While the Celtics are engaged in a strange rebuilding process that they’re apparently doing from first place in the Atlantic Division, the team’s managing partner is looking to expand his sports involvement beyond basketball. Wyc Grousbeck, coupled with a range of fellow co-owners of the Celtics, have recently announced their support and investment in a new form of formula racing. It’s pretty far from standard. Injecting $21 million, they are going to be involved in all-electric Formula E racing.

Yes, that’s right, Formula E:

It’s an aggressive decision from Grousbeck, who has owned the Celtics since his group purchased the team in 2002. His newly formed Causeway Media Partners (named for the street that TD Garden is next to) was formed in May to make investments in “sports media and entertainment properties.” They’ve already raised more than $100 million, and this is their first project.

“We aim to help make Formula E a worldwide sensation,” Grousbeck said to the Associated Press earlier this week prior to finalizing the deal. “With our upcoming races in the centers of Los Angeles and Miami, we will help showcase the power and promise of sustainable vehicle technology.”

Those who scoff at the potential of all-electric car racing are justified, at least in the short term. The top speed of cars in the first Formula E races will be 160 miles per hour, which is slower than the average speed of even the slowest Formula 1 race. Batteries for the cars last 25 minutes, and the traditional pitstop will be replaced with a simple battery change.

Despite initial drawbacks, progress continues to come in the electric car development in leaps and bounds, and it’s attracting not only the money of sports owners (like Grousbeck), but also celebrities.

For example:

And they also have recruited Richard Branson, with all of his resources. The first race is set to take place in Beijing in less than a year (September 2014), with nine additional races after that. While there is clearly potential for growth, it will be interesting to see exactly how the new series performs, both in performance and (fundamentally) in popularity.

One last video, an electric car in a burn-out:

 Images via CBS and Red’s Army