2012 FIA World Endurance Championship

[EIF]

Interesting design but I can't see it being quick anywhere except on the Mulsanne straight.

 

[Greg Carr]

I heard that it has to meet a 3:30 - 3:40 lap time at Le Man, and listing to some interviews from this morning they seem pretty optimistic that it can be done.

 

[William Levesque]

Interesting design but I can't see it being quick anywhere except on the Mulsanne straight.

It's not gonna be a rocket to be honest, it only has 300ish hp...

 

[William Levesque]

Yes I am a Corvette fan if you can't tell

I love you.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Pure HP doesnt say anything. The ratio between horses and weight does.

 

[William Levesque]

In a straight line you need HP, yes if you weight less you'll be faster but in the end you will need HP.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

In a straight line you need HP, yes if you weight less you'll be faster but in the end you will need HP.

Not if you have the drag coefficient of a finger

You can´t forget aero when discussion straight line speeds. arguably the most important aspect.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

300HP on 475kg with very little drag. I really hope they'll surprise!

 

[William Levesque]

Not if you have the drag coefficient of a finger

You can´t forget aero when discussion straight line speeds. arguably the most important aspect.

Of course, and on the front of the car it seems good, but at the back there might be quite a problem... It looks loaded with obstacles to me !

 

[Marcel vd Aa]

Can I have one please?
On the aerodynamic subject of the front. If you compare it to regular prototypes the longer front end of the car actually creates more downforce and in a way that is more uninterrupted. I've seen studies in the past where 'rocket shaped' land speed record cars were tested in a windtunnel and they actually create a hell of a lot more downforce than conventional front winged racing cars. Also the way the two front wheels are setup ensures a lot more mechanical grip since the amount of body roll is greatly reduced. And we all know that too much roll affects the grip of the car in corners. So I am very interested in this concept, to say the least. We all should applaud Nissan for completely thinking outside the box.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

It's not Nissan that is thinking outside the box. They joined in on the program though!

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Can I have one please?
On the aerodynamic subject of the front. If you compare it to regular prototypes the longer front end of the car actually creates more downforce and in a way that is more uninterrupted. I've seen studies in the past where 'rocket shaped' land speed record cars were tested in a windtunnel and they actually create a hell of a lot more downforce than conventional front winged racing cars. Also the way the two front wheels are setup ensures a lot more mechanical grip since the amount of body roll is greatly reduced. And we all know that too much roll affects the grip of the car in corners. So I am very interested in this concept, to say the least. We all should applaud Nissan for completely thinking outside the box.

Really? That is interesting!

Any reasons why that is? It looks as slippery as it can get just from watching the shape.

 

[Marcel vd Aa]

Really? That is interesting!

Any reasons why that is? It looks as slippery as it can get just from watching the shape.

I am not sure, it's been a while since i've seen those studies but I can imagine that the entire nose -with all it's length- actually works as one giant wing. It's pretty hard to judge not having seen the bottom of the car which can also have a great effect on downforce. But talking in shear aerodynamic surface this car should have the same or even more downforce generating properties as a normal winged race car.

 

[Greg Carr]

entire nose -with all it's length- actually works as one giant wing.

Delta Wing maybe the answer is in their name. I thought this project was going to flop just like the US based F1 car, but it is turning out to be the real deal. I am actually looking forward to see how it will do at Le Man, hopefully it will do better then the Aston AMR One that showed up last year. I just don't want it to be an embarrassment.

 

[Rhys Gardiner]

Well, since they won't be classified at Le Mans, the race will really be an extended test run for the car. Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to see how the car runs. After seeing moving footage of the car, I'm now secure in the knowledge that it actually turns.

Just as an aside - I was reading up on Mulsanne's Corner yesterday (what other University course actually asks you to browse motorsports websites? ) and saw that the engine the Delta Wing uses is apparently a Nissan-badged version of the engine that the WTCC Chevy Cruze uses. Interesting.

 

[Sam Hare]

Well, since they won't be classified at Le Mans, the race will really be an extended test run for the car. Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to see how the car runs. After seeing moving footage of the car, I'm now secure in the knowledge that it actually turns.

Just as an aside - I was reading up on Mulsanne's Corner yesterday (what other University course actually asks you to browse motorsports websites? ) and saw that the engine the Delta Wing uses is apparently a Nissan-badged version of the engine that the WTCC Chevy Cruze uses. Interesting.

Really? Is it modified in any way from the WTCC block? Surely they are going to have to have some seriously long ratios on the gearbox to reach full chat down the Mulsanne!

 

[Hampus Andersson]

But talking in shear aerodynamic surface this car should have the same or even more downforce generating properties as a normal winged race car.

I would love to see numbers on this as i just can´t see it, i mean what is producing downforce?
If it now does produce alot of downforce i think it has to be the floor that creates it.

 

[Rhys Gardiner]

Really? Is it modified in any way from the WTCC block? Surely they are going to have to have some seriously long ratios on the gearbox to reach full chat down the Mulsanne!

From the March 8 story:

Further more, we understand the Nissan engine will a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Cruze World Touring Car Championship engine. This is a 4-cylinder, turbo motor, with a capacity between 1.6 and 2.0 liters, and is described as "very clever." The engine's designer, Arnaud Martin, won Race Tech's Engine Designer of the Year award based on the success of the Chevy Cruze WTCC engine. We're told that Chevy's naming rights only extended to the WTCC application. The engines will be built by RML and there are suggestions that RML will also provide crew for Le Mans but this has not been verified.

So no word on whether it's been changed at all. Of course, the gearbox is separate, so they'd have developed special gear ratios. In the more recent article up the top of the page (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsmarch12.html), it is said that the top speed will be limited to 300km/h.

Also, @Hampus Andersson - The article in the link I posted above has an answer as to how the car actually produces downforce, according to the engineers:

The underfloor leading edge treatment is designed to shed a large vortice into the underbody, the DeltaWing guys call it, "Twin vortex underbody downforce system – ​

BLAT (Boundary Layer Adhesion Technology)​

." Whatever it's called, this vortex generator is how the concept develops all of its approximately 2500 lbs. of downforce. The radiator intakes have grown in size and it would appear that the exit for the radiators is out the central exhaust opening at the very rear of the car.​

Check the article for links that didn't make it through to the quote. It includes more pictures and videos of the car...

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I knew it had to be something with the floor of the car. Those numbers are seriously impressive !!
weight of the car is around 1.000kg?

Link is weird, takes ages to load :S I´ll try and access it later, thanks for the link!

 

[Rhys Gardiner]

weight of the car is around 1.000kg?

I've seen it mentioned a few times that Delta Wing is "half the weight of the competition"... so about 450kg? I know it might seem crazy, but that's what I remember reading...