from the fourth season (2017) in Spain and became the first Indian woman to do the same.
She considers this a big personal milestone/ achievement and is particularly thrilled by the fact that it happened at a time when Mahindra’s production car lineup had just one all-electric model- the E2O! Panag even owned one of these back then! Switching from the raw, experimental E2O to the well-engineered, sharp, and fast M4 Electro seems to have excited the actress much.
Later in the post, she talks about the Electric Origin SUV range. The carousel has a picture of her seated inside a BE6. This is from the Chakan factory. Before its actual market launch / unveil, the actress could experience a BE6 that had just rolled off the production line.
The post has, in a way, confirmed that her love for Mahindra and association with it are more than just being the celebrity face at launches and product unveiling events.
Mahindra continues to be the only Indian OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in Formula-E. In the 2025 season (season 11), the team even secured a fourth place in the championship. The current driver lineup includes 2021 series champion Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara. India’s Kush Maini is now Mahindra Racing’s reserve driver.
Mahindra’s Formula-E car has also evolved a lot over the years. The M12Electro that is racing in the 2025-26 season is much lighter and more efficient than its predecessor and has a top speed of 320 km/h. It has 470 bhp on offer. The 12th season will begin on December 6, 2025, in Sao Paulo.
Like many other manufacturers, Mahindra uses its learnings from Formula-E to improve its Electric Origin line of SUVs- the BE6, BE6 Formula-E, XEV 9e and XEV 9S. Using race-derived lessons and technology to improve production cars is a formula that never fails!