Racecar Engineering November 2017

Improving the breed does not mean more horsepower or more speed Regular as clockwork, manufacturers come up with another supercar, some just show cars to pump up the image, but some as production cars. Some of those actually jump into another group, the hypercars, like the 1479bhp at 6700rpm, peak torque 1600Nm, from 2000rpm all the way to 6000rpm, Bugatti Chiron, with a limited top speed of 261mph, and a projected production run of 100 cars. Apart from the performance figures, it also ticks the really essential big number: $3.38m. A well know syndrome in teenage boys is the word-exempt conversation they tend to indulge in, with a sprinkling of numbers and of course letters, exemplified in this sample: ‘Ah, the 3000YZ 3-litre triple-turbo; zero to a 100 in 3.5 seconds, DOHC…

While McLaren’s ventures in supercars and a variety of technologies have been very successful, for the Formula 1 operation it’s been downhill ever since Commitment in motor racing is generally identified with a driver’s determination to keep hard on the throttle into fast and risky corners where the consequences of misjudgment are likely to be severe. But there are other forms of commitment that play a massive part in our complex business and sport. Liberty F1’s Sean Bratches recently stated that it is committing to street races for the additional grands prix it wishes to establish. One can see the marketing logic, and there is a place for such events in F1, as has always been the case. Monaco has been a sine qua non of the world championship since its inception;…

Racing these heavy stock cars on the Indianapolis track has always proven to be a challenge It was an overcast Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 22, a welcome break from the usual scorching temperatures for the annual summer NASCAR race at the track. On the grid 40 cars prepared to roll off for the start of the race, while five nervous NASCAR R&D engineers and fabricators huddled near the centre of pit road. As the cars started their engines, a procession of NASCAR officials came by to collect a curious looking package with carbon fibre bits protruding from each end of the bubble wrapped exterior – the back-up ducts. Once finished, the officials took their posts and the R&D staff returned to the office of NASCAR Xfinity series director Wayne…

‘We needed to understand if these regulations would allow us to run with a high rake philosophy’ When asked about his favourite feature of the 2017 Force India, the small Silverstone-based outfit’s technical director, Andy Green, jokes ‘the colour!’The VJM10 is, indeed, one of the most distinctive cars in Formula 1. But it’s not only that bright pink paint job, it also has an eye-catching design with a unique nose treatment, but more eye-catching for most of the team’s rivals is its solid fourth place in the constructors’ championship. Design work on the VJM10 started before the 2016 season got underway but still perhaps later than Green would have liked. This was due to a lack of clarity over the 2017 regulations, which only started to be really firmed up during pre-season…

‘The cars must be able to follow each other and race, that is the key aim with the aerodynamics’ One of the longest serving open-wheel racecars of recent years will be officially retired at Abu Dhabi in late November. Dallara’s GP2/11 is to be replaced in the FIA Formula 2 championship by an all new design from the Italian constructor, called the F2/18. Formula 2 was relaunched by the FIA at the start of 2017, essentially a re-branding of the existing GP2 Series. But when the tender for a promoter for the ‘new F2’ was first announced in 2015, the proposed technical regulations were very different to that of GP2. Indeed, it called for a multi-chassis, open wheel series using hybrid powertrains. ‘The tender had to change, it needed to be a…

‘When it became clear that we were going to do new bodywork we said that we should work to improve the side impact structure’ The process of remodelling IndyCar’s Dallara DW12 with new bodywork for 2018 goes well beyond a beautification project that was long overdue. For hidden beneath the new panels that surround the 2012-era tub, wholesale changes to driver protection materials and methodology have also been made. Externally, a reversal of the DW12’s sidepod layout with the upcoming UAK18 (universal aero kit 2018) has produced a proper ‘Coke bottle’ profile. Unlike the stock Dallara DW12 sidepods (2012-2014) and custom Chevrolet and Honda aero kits that replaced it (2015-2017), the UAK18 will now employ a wide structure alongside its drivers that provides ample structure to crush. IndyCar aerodynamic director Tino Belli, charged…