The DeltaWing lives, and the people behind the project plan to take the revolutionary race car to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012.
The news came early Thursday during the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's annual press conference coinciding with this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans.The wild-looking race-car concept--intended originally for the Izod IndyCar Series--was first seen on Feb. 10, 2010, at the Chicago auto show . It was created by a design consortium spearheaded by team owner Chip Ganassi and Ganassi Racing engineer Ben Bowlby.
While IndyCar ultimately elected to go with incumbent chassis maker Dallara for its forthcoming next-generation car, American Le Mans Series champion Highcroft Racing will partner with Dan Gurney's All American Racers and DeltaWing Racing Cars LLC--creating an all-American effort--to race the car at Le Mans next year. American Le Mans Series founder Don Panoz is listed as a project adviser.
The effort is known as the Project 56 Group, because the ACO--the Le Mans organizer--has agreed to give it a special Le Mans entry invitation which will expand next year's full field from 55 cars to 56. The 56th entry is reserved for “a technologically innovative car to participate outside of the classifications.” In other words, according to Project 56, “a vehicle showcasing new applications and unique technologies previously unseen in the world's greatest endurance race.”
ACO sporting diector Vincent Beaumesnil said, “In 2010, the ACO Sporting Committee decided to create the garage No. 56 to promote new technologies. When the ACO management met the representative of the DeltaWing project, everybody thought immediately that it would be a high-quality project for Le Mans Experimental entry in 2012.
“The interest of this project is based on the optimization of all factors that have an impact of global energy consumption and efficiency of the car--weight, power, drag.
“The ACO want to give the opportunity to evaluate each technology, and this project shows that ahead of hybrid, biofuel or electric technology, we can explore other ways to improve efficiency.”
As revealed in Chicago almost a year and a half ago, the DeltaWing aims to achieve its performance by “exploiting efficiency gains found outside contemporary regulations to reduce fuel consumption without reducing performance.”
To that end, the car likely will have about half the horsepower of the fastest Le Mans competitors. But its developers said it will also produce only half as much drag as the traditional prototypes, while weighing about half as much.
Project 56 revealed that it is holding talks with potential engine suppliers to provide a 1.6-liter turbocharged powerplant producing about 300 hp. As noted previously, the car has a slender nose with an extremely narrow front track that minimizes the amount of horsepower needed to reach 200 mph. With its conspicuous lack of traditional wings, the DeltaWing's contoured underbody generates downforce solely beneath the car. Construction of the new machine will begin in July at Gurney's California facility. Highcroft will begin track testing it later this year.
“The secret to the DeltaWing car is simplicity and efficiency,” commented Bowlby, a former chief designer at Lola Cars and the brain behind various Champ Cars, Le Mans prototypes, touring cars and other racing machines. “To achieve the dramatically reduced carbon footprint, we have looked at ways to reduce weight and drag, as well as the total number of components required to build the car.
“Essentially, the car has a three-point layout with the narrow front and wide rear track, as opposed to the rectangular layout of contemporary racing cars. We have a delta-shaped car that allows us to take a different route to achieving our performance goals as well as enhancing driver protection.
“We need much less chassis torsional stiffness for handling performance, so we don't need to use such stiff and brittle materials in the chassis. We can use light, tough and energy-absorbing materials instead.
“One of the attractions of Le Mans is the incredible variety of vehicles in competition. With different fuel types, open and closed cockpits, GT cars--there are lots of different solutions and they all run together during the event.
“What is particularly impressive is the fact the ACO decided to create the 56th entry where a car that is outside the regulations is invited to participate to showcase an even greater diversity of automotive engineering concepts.
“It's an industry runway; it shows what the future may look like. We are lucky to receive this entry, and amongst all the other diversity, the DeltaWing will be very much in the spirit of Le Mans. . . . We believe this is a true automotive innovation which could be the catalyst for changing the way people look at not only racing-car design, but automotive design as a whole.”
Who, exactly, is funding the effort remains unknown, but according to a Highcroft spokesperson, “There is a wide consortium of partners involved in the project who are providing seed capital to start the program. Exact details are confidential at this stage.”
When asked by AutoWeek if Project 56's appearance at Le Mans in 2012 is a done deal or merely represents a desire by the involved parties to hopefully make it happen, the spokesperson said, “Definitely, absolutely, happening and already underway. Partners are in place to make this happen--but obviously we'd prefer to be promoting a manufacturer and sponsors . . . sometimes there is never any absolutes in motorsport, but this is as solid as it gets.”
Highcroft Racing owner Duncan Dayton said he thinks the project could have great reach within the automotive world.
“The DeltaWing project really represents a unique opportunity for all automotive industry sectors,” he said. “The OEMs and suppliers, whether it be engines, drivetrains, lubricant and fuel companies, tire manufactures--it is such an innovative concept that it provides an incredible platform for them to market and prove their capabilities.
“In my opinion, it has the potential to be one of the most significant developments in motor racing in 50 years. It is so new and exciting, and such an interesting departure from the traditional race-car development path. It is highly relevant to the future.
“Given that the world is concentrating on efficiency and green technologies in an attempt to achieve sustainability, this project, in my opinion, will help promote the direction that is being adopted throughout the entire automotive industry.”
Assuming that the project runs smoothly and does indeed race at Le Mans next year, it will mark racing icon Gurney's first visit to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the event since he claimed the overall victory there in 1967, driving a Ford GT40 alongside A. J. Foyt.
“The combination of proven items that make up the character and capabilities of the DeltaWing car make it an extremely exciting project,” the 80-year-old legend said.
“It weighs half as much current cars, it burns half as much fuel, uses much less tire and goes the same speed because of the exceptional aerodynamics and low drag. Almost every aspect of the car is really basic engineering, but the combination of the total package should be astoundingly good.
“After looking at the project and the technical aspects of the car, I was asked if we were selected to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, would I like to be involved--or in our case, would we like to build it. I didn't hesitate for a moment. My response was absolutely, yes.
“I have a lot of curiosity, and when I first discussed this car with Ben Bowlby, I listened closely and tried to shoot holes in what he was saying. But I quickly found I wasn't able to.
“I told him I was very interested. I believe the targets and predictions are valid, and now that we have been given the green light from the ACO, count me in.
“It has been a very long time since I have been to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In fact, the last time I was there for the race, I won with A. J. Foyt and the Ford GT40. I certainly am very much looking forward to heading back there next year and seeing our car compete.”
Gurney's run with Foyt in 1967 is noteworthy not only for its result, but because it also began a now-famous motor-racing tradition: He decided to spray the winners' champagne on the podium for the first time.
DeltaWing Specifications
Chassis weight: 1,047 pounds (475 kg)
Horsepower: 300
Wheelbase: 114.2 inches (2.9 meters)
Aerodynamic drag: Cd 0.24
Front track: 23.6 inches (0.6 meter)
Rear track: 66.9 inches (1.7 meters)
Overall length: 183.1 inches (4.65 meters)
Overall width: 78.7 inches (2.00 meters)
Height: 40.6 inches (1.03 meters)
Brakes: Carbon discs and pads
Fuel-cell capacity: 10.6 gallons (40 liters)
Chassis construction: Lightweight composite
Bodywork: R.E.A.M.S.--Recycle Energy Absorbing Matrix System--the same system debuted on the Panoz Abruzzi. It is a multilayer composite system that is lighter than carbon fiber, equally strong and can be recycled.
Front tire: 4.0/23.0 R-15
Rear tire: 12.5/24.5 R-15
Weight distribution: 27.5 percent (front)/72.5 percent (rear)
Key Technical Features
-- Engine and transmission are “nonstressed members” in the chassis structural design which allows the installation of a wide variety of lightweight powertrains.
-- The car has a four-cylinder, 1,600-cc liquid intercooled turbocharged engine that will produce approximately 300 hp at 8,000 rpm and weighs 154.3 pounds (70 kg).
-- Transmission is a five-speed plus reverse longitudinal design with electrical sequential paddle-shift actuation. The differential has an efficient variable torque steer/differential speed-controlled planetary final-drive reduction layout with the entire transmission weighing only 72.6 pounds (33 kg).
-- Vehicle weight distribution is necessarily more rearward than traditionally seen, with 72.5 percent of the mass between the wide-track larger rear tires.
-- Seventy-six percent of the aerodynamic downforce acts on the rear of the car which has a lift to drag ratio of more than 5.0.
-- Rear-wheel-drive coupled with the rearward weight and aerodynamic distributions greatly enhances inline acceleration capability.
-- Unique amongst today's racing cars, more than 50 percent of the vehicle's braking force is generated behind the center of gravity, giving a dynamically stable response.
-- Locking propensity of the unladen front wheel at corner entry is greatly reduced as a result of virtually no lateral load transfer with the narrow front-track/wide rear-track layout; steered wheel “scrub drag” moment is virtually zero, greatly increasing tire utilization and reducing mid-turn understeer.
-- Advanced computer modeling of structures, impact energy management, aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics and tires has been used to develop the DeltaWing design.
-- Driver position, restraint layout and energy-absorbing structures designed to meet the latest occupant survival criteria.
by autoweek
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