6.25.05
>>Another
new prototype was revealed over the Le Mans weekend, the Zulltec CZ-01
LMP2. Zulltec's facility is located in Seine et Marne, in the
town of Nanteuil les Meaux, which is about 30 miles east of Paris, France
and is run by Yves Cazard and Mane Vignjevic. The Zulltec CZ-01 was
designed using CFD (Fluent) in conjunction with 15 days with a 33% model
in the Aero Concepts Engineering (ACE) wind tunnel at Magny Cours (former
Prost wind tunnel). Already the car is at an advanced state of manufacture
with the body work patterns and molds completed. The CZ-01's carbon
tub has also been completed and will be crash tested some time in September
with the intent of putting the car on the track by October of this year.
The Zulltec's engine comes courtesy Menard Competition Technologies and
in fact is based upon their formerly Infiniti IRL powerplant.
|
Zulltec
is looking for potential customers as well as possible manufacturer tie-ins.
A completed chassis will cost around $585,000. |
2005 Zulltec CZ-01 Specifications
Monocoque: |
Carbon fiber and aluminum
honeycomb monocoque |
Engine: |
Menard Competition Technologies
UK, 90° V8, 3400 cc, 4 valves per cylinder |
Horsepower: |
490 hp @ 8500 rpm (with
restrictor) |
Torque: |
304 lb-ft @ 7000 rpm |
Gearbox: |
Ricardo Sequential 6
speed semi-automatic + reverse |
Suspension: |
(F): double wishbones
(R): double wishbones |
Wheels: |
Magnesium (F): 18" dia.
x 11" width (R): 18" dia. x 13" width |
Brakes: |
Carbone Lorraine discs,
Calipers AP Racing 6 pistons Dia.: 375 mm x 32 mm |
Length: |
4385 mm |
Width: |
1945 mm |
Wheelbase: |
2800 mm |
Weight: |
750 Kg |
Tank capacity: |
90 liters |
|
6.22.05
>>The
new Porsche LMP2 has been unveiled. My initial thought is
that the car is very conservative aerodynamically. But that is somewhat
a hallmark of Porsche car design. The 956/962 were never seen as
to be the particularly radical in the aero department and in fact their
competitors quickly began to exploit an aerodynamic advantage even if they
couldn't put the whole package together. |
The
Porsche is powered by a 3.4 liter normally aspirated V8. The only
thing that strikes me as unusual is the diameter of the (presumably) exhaust
pipe protruding from the sidepod in front of the rear wheel. |
While
the design seems conservative, I don't think it a stretch to say that the
Penske relationship will more than likely impart a revised look as the
car is developed. From these
photos it appears that the car's build quality is very high. |
6.11.05
>>Here
are the renderings of the new Riley Mk.XIV LMP as promised. My previous
text description (originally posted on 6.2.05) is accurate enough to accompany
these images I think:
The front end is striking with cooling
inlets either side of the leading edge of the cockpit and a very prominent
Bentley-esque nose/crash structure. Radiators are mounted in the
side pods and appear to exhaust out the engine bay. The front splitter
has the mandatory raised section and exhausts out shuttered exits just
aft of the front wheels. The cockpit shape itself is the as
expected teardrop conforming to the mandated, template-driven, virtual
hardpoints. |
The
engine exhaust exits out the top of the car through an opening that pokes
out the trailing edge of the cockpit teardrop. All very neat looking.
The sidepods are slightly offset inboard thus allowing for a small wheel
arch bulge at the leading edge of the rear wheel well (as well as a small
portion of exposed side splitter area running down the side of the car).
The rear engine deck and bodywork is extraordinarily low and is highlighted
by the very large amount of exposed inboard rear fender surface area. The
version I was shown still hadn't been detailed and it was admitted that
blisters to contain the suspension would be added into the rear bodywork,
further highlighting how low the rear deck actually is. The rear
fenders are unique in that they are pontoon shaped in planform. Engine
intakes (in this case the installation was a turbo V8) are located in front
of the rear wheel fenders in a similar position (and intake shape) as on
the Audi R8. Overall the new car is visually reminiscent of previous
Riley products with certain profiles evoking the MkIIIC in elevation and
planform.
The accompanying press release indicates
potential customer engine installations will include the above mentioned
turbo V8s as well as normally aspirated V8s and V10s. The
price for a roller chassis is set at $675,000. |
6.2.05
>>On
Tuesday I met with Bill Riley at Riley Technologies as part of continuing
research on the Intrepid GTP. Bill was kind enough to let me have
a look at the ongoing development of the new Riley LMP and I've
been allowed to give my first hand impressions of what I saw on the CAD
screen. For starters, the version I was allowed to view is closed
top. The front end is striking with cooling inlets either side of
the leading edge of the cockpit and a very prominent Bentley-esque nose/crash
structure. Radiators are mounted in the side pods and appear to exhaust
out the engine bay. The front splitter has the mandatory raised section
and exhausts out shuttered exits just aft of the front wheels.
The cockpit shape itself is the as expected teardrop conforming to the
mandated, template-driven, virtual hardpoints. The engine exhaust
exits out the top of the car through an opening that pokes out the trailing
edge of the cockpit teardrop. All very neat looking. Although
not particularly prominent and perhaps it was just my impression, but the
sidepods seem to be slightly offset inboard thus allowing for a small wheel
arch bulge at the leading edge of the rear wheel well (as well as a small
portion of exposed side splitter area running down the side of the car).
The rear engine deck and bodywork is extraordinarily low and is highlighted
by the very large amount of exposed inboard rear fender surface area. The
version I was shown still hadn't been detailed and it was admitted that
blisters to contain the suspension would be added into the rear bodywork,
further highlighting how low the rear deck actually is. The rear
fenders are unique in that they are pontoon shaped in planform. Engine
intakes (in this case the installation was a turbo V8) are located in front
of the rear wheel fenders in a similar position (and intake shape) as on
the Audi R8. Overall the new car is visually reminiscent of previous
Riley products with certain profiles evoking the MkIIIC in elevation and
planform.
For now interest is building and Bill mentions
that the car will be LMP2 compliant if being slightly more difficult to
meet the LMP2 750 kgs weight. A image will be released in the next
few coming weeks. |
>>Following
the Riley visit, I headed up the road to Dave Klym's FABCAR to further
research the Porsche 962. Klym graciously allowed me to view their
original Porsche factory blueprints for the 962 tub. He then proceeded
to tell me about a little known project he worked on with Joest at the
end of 1991. Rheinhold Joest decided to install a Ryan Falconer V12
into one of his Porsche 962s. The Falconer engine was chosen for
its low cost ($45,000 crate motor) and power (more than the 962 turbo!).
The combined length of the Porsche 962 powerplant and bellhousing was such
that the Falconer V12 could drop straight into the 962 chassis with just
the addition of a small spacer. The car tested at Roebling Road and
Dave mentions that, "The Falconer V12 sounded just like a F1 engine!".
Klym even called Rheinhold Joest from the payphone at Roebling in order
to allow him to hear the glorious V12 in the back of the Porsche chassis.
Alas Porsche got wind of the project and put the quash on it. Ahhh,
the might have been.... |