"This is a big moment," said Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries - the ultimate boss of Formula E, no less - on Tuesday afternoon as the championship's Gen4 car was launched.
It was the start of a bold speech that referenced an extraordinary take on Formula E's standing in motorsport now that its hooligan teenage years are behind it and it has morphed into something much more sturdy and independent.
Formula E has had 'moments' before. But this week's Gen4 one was different from its 2014 genesis in Beijing and the Nico Prost/Nick Heidfeld apocalypse at the final corner; the influx of manufacturers, firstly Jaguar and then Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi and others; then there was world championship status, which arrived in 2021. But why is it so?
Firstly, it doesn't just feel different; it looks and is poised differently with the Gen4 car. Perhaps it's also because in the last dozen years, despite plenty of achievement, the bubble that Formula E often feels like it is in so often feels like it might be about to be pricked too.
What should be released is a heady cocktail of power, agility and unchecked technical bells and whistles such as traction control, torque-split tech and an active differential that should set Formula E well apart from anything that has been or will be on the international stage.
So, there's a metaphorical golden baton that has been passed on from those who have conceived, designed, built and initially developed the fourth car to be called a Formula E car. The FIA's team of technical, sporting and sustainability chiefs, along with tech providers such as Spark (chassis and car coordination), Podium Advanced Technologies (battery), Bridgestone (tyres) and Marelli (front powertrain) have delivered. Now is the time for the promoters and marketers to shape Gen4's legend.
Electric car sales exceeded 17 million globally in 2024, reaching a sales share of more than 20% according to the International Energy Agency. When Alejandro Agag and Jean Todt helped launch Formula E in 2014, there were 300,000 sold.
By the end of the Gen4 cycle, in 2030, it is estimated that sales will be between 40 and 50 million. Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds emphasised similar statistics during Tuesday's launch, stating: "The tipping point to electrification is going to happen during this Gen4 era."
Dodds's opening address was very convincing, yet it was Fries's input to the welcome that was mind-blowingly bold - as he chose to tap Formula 1 on the shoulder and then slapped it in the face.
"I have a message to my cousins at Formula 1," Liberty Global CEO Fries said, seemingly addressing Liberty Media Corporation, the owner of F1.
"Basically, halfway doesn't make history," he added, clearly referencing the notional 50/50 internal combustion engine and electric split that F1 has moved towards with its 2026 rules.
That was punchy. Then some knockout blows started to rain down on F1.
"Having half an electric engine? Forget it. It's a Frankenstein!" added Fries. "All the way [100% electric] is the only way.
"This car and the Gen5 and the Gen6, it's not a race anymore. It's over; this championship is going nowhere but up. We're totally committed to this thing."
Formula E is clearly seeing itself as the once feisty street kid, now grown up and starting to call some shots. Can that image though, be sustained through the sporting format, through marketing, and through penetration into new areas and higher commercial altitudes?
It's a question that many of the stakeholders are asking. And they are asking it because they know they now have a product that can reshape how people see electric racing cars.
Porsche is at the top of the tree when it comes to prestige entries in Formula E. Now it is a double presence in terms of cars - it will run two factory teams next season - and triple what it was when it joined back in 2019. Its opinions on Formula E, and its hopes and ambitions for this new era, are therefore imperative.
"For me, the Gen4 [project] shows how quick this technology has evolved," said Porsche Formula E director Florian Modlinger.
"The statement is there, the electric road cars are there. And also, now with the Gen4 car, we are there. And in context, when you look back to the last year of Gen1 [2018] it is only eight years ago.
"Just look at what's happened in eight years here. It's amazing, just the advancement and pace in the engineering and the tech."
Modlinger is right, but the hardware is only one aspect; entertainment is another. The good news for Formula E is that on this side it is agile and adept. It has what is unmistakably its own qualifying format, and quirky extras such as attack mode and Pit Boost fast-charging stops. It has that house in order.
But does it have its strategic marketing under the same control? That is where some big questions remain unanswered. The manufacturers and the customer teams are starting to ask for answers and they aren't being shy about it.
"We've got a golden opportunity for Gen4 as it's a real watershed moment for Formula E," Jaguar team principal Ian James told The Race.
"We've got to make sure that we make the most of it. I think we've got one shot at that. The first season of Gen4 is going to be absolutely crucially important.
"We'll argue on track of course, but we also do not always agree on everything off track either but the fundamental topics have seen a really strong alignment.
"Ultimately, everybody's got a vested interest in growing this to be the best possible version of itself. But If I'm brutally honest, I think in the recent months, we've lost a little bit of that."
James is right. The paddock has been an occasionally febrile place of late. Whether its cost squabbles, commercial agreement discord or, as was the case at Jarama, the drivers going rogue with their infamous letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the bigger picture for the greater good has started to get a bit cloudy.
"It's become a little bit too inward-looking as teams, manufacturers and then that almost needs to be corrected a little bit by FEO [Formula E Operations] and by the FIA," added James.
"Because if we can collaborate and work together to realise the full potential of this change into Gen4 then we've got a world-class product on our hands.
"If we fail to do that, we'll fail to reach its full potential."