The destination of the crown changed hands three times in as many corners, as Andretti's Jake Dennis made a late charge from the back of the pack with Wehrlein coming under severe pressure from Antonio Felix da Costa (Jaguar TCS Racing), who did his bit in his teammate's fight for the title, and in Jaguar's battle for Teams' honours.
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At the end of Lap 27, Wehrlein was told by his race engineer to let a charging Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) past but that, and a squeeze from da Costa, left the pre-race standings leader shuffled all the way to 12th and outside the points with Dennis able to make it by for eighth, enough to the top of the points table, through his first ATTACK MODE while Evans sat fourth.
Ultimately, Evans could climb no higher, having bided his time to take ATTACK MODE; the Mahindras and Barnard had gapped the Jaguar driver and the rest out-front. A win was the only outcome that would have seen the Kiwi take the crown, even with Wehrlein being once again shuffled down the order and out of the points-paying positions by his own contact with Envision Racing's Joel Eriksson at Turn 16 on Lap 31.
The ensuing chaos handed caught out Dennis too, and the Brit was eliminated from the race and title contention with damage to his car caused in the melee.
Barnard's late ATTACK MODE activation saw him able to muscle by Mortara for P2, then polesitter de Vries for the win with a sneaky dive up the inside of the Season 8 champion into the final turn with just two laps left to run. The Brit was able to convert to become the youngest Formula E race winner at 22 years and 76 days old, superseding Maximilian Guenther, on DS Automobiles final Formula E outing.
Though Evans couldn't do enough to seal Drivers' honours, his fourth-placed finish ensured Jaguar TCS Racing would once again be crowned Teams' World Champions, just ahead of Porsche who secured the Manufacturers' World Championship back in Tokyo.
Wehrlein becomes just the second two-time Formula E title-winner in the series' 12-season history, alongside Jean-Eric Vergne.
As it happened...
De Vries led the field away from pole with Evans looking to make an immediate mark on Mueller for fourth - the Jaguar driving needing the race win to have a chance at the Drivers' title. The Porsche driver kept his advances at bay, however and the top six followed through as they'd started.
Da Costa leapt early for ATTACK to set about chasing Nico Mueller for fourth with the Porsche driver holding Evans and the field behind back for teammate Wehrlein to scamper away. A two-second gap between Mueller and Wehrlein was narrowed to nothing with da Costa applying the pressure. The Portuguese passed Mueller on Lap 5 and da Costa later that same tour for third.
Wehrlein jumped through the ATTACK MODE activation zone a lap later, with de Vries and Barnard doing the same: the Mahindra driver led teammate Mortara, Barnard, da Costa, Wehrlein, Mueller, Evans, Cassidy, Ticktum and Buemi on Lap 8.
The standings leader swarmed all over the back of da Costa's Jaguar but Wehrlein struggled to make a move stick even in ATTACK MODE. With three seconds of his 50kW, all-wheel drive boost remaining, Wehrlein did pass the Jaguar across the start finish to take fourth. Fine margins.
On Lap 12, the battle out-front between the Mahindras went the way of Mortara, who found his way beyond polesitter de Vries - but only to allow the Swiss to take ATTACK without losing position to Barnard in third position.
Da Costa also retook fourth from Wehrlein that same tour, though was consuming far more energy than the Porsche in the process. Behind Wehrlein sat Mueller, with Evans still unable to get by in seventh place.
Buemi looked like the battering ram in ATTACK on Lap 14, with Evans allowing the Swiss by for sixth into Turn 1 on Lap 15, with Mueller also moving aside a couple of corners later as the Envision driver took sixth.
Evans had his fill of being stuck behind Mueller on Lap 17 and sold him the dummy heading back into the Excel to force his way by - a nice move, which caught the Swiss napping. From there, Evans needed to squeeze the leaders and make use of his energy advantage. Over the next few laps he did just that - reeling the lead pack in by 2.5 seconds by Lap 20.
Mortara led de Vries, Barnard, da Costa, Wehrlein, Buemi, Cassidy, Evans, Drugovich and Vergne on Lap 21. On Lap 22, Mortara leapt for his first ATTACK.
By Lap 26, Evans had made it by Cassidy and Buemi for sixth. The Kiwi jumped for ATTACK and with da Costa backing Wehrlein up, he was able to pass the pair for fourth heading back inside the Excel - nice team play.
At the end of Lap 27, Wehrlein was told to let Buemi run but that, and a squeeze from da Costa left the standings leader shuffled all the way to 12th and outside the points with Dennis able to make it by for eighth through his first ATTACK MODE and Evans finding himself fourth.
Dennis then passed Eriksson for seventh, briefly, with Wehrlein able to take 10th spot in ATTACK - inside half a lap the Drivers' title passing from Wehrlein to Dennis back to Wehrlein again. Bravely, Wehrlein was then able to outdrag da Costa as the Portuguese challenged for that 10th spot.
Chaos ensued on Lap 31 with Eriksson losing the car into a spin at Turn 16 with Dennis and Wehrlein caught in the drama and forced right out of the running in the melee.
With the ATTACK MODEs all shaken out, Barnard found himself out front with de Vries and Mortara next in the order. Evans had it all to do if he was to take the title from fourth - needing the win to outdo Wehrlein, who sat outside the points.
Just a lap remained and Barnard led de Vries home and with Evans only managing fourth, the title would be Wehrlein's despite the German finishing outside the points-paying positions.
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