Q1, 2005

RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW

Mercedes SLK55 AMG Ricardo’s responsibility for the exhaust system Interviews Bob Lutz: General Motors vice chairman Tobias Moers: AMG head of development Business focus Why R&D is going global

Grand Transmission Ricardo develops and manufactures the transmission for Ford’s born-again GT supercar — to a timescale everyone else believed impossible INSPIRED BY U-HAUL®

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THE ALL-NEW DODGE MAGNUM RT. OPEN IT UP FROM EITHER END. Put the pedal down and you’ll find the power of a 340-horsepower HEMI® V8 engine and the performance of world-class ride and handling. Lift the unique access liftgate, and you’ll find more cargo space and comfort than you ever thought possible. Dodge Magnum. Either way you open it, it’s perfect for you. Visit dodge.com or call 800-4ADODGE. NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. U-Haul is a registered trademark of U-Haul International, Inc. For moremore information about Chrysler Financial, ask your local dealer. Contents RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW Q1, 2005

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news features 04 Industry news 08 Ford GT: Grand Transmission The hybrid roll-out begins; hybrid Escape and Prius win Ford chose Ricardo to develop and manufacture the awards; GM and Ford reveal hybrid plans; Jeep concept transmission for its sensational 320 km/h GT supercar. turns full circle; state of the art engines from Mercedes- Jesse Crosse documents a demanding programme Benz and BMW/PSA completed in a timeframe no-one else believed possible 16 Ricardo news 16 Sound engineering Ricardo to build 2/4 stroke engine; control and Mercedes-AMG demands the very highest standards electronics expansion in Cambridge; police vehicles from its suppliers – so it went to Ricardo’s Prototechnik delivered; manufacturing simulation subsidiary for the exhaust system on its latest SLK 55 AMG. Tony Lewin reveals the engineering secrets questions and answers 06 Robert Lutz, GM 22 RSC focus He rejoined GM in 2001 with the mission of revitalising The globalisation of research and development is one of the US giant’s lacklustre model range. Hugh Hunston the emerging trends at first tier suppliers. This, says caught up with the world’s most prominent car guy at Edmund Chew is providing local production expertise January’s Detroit auto show and access to skilled engineers at lower cost 20 Tobias Moers, AMG Muscular V8 engines are everyday business for Moers, head of vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz’s high- performance arm, AMG

Head office: Conceived and produced for Ricardo by: Ricardo plc, Shoreham-by-Sea, TwoTone Media Ltd West Sussex, BN43 5FG, Editor:Tony Lewin United Kingdom Contributors: Edmund Chew, Jesse Crosse, Hugh Tel: +44 (0)1273 455611 Hunston, Mark Roberts, Anthony Smith TwoTone Media Ltd contacts: Ricardo contacts and locations: Anthony Smith: [email protected] www.ricardo.com/contacts Tony Lewin: [email protected] RQ subscriptions: www.ricardo.com/rq RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW Sales enquiries: [email protected] Industry News Bold words from Detroit’s bosses four fuel fronts: gasoline-electric hybrids, clean diesels, fuel cells and hydrogen powered ICE vehicles. Unveiled by GM R&D vice president Larry Burns, the Sequel is the third step in GM’s self-imposed challenge to bring emission-free fuel cell power to volume production vehicles. “The Autonomy and Hy-wire concepts were the outgrowth of that challenge,” said Burns. “They were a revolution in how vehicles would be designed, built and used in the future. But, they were concepts. Today, with Sequel, the vision is real – not yet affordable, but do-able.” The Sequel is a user-friendly SUV Detroit 2005: Rick Wagoner and Larry some five metres in length. It carries Burns present GM’s fuel cell Sequel over the skateboard chassis principle from the Autonomy and Hy-wire to Advanced technologies were thrust into the limelight at January’s North integrate three carbon composite American International Auto Show in Detroit, as General Motors and Ford vied tanks storing hydrogen at 700 bar. with each other for pole position in the race towards more environmentally With an all-up weight of 2170 kg, a 73 friendly vehicles. kW fuel cell module, a lithium ion GM chief executive Rick Wagoner Thanks to an agreement to share battery pack and three electric motors, declared that it was no longer a case hybrid technology with the Sequel has an operating range of of whether the hydrogen economy DaimlerChrysler, GM would, said its 480 km and reaches 97 km/h in nine would occur, but more a question of global powertrain chief Tom Stephens, seconds. Steering, braking, traction when. Unveiling the fuel cell powered be able to tackle its highest- and chassis systems are all controlled Sequel concept as an example of the consumption vehicles first. Ford, by-wire and the complete vehicle long term goal, he boasted that GM celebrating its Escape Hybrid’s meets federal safety standards. was already the fuel economy leader winning of the North American Truck “It’s a real vehicle which could in the US and that it would launch 12 of the Year award, countered with the appeal to a large market,” said Burns. different hybrid models over the next claim that it was the only automaker “You could easily imagine it parked in few years. pursuing technology development on your driveway.”

Hybrid roll-out begins different Stung by the sudden success of hybrids such as the technologies, Honda Civic and Toyota Prius, Ford, GM and Nissan are including the stepping up development work to launch gasoline- new two-mode electric and even diesel-electric models onto the US system co- market in a short time frame. produced with Toyota is poised to begin manufacture of hybrids in DaimlerChrysler. the US in a bid to cut waiting lists for its gasoline-electric Shown on a Prius, which in November added the 2005 European Car compact Astra to of the Year award to its 2004 North American COTY demonstrate its accolade. Ford will launch gasoline-electric versions of scalability to small cars and diesel engines, the system the Mercury Mariner and Milan, Mazda Tribute and its employs twin electric motors and gearsets housed own Fusion by 2008. within the envelope of the automatic transmission. On GM’s programme runs to 18 models using three the diesel Astra the fuel saving is 25 per cent, says GM.

Radar gets European go-ahead Mercedes US diesel forecast Emissions trading begins The EU has allocated a radar A diesel market share of 20 percent The world’s first CO2 emissions frequency for short-range vehicle is possible in the US by 2010, trading scheme came into operation applications, opening the way for according to Mercedes-Benz R&D in Europe on January 2nd. Under carmakers to begin use of collision chief Thomas Weber, confident the system, CO2-efficient companies avoidance systems on their models. California regulations could be met. can sell allowances they do not use. News in brief News

04 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 RICARDO Reinventing QUARTERLY cars – REVIEW Welcome to the new-look RQ. The task of RQ is to highlight the latest and the thinking in automotive engineering and technology worldwide – both wheel Mercedes- within Ricardo and among other Benz, unveiling the leading companies. By presenting an DaimlerChrysler, fond of latest generation of up-to-date mix of news, profiles and dramatic entrances and its US-built M-Class interviews with top business leaders outrageous concept vehicles at the luxury SUV, revealed we paint an interesting and exciting Detroit show, this year chose to that it would begin picture of R&D activity at a world- show a Jeep concept with selling diesel versions in most class automotive engineering not one but two HEMI V8 US states, using the latest 3.0 services provider. engines, each developing litre direct-injection V6 (see It is a formula that has certainly 335 horsepower. below). Emissions limits been a hit with the worldwide Christened Hurricane, it and fuel quality issues automotive community: in the four was described by would however prevent years since RQ was launched we Chrysler Group CEO the Mercedes diesels have had to increase our print run to Dieter Zetsche as “HEMI selling in New York State 14,000 copies to keep pace with the squared”. and California. demand to read about Ricardo and Yet, remarkably, the twin Michelin, meanwhile, its activities. engines are not the most sought to reinvent the wheel. The Client confidentiality is of the radical feature of this unusual vehicle. world-leading tyremaker showed utmost importance to Ricardo, which It has a four wheel steering system three new concepts – the Airless tyre, means that we can only report on a with three distinct modes, promising currently being tested on motorcycles small fraction of the work carried out the Hurricane unprecedented agility. and cars, and the Tweel combined tyre by the company. So we are Conventional opposed steering allows and wheel, now in use for light especially grateful to those Ricardo a tight turning radius, while parallel applications and at the prototype customers who have kindly agreed steering allows the vehicle to crab out stage for passenger cars. to co-operate with RQ and allow of tight spaces. Most astonishing is a Tweel incorporates suspension their programmes to be highlighted third mode which sees both front characteristics, too, but a third in print: without such help from wheels and both rear wheels steer Michelin innovation, the Active Wheel customers it would not be possible inwards, allowing the Hurricane to (above), goes a step further and to present such a fascinating insight spin round in its own length, as if it contains a drive motor, steering, into the way vehicles are conceived were on a turntable. suspension and braking. and developed.

State of the art engines revealed Fresh designs have been presented by BMW-PSA for small-car light gasoline engines (right) and powerful luxury vehicle diesels, by Mercedes-Benz (below left). The 1.6 litre gasoline four-cylinder is a result of the co-operation between BMW and PSA and will see service from 2006 across the Peugeot Citroen range and in future MINI models. Initial power outputs will be from 75 horsepower to 170; the engines offer a range of innovations including twin-scroll turbochargers, direct injection and variable valve timing. Mercedes’ new cast aluminium V6 diesel weighs just 208 kg and replaces the company’s previous inline five and six. The new 3.0 litre develops 224 hp and the torque of 510 Nm is available from 1600 rev/min. Mercedes-Benz expects the new diesel to appear in various forms in almost all of its model ranges.

Fuel cells “25 years away” Honda collision avoidance Honda cleanest, say scientists GM says Toyota may overtake High-volume hydrogen powered Systems which automatically America’s Union of Concerned General Motors could find itself fuel cell vehicles are at least 25 apply brakes if a collision is Scientists has declared Honda overtaken by Toyota as the years away, according to Toyota unavoidable will be available on the greenest automaker, with world’s biggest carmaker, vice executive Bill Reinert, quoted in US-specification 2006 MY Acura half the industry average of president Bob Lutz told reporters Automotive News. RL sedans, according to Honda. smog-forming emissions. from Automotive News.

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 05 RQ Interview – Bob Lutz

Motor Response Respected throughout the auto industry as a passionate ‘car guy’, Bob Lutz joined GM as vice chairman in 2001 with a brief to inject excitement into the corporation’s product ranges. Three years on, he delivered on his promise with the launch of the Chevrolet HHR and Saturn Sky roadster at the 2005 Detroit show, where Hugh Hunston caught up with him

What have been the breakthrough Are there any exceptions? thinking behind why Saturn should not GM products so far? Ironically we get a good percentage of have driving or styling appeal. The Chevrolet Cobalt, Buick Lacrosse women driving the H2 Hummer and Pontiac has been a bit more and Terraza and Pontiac G6, plus the stress this in our advertising, which maverick, a bit more outrageous, like a 201 Crossover vans, which the media talks about the new way to intimidate BMW. Chevrolet is the value, or did not take to – they are all doing the men in your office. foundation brand, and that left Saturn well. [On product quality] If you look Returning to quality, in terms of in between with no real role. I think up close you will see that we are interiors we have suffered from acres people thought that Saturn products bringing down door, boot and bonnet of robust but cheap plastics and tacky did not need soul or personality. Saturn gaps to a 2 or 3 mm tolerance. The knobs and switchgear which knows seems to have been for the post- difference is that we are now nothing about tactility or aesthetics or modernist automobile buyers who producing those tolerance levels style. Traditional white European wanted reliability and a friendly dealer. consistently. American males thought: ‘if it works Saturn has nigh-on Lexus customer it’s OK,’ but women have a more finely satisfaction ratings. It needs some Are you happy with the width of tuned sense of aesthetics on fabrics, drop-dead gorgeous products that are the GM brand portfolio’s appeal? colours, ergonomics, the whole beautiful to look at and to drive. This We are worried about being under- driving environment. is not too hard a fix. Englishman represented with women. The other Simon Cox’s studio in Coventry did element is that our market share with Which GM brand first recognised the work on the Sky, which will men, as it is with women, is much the need to be more diverse? appear towards the end of ’06, but not better with white customers than Saturn. Since its start [in 1985], Saturn in right hand drive. blacks or Hispanics. We have to was more closely linked with women Toyota’s Corolla or Camry are extend our appeal and make and ethnic minorities. But Saturn aesthetically much better pieces of ourselves more relevant to these never got the products it deserved, work than some early Saturns. At groups, plus Asiatics who are a which is what we are now addressing least they were well made: they took rapidly growing influence on the with the Aura (Opel Vectra sized sedan) no prizes for dramatic, in-your-face (American) west coast. and Sky roadster. There was warped designs, but they had fairly good proportions and lovely detailed execution. The Toyotas looked better the closer you got to them. We [now] have to broaden the appeal for Saturn and bring in a wider variety of people.

Lutz presents the high-powered Cadillac STS-V at the 2005 Detroit auto show (far left, and main picture); Saturn Sky sports car (left) is the first model in a major product offensive that Lutz hopes will restore GM to favour with customers

06 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 Robert A Lutz GM vice chairman, Product Development, and chairman, GM North America

2001 Rejoined GM as vice chairman 1998 Chairman, Exide “No matter how much industry people 1986 Chrysler Corporation, executive vice president fret, the authorities see hybrids coming 1974 Ford Motor Company, becoming along – so why compromise on diesel?” executive vice president of international operations and The switch from Daewoo to Chevrolet done by Opel design, and the Sky truck operations is not universally accepted or roadster are also possibilities. 1971 BMW, Munich, executive vice understood. What is your view on the president for sales rebranding? When will North America be 1963 General Motors, Europe In many countries Daewoo owners are converted to diesel? 1962 MBA, University of California requesting Chevrolet badges. For a US BIN8 regulations will co-incide Berkeley while there will be some confusion, with Euro 5 and are already way 1961 Bachelor’s degree in production which is inevitable when you rebrand worse than Euro 4; it is almost down management, University of something. I would hope it would not to zero on some emissions. I suspect California Berkeley be as long and as painful a conversion it is a response to the big lobbying 1954- as when Nissan switched from Datsun. effort from the US manufacturers 1965 Jet pilot in US Marine Corps, Daewoo had won a certain amount extolling the virtues of diesel as a fuel- rising to captain of name recognition when we decided saving technology. 1932 Born, Zurich,. Switzerland to make the change, but sales of the The argument runs that if we get same cars with Chevrolet badges are some slight adjustments we can bring up not down. I think it is doing fine you the wonderful world of diesel. US and that we did the right thing. environmentalists hate diesel, it is like a red cloth to a bull. We tried to give it help that direct injection gasoline Will you add to the South Korean- another title, the compression ignition engines get 10 per cent better fuel sourced Chevrolet range? engine, but that did not work. economy than conventional units. We are working our way through the Everyone has done it in the Another ploy involves urea inside the global portfolio and vehicles like the laboratory by carefully presetting the engine injection systems or post US Chevrolet HHR are products which engine to low RPM on single cylinder combustion. This is mission I think could do very well in Europe. It units at low loads, or with a whole impossible and the Feds [federal is fairly small and different looking. engine and real RPM and variable load government agencies] are dug in. There are plenty of Brits and ranges. It is so tough to meet the levels. No matter how much people in the Europeans who will buy exciting We have tried afterburners, which industry fret, whine or wheedle, the American products. I don’t think these burn the nasties before they get to the authorities see hybrids coming along consumers are conservative at all. catalyst, but they add $1,000-$3,000 – so why should they compromise on Saturn’s new generation, the Aura, as to a current engine’s costs. It does not diesel?

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 07 So rapturous was the reception given to Ford’s new 320 km/h GT at the 2002 Detroit show that the company resolved to build the car in time for its Centennial celebrations just 16 months later. Jesse Crosse reports on how Ricardo, as first-choice transmission supplier, successfully designed, developed, tested and began manufacturing the high-performance transaxle to a timescale everyone else believed impossible

08 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 hen the covers slid off the Following the Detroit Show, William Ford GT40 concept at the Clay Ford asked Ford veteran Neil W 2002 North American Ressler (by now retired) to look at the International Auto Show in Detroit, feasibility of producing the GT for real the entire Cobo Hall was transfixed. – and the rest is history. The tumultuous applause took some Once Ressler had given the green time to subside and the assembled light, John Coletti, director of Ford international press went wild – so it SVT Programs, quickly set up a crack came as no surprise that the decision team of designers and engineers to to go into production with the ‘GT’ bring the GT to reality. ‘40’ had was announced soon afterwards. already been dropped from the name However, Ford had rarely attempted because although the new car would such a bold project and if the new be a 21st century embodiment of the supercar was to be ready for the legendary 1960s original, all of the Centennial celebrations in June 2003, dimensions would be different the project would have to be including the height. The original completed from scratch in just 16 GT40, remember, was so nicknamed months. because it measured exactly 40 inches

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 09 Grand Transmission

from the ground to the roofline. The despite the inherent difficulties, any new car would measure 44.3 inches. purpose-built transmission would not The choice of engine was, perhaps, only have to be designed and built in a straightforward one. It would be a matter of months, but the process based on the largest member of would have to run in parallel with the Ford’s modular (MOD) engine family, development of the car itself. the all-aluminium 5.4 litre V8, but it With that in mind, it was not would be modified to such an extent surprising that Ford quickly began that 85 percent of the moving parts looking around for a supplier with a would be new. It would also sport an proven track record in developing Eaton screw-type supercharger, world class, high performance escalating the power output to transmissions. The search began and 550bhp and torque to 500lb ft [678 ended with Ricardo. “Because of the Nm]; very similar, in fact, to the compressed nature of the project,” original Le Mans-winning, 7-litre explained Ricardo’s technical director racing engine. Performance would be of driveline and transmissions, Lee staggering, with a top speed of Sykes, “it wasn’t feasible to wait 10 200mph [320 km/h] and 0-60mph months for the first vehicle acceleration of 3.8 seconds. prototypes. However, we were able to use a six-speed variant of a previous Transmission choice: Ricardo Ricardo product as the mule car The choice of transmission was not so transmission.” As a result, Ford was straightforward. A transaxle of the sort able to run vehicles complete with a Ford GTfacts demanded by the GT would, by its prototype transmission by July 2002, • The decision to take the new GT very nature, need to be of a bespoke just six months after the concept’s from concept to reality came just 45 design in view of packaging unveiling at Detroit. days after the Detroit show unveiling considerations and also the immense Ricardo is well known for a range of • Bringing the GT from concept to torque it would have to deal with. At high performance transmission production in time for Ford’s the same time, the heavy shift quality products including those for the centennial celebrations meant that such a robust transmission McLaren F1 sportscar, the racing completing the project in 16 months implies would not be acceptable any Dodge Viper and, of course, the • The GT is four inches taller and eight more than a heavy clutch action. But transaxle transmission it designed inches longer than the original GT40 • The hybrid aluminium space frame chassis is constructed using 35 extrusions, seven complex castings, two semi-solid formed castings and various stamped aluminium panels • The top speed of over 320 km/h made it necessary to introduce ground effect race technology to provide high speed stability • The GT is outfitted with aluminium four-piston Brembo brake calipers and ventilated disc brakes on all four wheels • Suspension parts are precision cast in aluminium

The born-again Ford GT is unveiled to an ecstatic reception at the January 2002 Detroit show.Within 30 months the car was in full production

Project Completion of Completion of Ford GTTimeline commencement concept design detailed design March 2002 June 2002 September 2002

10 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 The Ford GT’s sensational ancestor In the early 1960s Ford was a newcomer to Le Mans and started work on what came to be known as the GT40 in 1963 at Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, a company specially created for the task and headed by John Wyer, Eric Broadley and Roy Lunn. The first prototype was simply called the “Ford GT” and was shown to the press in March 1964. Chassis numbers 101 and 102 made their public debut at the pre-race Le Mans testing the following month but there were problems with aerodynamics, causing Jo Schlesser to crash chassis number 101 after becoming airborne on the Mulsanne straight. Reliability problems robbed Ford of victory in 1964, although Phil Hill did succeed in setting a new lap record. In 1965, chassis 103 scored its first victory in the Daytona Continental on February 23rd but success eluded the works team, now run by Carroll Shelby, when all six Mk 1 GT40s failed to finish at Le Mans. Four had been powered by the original 289cu in (4.7-litre) Ford V8 engines but two were fitted with the 427cu in (7-litre) V8s destined for the Mk II GT40. Tellingly, one of those cars broke the lap record before retiring. Finally, in 1966, GT40s took first second and third, breaking Ferrari’s run of six wins in a row. GT40s went on to win at Le Mans in 1967, 1968 and 1969 as well, to make it four wins in a row. It was probably only Ford’s withdrawal from motor racing in 1969 that put an end to the winning streak. The winning GT40 of Ken Miles and Denny Hulme at Le Mans, 1966

“As a result, Ford was able to run gearshift system back to the cabin was our responsibility, too, and so vehicles complete with a prototype were the drive shafts.” transmission by July 2002, just six months Strong track record after the concept’s unveiling at Detroit” In one sense, Ricardo is no stranger to this process. The work it did on the and manufactured for Audi’s 2000, pretty much get it right first time. The MINI, the Jaguar X-Type 2.0D and the 2001 and 2002 Le Mans-winning R8R. Job One prototype vehicle had to be Renaultsport Mégane 225 effectively There’s another reason why Ricardo delivered in June 2003 but our defined it as a powertrain engineering fitted the bill so perfectly too. Ford nomination was not confirmed until integrator, in charge of a number of Tier was aware that Ricardo had its own the end of March 2002.” 1 and 2 suppliers. But on this occasion programme, the GT800 transaxle There would be a further twelve Ricardo would be assembling the transmission for high performance months before full vehicle production product as well. Traditionally, the vehicles. The company originally was to start in March 2004. Ricardo’s transmission supplier may only supply started that programme without responsibility was to act as the the mechanical transmission unit and having a customer defined because it designer and manufacturer of the new the manufacturer can sometimes be felt there was a general need in the transmission. What was unusual, completely responsible for all of the market for a transmission and recalls Sykes, was that his firm’s shift mechanism, the routing and the transaxle arrangement for responsibility would extend beyond drive shafts. In order to complete the performance vehicles. that. “We would be wholly project in two years Ricardo had to “I think Ford also realised they responsible for the subsystems move away from that traditional model. needed a supplier who would take a related to the transmission. As such “The gearshift quality has been strong analytical approach because the clutch system was our overall rightly praised,” Sykes elaborates, there simply wasn’t any time to get it engineering responsibility, the “but I think if we’d had separate wrong,” said Sykes. “Ford believed actuation system of the clutch was responsibilities for the transmission, that with enough CAE input we could also our responsibility, the external the external shift system and the cable

Delivery of Prototype Engineering Full transaxle Full vehicle prototype parts vehicle assembly sign-off production production January 2003 March 2003 November 2003 December 2003 June 2004

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 11 Grand Transmission

system, then I’m not sure we would Sykes confirms, “if you don’t consider have achieved such a good result.” these factors in the design, you will Generally speaking, Ricardo’s forward fail, for sure. If we threw motorsport planning, analysis, close integration materials at it, then we would see with its partners and Ford, plus the another 25 per cent added to its ability to begin delivering prototypes torque capacity. But the big focus for early, added up to a smooth-running us was to achieve a bill of materials programme. “We needed to be that met the pre-agreed price and to pragmatic all the way through,” be able to assemble one transmission explains Sykes. “Everyone agreed that per hour. Usually with specialist we should adopt a ‘no surprises’ motorsport transmissions the rate is approach in the programme. Nobody more like one a week.” wants to raise problems unless absolutely necessary, but Ford’s Design for manufacture: hybrid of approach was, ‘if you see a problem, Ricardo skill sets flag it up immediately and let’s For Ricardo, one of the biggest manage it’.” challenges was the manufacturing, Establishing the duty cycle of the which, in terms of volume, would be transmission early on was a crucial an order of magnitude higher than aspect of the design. “What level do previous, highly specialised, racing or you design to for a vehicle like this?” specialist projects. However, neither asks Sykes. “Do you design for one in were the volumes high enough to a thousand drivers who will give it warrant the cost of automating the serious abuse? Or do you strike the process in any way. The project would balance which says it’s probably not prove to be a hybrid of two Ricardo going to do more than two thousand skill sets which, until now, had miles a year at relatively modest remained separate. The company torque levels? If you go too far one knew how to manufacture specialised way you end up with a design that’s transmissions in very small numbers not feasible in terms of cost, weight and it also knew how to design for and sophistication, but go too far the larger volume manufacturing, but so other way and you’ll end up far it had not been required to damaging the product every so often combine the two. “Effectively, it still because it doesn’t have enough needed to be a labour-intensive fatigue life.” In the end, Ricardo prototype build process in many engineers decided to err on the side respects, but done in a quicker, more of safety, particularly with the limited consistent and easier form,” timescales involved. explains Sykes. Although the transmissions would On the other side of the Atlantic, the be assembled at its manufacturing customer was under just as much facility in England, many of the pressure to deliver and very much components would be coming from dependent on major Tier 1 suppliers, suppliers rather than being such as Ricardo, not to let them down. manufactured in-house by Ricardo, as As powertrain supervisor, Curt Hill they might be for a racing application. was the man in the hot seat at Ford. The balance between relatively high Formulating the transmission volume production and high quality is requirements for the GT, Hill knew an extremely delicate one and, as that durability would be an issue,

12 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 Gearshift quality of Ricardo transmission even more important element was the a second, parallel effort working on in Ford GT has come in for universal praise company’s willingness to take on the final design for the production (far left); packaging V8 engine, gearbox and design responsibility for the total version. For Ricardo it meant a shift mechanism (left) was a challenge driveline from the shifter all the way design task of a significant given the torque capacity that was back to the half shafts – something magnitude, not just running the two required. The packaging would also be unusual when vehicle development is programmes but also supporting the a challenge because the gearbox outsourced. hardware for both of them. would have to be an all-new design. Once the programme got It would have been so easy for such Not unnaturally, there were questions underway, the pressure remained a demanding project to end with a within Ford as to how capable a single high. Ford engineers admit to having few tears being shed, especially as the company would be in picking the been somewhat concerned, initially GT was an all-new car from the whole thing up. at least, that they were imposing a ground up, there was no surrogate With regard to Ricardo being requirement for two significantly hardware available, and Ford had to selected for the job, it was different levels of transmission produce the whole package from immediately clear that Ricardo’s track design: the first to support the scratch. And, as with all too many record in specialised transmissions original work-horse vehicles by programmes where time is tight, a had been a key factor, but that an redesigning a previous product, and worrying problem cropped up at an

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 13 Grand Transmission

Design

“Our brief was to produce a low volume, low cost, high produced, Ricardo needed to have transmissions ready for torque capacity, six-speed manual transmission.The vehicle Jobs One and Two. “Ricardo had to show that it obvious choice was to follow on with the same sort of could produce this transmission within the time frame, that architecture that we had with a previous product,” recalls it could deliver the shift quality, refinement and also the Bob Janczak, Ricardo’s chief engineer on the project. “We durability. But by that point, there had been no vehicle also had some performance targets, which included a testing, except for prototype transmissions fitted to mules,” 200mph (320 km/h) top speed in fifth gear, with sixth as says Janczak. Within weeks of having a production level an overdrive.” transmission ready for fitting into the car, it would be “One key aspect of the design target was to achieve assessed to see if it met all the requirements. Seven or world-class gearshift quality, so we opted for triple cone eight months after that event, the transmissions would be synchronisers on first, second, third and fourth gears,” signed off for production. explains Bob. Keeping cost under control was a priority since this was, after all, a production car. But after some careful research, the team tracked down some high quality ‘off the shelf’ synchronisers perfectly suited to the tasks. The final drive is a hypoid double gear set and is very robust. The choice of limited slip differentials, remembers Bob, was enormous and crucial. “It’s so key to the performance and handling of the vehicle. What we were looking for was a very compact unit, of low weight, with the correct bias ratio and the sort of performance we felt would enhance the car.” High quality taper roller bearings ensure a long life for the transmission. Overall it’s a truly international mechanism, explains Lee Sykes. “If we consider a list of, say, 200 parts, a high proportion of those are from Japan or mainland Europe.” Ricardo maintained full control of the supply base throughout the project. The ‘right first Early ‘work-horse’ GT time’ aspect was even more critical than usual. In transmission goes on mainstream production it is common to go back to display at the 2004 SAE suppliers later in the development cycle and engineer a show (above) component ‘down’ to a lower cost. In this case, that would Test rig (right) allowed be impossible. So, explains Sykes, “a huge amount of accelerated work was done early on to get the cost down to a pre- evaluation of planned level.” the complete The result? Not an exotic transmission, but one which is system at key stages of high quality and which underwent substantial durability testing both in and out of the cars, despite the short timescales. A year into the project and after the mules were

early stage: packaging difficulties Customer expectations exceeded meant that the whole powertrain had Were the customer’s expectations to be raised one inch – a move met? The answer must be a definite developed to the guaranteed to have knock-on effects in ‘yes’, with Ford clearly impressed by highest standards in many other areas. the level of testing carried out on the record time. The In the end, it helped the powertrain transmission – especially the severity compressed timescales team in providing more room for the of some of the tests such as driveline provided a further challenge that most clutch but the relocation of a cross impact testing. All of these standard suppliers would find impossible to member made it necessary for Ricardo tests, much tougher than would be cope with and which left no room for to completely revise the shape of the normal for a low-volume product, error. In addition to those pressures, casing. The shifter cable package was were passed with flying colours – yet the transmission design not only had also a difficult area to engineer and Ricardo chief engineer Bob Janzac to handle the immense performance of shift quality was somewhere both was insistent on the driveline passing the 200mph Ford GT, but have tactile Ricardo and Ford had grave concerns absolutely every test in the engineer’s properties in both gearshift and clutch – on the early work-horses the shift handbook, even though Ford was operation appropriate to a production quality clearly needed improvement. already satisfied and had been willing car. In the end, the cable was routed to sign it off with one test incomplete . For Ricardo, the Ford GT project through the void between the engine’s So, the end result is no ordinary was quite unlike any other, and one cylinder banks to smooth the car, and part of its success is due to the whose completion was a moment to mechanical path of the linkage. outstanding transmission system be savoured.

14 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 Manufacture and assembly

Programme facts • The project commenced in March 2002. Prototype vehicle assembly started exactly one year later • Engineering sign-off was in November 2003 and full vehicle production started in June 2004 • GT transmissions are manufactured by hand at Brackley, UK, at the rate of one per hour • Ricardo had to run two design programmes in parallel for the project; one for the prototype mules using a modified existing Ricardo GT- 800 transmission and the other for the final production transmission design

Other current Ricardo high performance transmissions Adrian Turner is Ricardo’s manufacturing manager in charge of making this small, bespoke transmission manufacturing line work efficiently. • Super 1600 sequential rally “Essentially, we keep a week’s worth of components at the line and a gearbox with a capacity of 250Nm; week’s worth in the stores,” he says. weight, 35kg Managing that is much more difficult than it sounds because ‘volume’ • Sequential transaxle gearbox for in supplier terms generally means ‘high volume’, so the quantities single seaters. Capacity 500Nm; Ricardo is obliged to take vary from component to component. weight, 35kg Differentials come from Fuji in Japan and economics dictated that, at one • Transverse transaxle gearbox for point, Adrian had 1200 units in stock. One the other hand, stocks of the LMP675 and LMP 900 SR1 or main cases manufactured locally (and soon to be machined in-house at SR2 vehicles. Capacity 750Nm; the Ricardo Midlands Technical Centre in the UK) need refreshing on a weight, 60kg weekly basis. • Mitsubishi Evo Gp N straight-cut Assembly takes place at eight separate stations. The first six stations dogbox conversion handle basic assembly of the transmission, from adding dowels to the • Porsche GT2/3 transaxle running to case, through assembling crown-wheel, pinion, shafts, gears, ALMS or FIA-GT regulations. synchronisers and selector mechanisms. Preloads are set to high levels Capacity 750Nm; weight 65kg of accuracy and, despite the manual assembly, a computer workstation is • GT-800 generic transaxle also present on the line to check shims have been selected to the correct transmission being developed thicknesses before assembling the differential. Station seven is for in-house testing, and the completed transmission is checked for leaks by filling to • Ricardo DCT-800 as used in the 5psi (0.35 bar) with compressed air. If any leaks are suspected, the unit Chrysler ME Four-Twelve may be submerged in a tank to pinpoint the problem. Then it’s on to the test rig where, although assembly takes just under Historical roll of honour an hour, testing occupies some 62 minutes. Gear shift tests are exhaustive and based on Ricardo’s Gear Shift Quality Assessment • Jaguar XJ220 transaxle transmission (GSQA) system. This includes assessment of synchro impulse, out of • McLaren F1 sportscar transmission gear force, double bump ratio, cross gate force, cross gate displacement, • Audi R8R Le Mans transaxle in-gear void overlap and H-gate overlap. Once the tests are carried out on • Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution / all six forward speeds as well as reverse at high, low and medium load, a Montero Evolution Paris Dakar thorough NVH test is undertaken in all gears, before the transmission transmission moves to station eight for ‘pack and wrap’ and final dispatch. • VW W12 endurance speed record sports prototype transmission

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 15 SOUND ENGINEERING Ricardo recently acquired Prototechnik, near Stuttgart, a company well known for specialised high-performance exhaust systems – including those for the Mercedes McLaren SLR and the Porsche Carrera GT. Now, as Tony Lewin reports, the exhaust specialist has been selected to design, develop and manufacture systems for the prestigious new Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG sports car

ack in the 1990s, US motorcycle turbochargers or atmospheric rich, full rumble of the AMG-prepared manufacturer Harley-Davidson induction. The smooth rotary swoosh Mercedes safety cars. Bwent to court in a bid to of the Mazda RX-8 could not be Each season, Mercedes puts its trademark the characteristic sound of confused with any other car on the latest model into the safety-car role, its mighty V-twin motorcycles. Though market – and there’s nothing quite like and for 2004 it was the turn of the Harley’s legal move was ultimately the crazy scream of a Honda VTEC new SLK, the second generation of unsuccessful, it did alert both the engine nearing its sky-high red line. the compact roadster that launched industry and the public to the value of Nor, many would argue, could the the concept of the rigid folding roof to sound signatures and how they can deep bass burble of an AMG V8- the world’s sports car fans. The latest be carefully cultivated as a unique engined Mercedes-Benz be mistaken SLK marks an important upward step extra dimension in the appeal of a for anything else. Anyone who has in power and performance compared product. spectated at a recent Grand Prix will with the outgoing line: whereas the The supercharger howl of the MINI have witnessed with their own ears old model started life with four- Cooper S differentiates it decisively the contrast between the head- cylinder engines and gained a V6 part- from its competitors which use splitting shriek of the F1 cars and the way through its run, the new edition

16 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 adds a potent V8 to the range right such a compact car, but also the Sound picture: the exhaust system devel- from the start. secondary issue of upgrading all the oped by Ricardo helps give the Mercedes It’s not just any V8, either: in other systems to cope with the SLK55 AMG its characteristic V8 burble keeping with Mercedes’ policy of dramatically-increased performance allowing its high-performance AMG and the higher stresses it imposes on Prototechnik had already collaborated division to develop the flagship the whole vehicle. with DaimlerChrysler/AMG on several models for each of its ranges, the SLK programmes, most notably the high 55 AMG uses the same specially Competitive tendering profile and widely acclaimed prepared 5.5 litre, 24-valve V8 that One of the areas that would clearly Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR, where it powers the top AMG editions of the C- need a fresh approach was the exhaust had engineered a novel solution with Class, CLK Coupé and CLK Cabriolet. system – not only to manage the vastly the large mufflers for each bank of the It’s a complete vehicle enhancement, greater gas flows but also, crucially, to 626 horsepower V8 packaged in the for with the 360 horsepower V8 comes ensure the rich sound signature that front wheel housings and exiting in not only the obvious challenge of AMG customers would expect. Before dual side pipes just behind the wheel packaging such a large engine into it became part of the Ricardo Group, arches.

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 17 Sound Engineering

Colouring the sound The sound experienced by car occupants is made up of the muffler volume distribution and interference actions.This many components – among them wind noise, tyre noise, much can be predicted in simulation.The tricky bit, according structure-borne noise and vibration from the engine, to Stefan Schmidt of Ricardo’s Prototechnik unit, is knowing transmission, suspension and many other sources. But in which features to change in order to affect the different noise most vehicles the two dominant sources both stem from levels and the different orders. In general, it is desirable to the engine – air-borne noise from the inlet system, and both increase the non-harmonic orders – the lower notes – to get structure- and air-borne noise from the exhaust system. And a typically sporty sound. it is often the latter which lends a vehicle its familiar sound “We know how to tweak the curves in order to get the signature, the different firing pulses of the various engine desired sound,” says Schmidt. “The really hard part is configurations giving a characteristic underlying beat or knowing what to do to the exhaust system itself.There are rhythm. For proof, just compare the rumbly sound of the some standard principles of muffler design, but these final ‘boxer’ four cylinder engines of the World Rally stages are where the real expertise comes in. Small features Championship Subarus with the more anodyne blast of the can have a huge impact – there’s no set process, and every other, inline four-cylinder rally competitors. company has its own secret way of doing it.” Even more strongly characteristic is the off-beat rumble And just how successful Ricardo has been can be amply of the V8, and AMG’s high performance eight-cylinder demonstrated each time an SLK 55 AMG thunders past – Mercedes models have developed this into a high art. and everyone within earshot turns around, smiling with The baseline sound is defined, among other things, by shared delight at the high-powered sounds they are hearing.

This success, says Stefan Schmidt, How, then, did Schmidt and his sectional area even where the radius engineering and sales director of team solve the technical challenges was tight or the shape was tricky. All Ricardo’s product and service group posed by such a large engine in such these permutations were examined Prototechnik, was an important factor a compact car? theoretically and later, practically, and in getting Ricardo onto the AMG “When you develop an exhaust the best combinations selected. shopping list when it came to system for a vehicle like this you are Helpful throughout was Ricardo- selecting an exhaust system designer invariably faced with engineering Prototechnik’s extensive engineering and supplier for the SLK 55 AMG: targets which pull in opposite experience, especially the skills honed even so, it is clear there were several directions,” explains Schmidt. “Engine in racing exhaust development, rounds of competitive tenders before performance, for instance, is related enabling many of its solutions to be the company was awarded the directly to exhaust gas back-pressure; right first time and saving valuable contract. there are legal noise requirements to time and cost. Yet, according to “The McLaren SLR was the meet, too, but the most demanding Schmidt, much the toughest task of all biggest exhaust system programme thing of all is meeting AMG’s own was to develop the correct sound we had done with DaimlerChrysler/ sound requirements.” quality to satisfy the AMG brand AMG prior to the R171 – the new To balance all these competing character. SLK,” says Schmidt. “But we’ve also demands Schmidt and his team ran a AMG’s exact sound specification done a lot of prototype and process of simultaneous must clearly remain a closely-guarded development jobs with AMG and development, looking at all the commercial secret, as must the several racing projects too; the SLR aspects at the same time to ensure Ricardo engineering approach which and SLK are our first road car the optimum result ensued. Three produces the required results. programmes for AMG.” principal development loops Schmidt is, however, able to concede While the SLR was more like a produced what Schmidt terms an that AMG was after a full, sporty special vehicle project with ‘almost-final’ design: the substantial baseline sound – see above – with the exceptionally high technical amount of very fine tuning at the end so-called “brabble”, or growl, typical of standards, the SLK programme was in effect constituted a fourth loop. AMG V8s. no less demanding – especially as the At lower rpm levels there had to larger manufacturing volumes would DaimlerChrysler: highest standards be a very deep and full sound, but at make lean manufacturing processes The development process approached higher revs there should not be any more of an issue. the issue from several different type of flow noise. The sound at high “First of all,” says Schmidt, “there’s angles. Manufacturing technologies revs had to be open and again full, a very high performance V8 engine, were reassessed in order to maximise without the car sounding squeezed. At but at the same time there’s no more the cross-sectional area of the low loads the engine had to become a space for packaging an exhaust system mufflers packaged under the vehicle, background sound, yet it had to return than on the four and six cylinder so as to minimise back pressure; a to its full sound spectrum once the versions. AMG gave us a very clear large number of internal designs for driver began to drive in a sporty and professional system specification, the front and twin rear mufflers were manner; what was ruled out – and describing all the performance, noise developed, and new techniques for here there was a conflict of priorities and durability targets, the timing plan bending pipes were evolved which for Schmidt – was any excessive level and its various gateways.” maintained the all-important cross- of boom in the interior.

18 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 “The noise level in the interior was internal muffler design – which damps systems it designs. limited to a certain value, a value the relevant frequencies for the Thus, starting from a basic CAD which I clearly can’t reveal,” says “drive-by” test – that helps generate design, the system can be fully Schmidt. “So we couldn’t be too the deep sound. engineered and optimised in terms of noisy, but the noise we did generate Through CAD and process durability, NVH and gas flow; had to be very sporty. Yet the exhaust simulations the design team were prototyping is again one of this system is not typically the main able to establish that the high- Ricardo unit’s core activities, and from contributor to interior noise – intake performance exhaust system could be this stems the other all-important skill noise is generally a greater input, and fitted into the SLK on the standard of production process development. we were not able to touch that.” assembly line, as AMG-Mercedes had “We always apply the principle of Yet, making the task doubly specified; later, trails on the actual line ‘design for manufacture’ – and that’s difficult, is the fact that the SLK is both confirmed this. our strength,” says Schmidt. “That a coupé and a roadster. In open-roof Right from the very first day, a differentiates us from other configuration it is a completely new cross-functional team involving engineering consultants. We ball-game as far as sound calculations design, development, process understand the series production are concerned. Here, the whole planning, series production, quality process, and we even do high volume balance between engine, exhaust and management and purchasing was manufacturing process development interior noise becomes different. identified. On more than one occasion for some of our customers. That’s a “Our approach here,” says the combined expertise of this group service we offer.” Schmidt, “was to translate the was able to come up with simplified That said, a high degree of skilled customer’s verbal description of solutions that were both easier and manual work is still needed to sound into objective requirements. We more effective to manufacture. One manufacture high performance and were then able to see which were the example was the rear muffler which, racing systems and to ensure the areas where we needed to increase thanks to clever design and flexible widely recognised Ricardo quality the sound and where we needed to tooling, requires a less complex deep- standards are maintained. reduce it.” draw pre-/end-form tooling concept to Here, flexibility is the keynote, manufacture than usual. both during the development process, Deep sound, not-so-deep muffler during testing and even during Given the tight packaging of the SLK Right first time manufacture. “If the goalposts move, and its low, sports-car ground Acknowledged expertise in developing as they often tend to do,” says Stefan clearance, it was a considerable high-performance exhaust systems Schmidt, “we’re known to be pretty technical achievement to arrive at enabled Ricardo to achieve a dramatic quick to respond – and because we such a full, deep exhaust sound from ‘right first time’ with its first volume are located so close to our key mufflers fitting into the restricted production exhaust for the AMG SLK. customers in the south of Germany spaces available under the floorpan. Highlighted in the work for the SLK we can be that much quicker still. That Large-volume mufflers are the are not only the group’s full-blown in- holds true for our increasingly global simplest way to achieve good noise house development capability but customer base, too.” attenuation and high-quality output also its ability to manufacture, also in- sound, but this option was not house, in small to medium volumes available: instead, it is an optimised and at consistently high quality, the

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 19 RQ Interview – Tobias Moers

Firing on ALL EIGHT Potent V8 and V12 engines, often supercharged, are everyday business for Tobias Moers, head of development at AMG- Mercedes. Tony Lewin hears how Mercedes caters for its ultra-choosy sports clientele through AMG’s integrated, highly focused development operation

What is the financial and operating very special vehicles like the G-Wagen fully-assembled engines direct to the relationship between AMG and with a longer wheelbase. It’s small plants, where they are installed into Mercedes-Benz? volume, but it’s an important volume the cars on the main production lines. The official co-operation between as these are very specific customers. We get all our AMG-specific parts AMG and Mercedes-Benz began in Another example is the new CLK DTM: from different suppliers. The AMG V8 1990 and resulted in the our first it is limited to 100 units but it’s an block is a different casting to the production car, the C36 AMG, in 1993. amazing car – a race car for the street. standard one, but we don’t do our This was the first time an AMG car own casting or machining. had been included in the price list for Who develops the safety cars for the series-built Mercedes-Benz cars. Formula One events? Does all vehicle development take Daimler-Benz took a majority stake in We are responsible for those, too: place in Affalterbach? AMG in 1999, so AMG is now part of they give very prestigious exposure to All vehicle and engine development DaimlerChrysler. Mercedes-Benz and AMG. This year takes place in Affalterbach. We do [2004] it’s the SLK55 AMG as the have some development packages Do you have your own budgets, for safety car and the C55 AMG station which we do with our colleagues in instance? wagon as a medical car at all the the Mercedes technical centre in Yes, we do have our own budget, but Formula One races. Sindelfingen – crash testing, for we are very closely integrated into the instance, as we don’t have a crash Mercedes-Benz Car Group. Which is the single biggest selling facility at AMG. AMG model? What proportion of your business is It depends on the lifecycle of the On vehicle and chassis development, series production cars as opposed to model. The SL55 was – and is – a very who is responsible for the final special production cars? big success for AMG, which in its first handling characteristics and feel of Last year we produced over 20,000 year reached a volume originally the cars? cars across all the plants and model planned for the whole life-cycle. This We do it all at AMG: it is our types – E-Class, C-Class, SL, S-Class, year it’s both the SL55 and the E55 – it responsibility. We do have some CL, and so on. Another part of the depends on the lifecycle. discussions with our [Mercedes] AMG business is what we call colleagues, but AMG does all its own Manufaktur. It’s located here in Which of the parts are produced on development. We have a testing Affalterbach and it is basically special site by AMG? facility and a workshop at the cars, customised cars – everything We have production of all the AMG Nurburgring, which is where we do all from different wheel dimensions to engines here. From here we send our chassis and suspension

20 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 development. We have an AMG- the Mercedes Car Group. We had to [overall] SLR programme and that specific development of suspension, present a business case, and we got a AMG would be the supplier who of brakes, of roll bars – all these decision. would be responsible for the things are completely different from a development of the engine and the regular Mercedes series car. Only with Could a diesel car ever be a credible exhaust system. The engine, the engine these modifications does it become AMG product? management, the transmission and the possible to combine Mercedes We already have one – the five- exhaust system were the responsibility attributes like safety and comfort with cylinder C30 CDI. It was a big success of AMG; the car development was the our goal of producing high in Europe: our main market, the US, responsibility of McLaren together with performance sporty cars that set a was not involved. Customers in the Mercedes Car Group. worldwide benchmark. France, Spain, Italy and Germany liked it: the press was critical, but customers In which market do AMG models Are the cost pressures less at this who tried it wanted to buy one. enjoy the highest penetration among specialised end of the market? Mercedes car sales? Our customers want the best products Would you do another diesel? Is there That’s a good question! Automotive in terms of quality, safety and a future for a performance diesel? News did a study for the US market performance. They are automobile We’d never say no, I suppose, but earlier this year (2004) which looked enthusiasts, able to appreciate we’re not working on one at the at vehicles from $100,000 upwards. excellent products and willing to pay moment. Perhaps it was too early for The market leader is Mercedes-Benz, a premium for such cars. It is clear the first AMG diesel: it was a with a share of more than 50 per cent. that we could offer less expensive performance diesel and the market But two thirds of this volume is AMG, components, but this is not our wasn’t ready to accept it. At the so Mercedes-AMG is the market business model and not what our moment a diesel driver is more leader in the $100,000-plus sector with customers are looking for. Our goal is interested in comfort and refinement: a share of over 40 per cent. In other always to develop cars which perform it’s complicated to match this with the parts of the world our share is almost better than the customer expects. We requirement for performance. The car as high: the US is clearly very still have to meet cost targets, but the [C30 CDI] was certainly fast enough: it important for us – and then it’s amounts involved are different to gave the same lap times around Germany, Great Britain, Asia and those in the mass market. Hockenheim as the [gasoline] C32. The Japan who are also very strong. torque was 540 Nm – that’s more than South Africa is big, too. How early is AMG brought into the the 5.5 litre naturally aspirated product planning process for new [gasoline V8] that we do. How would you do an AMG version of models? How closely is the AMG the new Mercedes A-Class? version defined in the early stages? Do AMG developments feed back into This would be difficult because it is a AMG is integrated from the very mainstream Mercedes models? front wheel drive car. AMG is the beginning of a new car programme at Yes, often they do. The best example market leader in the $100,000-plus Mercedes. We work very closely is our tyre and wheel dimensions. segment, so if we were to work on a together: today, for instance, we are Today’s standard models have the car in the price-critical A-Class sector working on products for 2009. The wheel and tyre sizes we specified five it would be too expensive. Power main features of the AMG version are years ago. At that time the volume- would be a problem too, as you don’t decided early on – which engines, production colleagues thought these get enough traction through the front what modifications to the chassis, and sizes were incredible: now they’re on wheels – so we don’t think we will do perhaps which gearbox. There are mainstream models. And AMG an AMG A-Class. very few things which arise through pioneered it. Sometimes there are the development of the car. other things, too, such as suspension What about the Mini Cooper S? That developments, which feed back into has high power and front wheel drive So could you choose the optimum the mainstream. and has been very successful. engine for your AMG version even if This is a different layout, a different that type of engine was not included What is your relationship with type of car. It’s not so tall, and in any in the basic car line? McLaren? case the [basic] Mini Cooper is much Yes, and the new SLK is a good There’s good co-operation between sportier than the basic A-Class. example. Right at the very beginning AMG and McLaren as we worked on of the Mercedes-Benz programme [for the SLR project together. The board the SLK] there was no V8 engine. So decided that McLaren would do the we worked together to integrate the AMG V8 into this car. We needed to ensure that the body in white was the same as for the SLK200 [the most AMG, based in Affalterbach, near Stuttgart, was founded in 1967 by Hans- basic version] and that no body Werner Aufrecht to race Mercedes-Benz cars. After a series of successes, modifications would be needed. including victories in the Spa 24 Hours in the 1970s, the company started to develop tuning components for road cars. A celebrated example was Did you have to persuade Mercedes to the so-called Hammer in the 1980s: this was a W124 coupé with a V8 include a V8 AMG version of the SLK? engine and was the first Mercedes capable of more than 300 km/h. In 1999 We had a lot of discussions in AMG was fully absorbed by Daimler Benz, later DaimlerChrysler. conjunction with the marketing department; it went up to the board of

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 21 Strategic Consulting Focus Research and development goes global

The globalisation of research and development is one of the emerging trends at first tier suppliers, says Edmund Chew, providing local production expertise and access to skilled engineers at lower cost

Emerging regions have become talent and skills is deep enough, it development functions. Denso has a increasingly attractive as engineering may make a lot of sense to go where facility in Shanghai to develop locations for global development due the skills are available, rather than software for the international to the access that they offer to a large searching for an expensive and scarce business. The aim is to “have a global pool of engineers. High quality resource in developed economies. research network”, says Omori. engineering resources can be in short Bosch currently has only 10 per supply in mature economies such as Major suppliers cent of its 21,000 research and Germany, United States and Japan – internationalising R&D development staff in low labour cost and in emerging markets staff are Norio Omori is executive vice- countries, compared with two-thirds more readily available at one third to president of Denso Corporation, in in Germany. But the numbers are one half of the cost of more mature charge of research and development growing. One of the reasons is the markets. for the leading Japanese group. growth of applications development As Siemens VDO chief executive Denso has started to develop an in new markets, say Bosch executives. Wolfgang Dehen noted at a recent international research network to work The other is the growing importance conference, China has a pool of tens if on more long term developments. of software in new product not hundreds of thousands of Omori says that the company’s major development. India is a major location engineering graduates every year. At engineering sites outside Japan, in for Bosch software development and a group level Siemens looks for pools the United States, Germany and the has led the company in the of engineering talent internationally UK are primarily application implementation of CMM process and has located some of its research engineering sites to support its standards for software development. centres near the required engineering customers, and it has been Peter Köpf, vice-president of corporate resources. developing engineering capability in R&D at ZF Friedrichshafen, says that Research and development is an low labour cost countries such five of ZF group’s six development unavoidably labour intensive function. Vietnam, the Philippines and China to centres are in Germany, (the other is As long as the pool of engineering support Denso's central research and in the USA) but that the group is

Tenneco: expanding engineering in Poland and India

Tenneco started building up its engineering capabilities in development facilities in Poland with durability testing Poland in 2000. Initially engineers were taken on to support equipment and plans to extend the facilities to do acoustic Tenneco’s two new plants in Rybnik and Gliwice. work. By 2006 or 2007 Tenneco with have 40-50 engineers “We found the people very skilled and hard working” employed in Poland, and they are becoming more and says Herman Weltens, vice president of global engineering more independent of Tenneco’s development centres. and technology at Tenneco – and because of the output of The Polish centre is already starting to design exhaust engineers from the university of Gliwice and high local systems for applications in Russia, where “low-cost unemployment rates, availability was high too, observes engineering is absolutely necessary to be price Weltens. competitive,” says Weltens. The costs of engineers at €12,000-€15,000 a year are The second strand of Tenneco’s low-cost engineering substantially below costs in western Europe, and it is sourcing is to look to independent contractors in India for possible to use two shifts on the equipment, says Weltens. low-cost engineering support such as filling databases or But it takes time and a collaborative engineering process FMEA, so that Tenneco’s engineers are released for higher for local engineers to develop their skills, says Weltens, and value-added work. The Indian industry has a lot of so costs on design engineering are only about 40-50 per experience working with the aerospace industry, he says. cent lower than western Europe. But the growth in demand for experienced engineers With the entry of Poland into the EU it has become has pushed up costs there too -“there is no big difference easier to train the local engineers: Tenneco is expanding its [in cost] between India and Poland”, says Weltens.

22 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 western Europe Eastern expansion: Delphi’s Korean Delphi: one of had been flat” development centre takes shape says Runkle. ”It’s the pioneers not as though we are shifting out of Delphi has more than a third of its those countries by engineering in low-cost countries, and any substantial it has been one of the earliest and numbers, it’s just most extensive users of international that the growth is low labour cost development in the other capabilities. countries.” Runkle About 25-30 per cent of the says that corporation’s development engineers engineering work in low-cost centres, says Don centres in low Runkle, vice chairman of enterprise labour cost technologies at Delphi, and numbers countries are an important part of his Paris. The use of low-cost engineering have been growing fast. In the last five company’s efforts to make the most of centres such as Krakow allows Delphi years, since Delphi was established as the inevitably limited research and to make more efficient use of its a separate entity, its engineering development engineering budgets. budget, says Runkle. resources in Asia have grown fourfold, “We have an OK amount of In addition to Krakow in Poland, while in eastern Europe they have research in advanced development, Delphi has been developing research grown three times, and in Mexico they but frankly I would like to figure out and development centres in Mexico have doubled. how to double the size of it without and Korea, and plans to make greater But Runkle says that the growth increasing the overall engineering use of its new facility in Shanghai. has in part been driven by the need to budget”, says Runkle. Being close to new customers has raise spending on R&D to deliver In Europe the company opened an been important. “The primary driver is competitive technologies and win non- engineering centre in Krakow in frankly being where our customers GM business. Poland to complement its largely are, or at least in and around “The high-cost areas like US and development centres in Wuppertal and those areas” says Runkle.

“it may make a lot of sense to go where Grammer, says that competitive the skills are available, rather than pressures are forcing his company to look to undertaking some engineering searching for an expensive and scarce activity, such as quality testing, at resource in developed economies” facilities in low labour cost countries where the company has expanded its manufacturing over the last few years. looking to develop its applications in more mature regions. Other suppliers report a similar engineering centre in China. ZF is also Dr Gunter Baumann, CEO of experience (see Tenneco sidebar). attracted by the availability and cost German exhaust manufacturer Most of the engineering for the of engineers in China, and is looking Eberspaecher, for example, sees no current generation of models being to see if in the long term it can be need to establish engineering in China introduced in emerging markets has effective as a centre for development or India to support the group’s local been done in established for the group worldwide. production there – the cars manufacturing locations, but first tier Eberspaecher supplies are specified in suppliers are well aware that this may Limits to the shift to low the traditional automotive industry change in future as independent local labour cost countries centres. partners become more important and For suppliers with a predominantly For medium sized suppliers the local plants assume a more significant mechanical engineering focus, challenge is more often to establish role within the manufacturing demands for research and new development centres for footprint of the OEMs. development effort has not been customers in established automotive increasing as strongly as in the industry centres. German suppliers Ricardo Strategic Consulting is product areas influenced by electronic have undoubtedly invested more in working with SupplierBusiness.com applications, and the growth in low- the area around Detroit than in low on a special study of trends in cost production locations is taking cost country engineering centres over automotive supplier research and place more slowly. The existing the last five years, simply because of development organisation and engineering resources of suppliers the importance of being close to spending. For more information about represent a huge invested sunk capital engineering at the Big Three. this study just send an email with the cost and a competitive resource that But the pressures to improve heading “R&D study” to few suppliers can afford to put at risk. efficiency and reduce costs impose [email protected] In engine technologies, emerging continuous pressure to reduce costs and you will be sent details when the markets typically lag behind the at medium sized suppliers too. Heinz study is released. standards and technology demanded Otto, CEO of German interior supplier

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 23 Ricardo News Ricardo to build 2/4-stroke engine

icardo and a consortium of Rautomotive partners have commenced a £1.9 million advanced research programme to further investigate a gasoline engine concept which aims to deliver substantially reduced CO2 emissions as well as class-leading performance and economy. The 2/4SIGHT engine concept is based on an innovative design of combustion system combined with advanced valve train and control technologies, enabling automatic switching between two- and four- stroke operation. Following an earlier feasibility study, the partners will now build and test a research prototype 2/4 SIGHT engine on engine as well as evaluating potential its exhaust stroke in 2- vehicle applications. By matching the stroke mode, showing control strategy to make best use of loop scavenging of the 2/4SIGHT engine’s capabilities, it exhaust gases has been shown in that the 2/4SIGHT concept has the potential to deliver: It is expected that the most attractive litre gasoline engine. • Up to 30 per cent benefit in fuel application segments for first Ricardo’s role in the 2/4SIGHT will consumption and reduced CO2 introduction will be premium vehicles be leadership and co-ordination of the emissions where CO2 emissions tend to be higher project, design and development of • The potential for aggressive engine and the torque benefits of the the novel engine and integration of its downsizing – using a smaller, lighter 2/4SIGHT engine concept will fit well systems. DENSO will develop and engine operating at higher with typical driving characteristics. For supply the direct fuel injection and specific load this reason the research engine created advanced engine control systems. • Compliance with Euro 4 emissions by the project will be a 2.0 litre V6 Valvetrain specialist Ma 2T4 will standards and with the potential to targeted at levels of performance and contribute its knowledge of valve train adapt to meet future standards driveability more usually associated switching technology. The University as applied to conventional with a three- to four-litre V8 gasoline of Brighton will carry out investigative gasoline engines engine. In addition to this, however, engine testing and combustion and • Similar economy and production the project will study in some detail the cooling system analysis, and Brunel costs to a conventional diesel engine potential costs and benefits of a 1.0 University will carry out transient • Highly attractive driving litre 2/4SIGHT engine for use in mid- engine testing and development. Work characteristics, with class-leading sized family cars as a highly efficient on this programme is expected to last torque delivery. replacement for a conventional 1.8-2.0 30 months.

Introducing Ricardo Software & CAE newsletter

Ricardo is introducing a new quarterly performance and gas dynamics communication targeted at those simulation product by Ford Motor involved in the development and Company. application of automotive computer Ultimately the Ricardo Software & aided engineering methods. Ricardo CAE will be solely distributed on-line, Software & CAE is not intended to but in order to enable potential duplicate RQ but will instead enable subscribers to evaluate it fully it will the company to present material of also be distributed in print form for the more specialist interest to those first two issues together with RQ engaged in design and CAE work. In magazine. Those wishing to subscribe the first issue of Software & CAE for future on-line issues of Ricardo Quarterly we focus on the global use Software & CAE should register at of Ricardo’s WAVE engine www.ricardo.com/SCAE

24 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 hardware development. software and hardware Ricardo expands The expanded facility engineers resulting from includes new laboratory proximity to the University space for prototype and the technology based in Cambridge electronic system business cluster in this construction and testing, and region of the UK. We are utomotive electronics Cambridge has will become the central relocating many of our Aand associated control previously been the location for the company’s existing staff to Cambridge and embedded software location for the company’s embedded software and and are actively seeking to technologies continue to Ricardo-Tarragon electronic hardware work. recruit up to 20 additional increase in importance for subsidiary, which focuses “We have chosen to experienced staff in all car manufacturers and are on the development of focus expansion of our areas of automotive control widely acknowledged as embedded software for control and electronics and electronics system driving up to 90 per cent of powertrain and vehicle business in the Cambridge development.” the functional innovation in control systems, including area,” explains Ricardo The company will be new vehicles. This is advanced safety-critical control and electronics hosting a number of reflected in increased applications. The new director, Richard Wenham, control and electronics demand for the services of expansion will enable “due to our existing recruitment events to Ricardo and is the primary growth of the existing presence in the city, the support this planned impetus for a significant software activities and adds availability of high quality expansion. Details of expansion of the company’s additional capabilities in office accommodation and vacancies can be viewed at Cambridge control and other aspects of control the vibrant employment www.ricardo.com/candejobs. electronics centre. and electronics including market for experienced High performance police vehicles

icardo has a long established Rreputation as a leader in the development of special purpose vehicles for defence and other specialist applications. For the past year, however, the company has also been making its blend of cost- effective and practical vehicle engineering skills available to the Police fleet conversion market. Focusing on the conversion of advanced vehicles comprising the very latest communications and surveillance technologies, Ricardo has already delivered numerous special- purpose Police vehicles. With its automotive industry background, Ricardo has the advantage of offering a secure environment for this work and can draw upon engineering resources such as computer aided design which are not available to many traditional vehicle converters. (ANPR) systems. This is a computer been to combat the number of deaths Sussex Police has been the lead based system which scans the scene occurring on the roads as a result of customer for this new Ricardo service ahead using the vehicle’s video anti-social driving. In order to publicise and has already taken delivery of a camera and digitally registers the its new campaign, Sussex Police wide range of advanced vehicles, licence plates of all road vehicles hosted a press launch at Ricardo ranging from airport security vehicles within its view. The system Special Vehicles and demonstrated the for use at London Gatwick airport, to continuously registers the capabilities of the new high- armed response, covert surveillance information and cross-references it in performance vehicles that Ricardo has and roads policing vehicles. Some of real-time against the national converted. The fleet of Mercedes C- the most advanced communications database of stolen and wanted and E-Class and Mitsubishi Shogun technologies are applied to roads vehicles. vehicles were formally handed over to policing, where many vehicles are for A major motivation for Sussex assistant chief constable of Sussex example equipped with the latest Police in procuring its advanced roads Police, Nigel Yeo, by Ricardo director of Automatic Number Plate Recognition policing vehicles from Ricardo has special vehicle operations, Paul Tarry.

Q1, 2005 • RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW 25 Ricardo News Manufacturing simulation

Production design expertise has allowed the assembly of the Gates front end module to be assessed in a virtual environment to optimise the eventual manufacturing process However well-optimised the design of a Simulation is an important aspect of of the module and its assembly onto new product may be, the effectiveness this work, enabling engineers to create a candidate engine. with which it is implemented into virtual models for test and optimisation Each stage of module assembly was production can mean the difference of the processes of manufacture in individually modelled as a step in the between success and failure; profit and parallel with product design work. As complete sub-assembly manufacturing loss. It is here that manufacturing such, initial manufacturing process model. In addition to individual work simulation can ensure that the right planning can be carried out at an early stations, the simulation model decisions are made. stage of a programme, enabling virtual included each assembly operative so Even when considering modest ‘design for assembly’ of the new that their movements could be changes such as the introduction of a product. Lessons learned in simulation analysed in detail. new product option, issues such as can also be implemented in early In one case, the ability to look the ergonomics of the production prototype builds, enabling these to be through the eyes of a virtual operative environment, interactions with more representative of final production. enabled early identification of visual existing operations, and the efficiency Moreover, for manufacturing obstructions to the assembly process of individual machining and assembly ergonomics, the team can go further which were relatively easy to solve at processes must be thoroughly than simply testing assembly line the design stage but which would have evaluated and optimised in advance if layouts: they can see the processes been considerably more problematic smooth and profitable production through the eyes of virtual assembly later on. The programme team also implementation is to be realised. operatives and hence highlight found that the ability to have a visual The manufacturing engineers in the potential weaknesses which might not overview of the facility acted as a Ricardo powertrain design team are otherwise be identified until pilot builds. catalyst for more general improve- familiar with the environment of A recent project carried out by the ments to the layout of the assembly automotive manufacturing and team has been the manufacturing line, for example identifying potential assembly, each bringing with them simulation of the Gates integrated issues of access for the delivery parts to considerable prior experience of a wide front end drive module, GEM10TM. the line by forklift trucks. range of OEM and Tier 1 production Gates and Ricardo had worked Just one example of the capabilities operations. In partnership with their together on the original design of this of this technique, this project highlights powertrain design colleagues, they highly innovative concept (described the potential for manufacturing focus upon developing design for in RQ Spring 2003) and Ricardo was simulation to enable engineers to manufacture and assembly, and lean subsequently asked to prepare produce right first time production manufacturing. simulations of both the sub-assembly facilities as well as product. AutoSport 2005 Ricardo once again took an active part in this year’s AutoSport International exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK. This was the fourth year that Ricardo had presented at the exhibition and, selected by the organisers as one of two UK companies which had made an outstanding contribution to motorsport, Ricardo was invited to meet the president of the MIA, Lord Astor of Hever, and Lord Heseltine, chairman and owner of Haymarket Publications. In addition to participating in the exhibition, Ricardo also hosted a visit to its nearby Midlands Technical Centre for overseas motorsport companies attending AutoSport.

26 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q1, 2005 VValuealue aaddeddded lleadereader inin eenterprisingnterprising oopportunitiespportunities forfor thethe businessbusiness community.community.

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