When DS Automobiles announced its exit from Formula E back in March, it sent ripples through the paddock—but for Jay Penske's squad, the show was always going to go on. The question wasn't if Penske would continue into the Gen4 era, but how.

Now, it looks like the answer is a bold one: a fully bespoke, in-house powertrain.

Since 2014, Penske's team—originally known as Dragon Racing before evolving into the factory DS Penske outfit in 2021—has been a fixture of the all-electric championship. But with DS pulling out at the end of the 2025-26 season, the American squad faces a fork in the road. One path leads to independence, the other to becoming a customer team reliant on a rival manufacturer's hardware.

According to sources close to the team, Penske is leaning hard toward building its own powertrain. And here's the kicker: this wasn't a last-minute pivot. Long before DS decided to call it quits, Penske had already started laying the groundwork. The same hardware could have been used alongside DS had the French manufacturer stayed—but now, it gives Penske the chance to stand entirely on its own two feet from the very start of the Gen4 era.

"We have done a really good powertrain and we are working very hard in the simulator," deputy team principal Phil Charles told Motorsport.com. "This is an ongoing process that's been in place now for well over a year-and-a-half, so lots of work and lots of good things."

It's not without precedent. Dragon Racing built its own powertrains from the 2016-17 season until it became DS' works squad in late 2022. If Penske can recapture that independent spirit, it could be one of the most compelling stories of the next chapter in Formula E.

Meanwhile, the competition isn't waiting around. Porsche, Jaguar, Stellantis, Lola, and Nissan are already testing their Gen4 packages—mostly in mule cars—and Mahindra is expected to shake down its M12 Electro successor in May. Penske, by contrast, has yet to even register its Gen4 entry. But if the team's quiet confidence is anything to go by, an official announcement is just around the corner.

For fans of the sport—and anyone who loves a good underdog story—this is one to watch. Penske is betting on itself, and in a series dominated by manufacturer giants, that takes guts. And maybe, just maybe, a little genius.