2005 4, Q RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW Ricardo changes gear John GrififthsGriffiths of the FT interviews outgoing CEO Rodney Westhead and new CEO Dave Shemmans The ¤5000 car Ricardo route-map for low-cost car development and manufacture Interview Koichi ‘George’ Fukaya, CEO of Denso Corporation GM’sGM’s Global Global EngineEngine General Motors, Ricardo and the world-class V6 for Cadillac, Buick, Holden, Saab and more Contents RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW Q4, 2005 10 06 18 20 news features 04 Industry news 10 General Motors’ Global V6 Germany embraces hybrids at the Frankfurt show; hybrid To power its huge variety of nameplates into the next alliances form; Tokyo highlights hydrogen; Mack’s hybrid decade, GM needed an advanced but versatile base V6 heavy; VW downsizes engines; PSA-Ford’s new diesels engine that could be developed to suit each brand’s individual characteristics. Working with Ricardo 24 Ricardo news engineers, GM developed the Global V6 in record time. Finite element software package launched; software Anthony Smith reports on a state-of-the-art design that is conference scheduled; Ricardo opens new offices in comfortable in a Cadillac, sporty in a Saab – and just as China and Japan; Ricardo supports new Renault NVH happy in a Holden or a Buick facility 20 A car for €5000 questions and answers The success of the Renault-Dacia Logan has reawakened automakers’ interest in low-cost cars for emerging 06 Handing over the controls markets. Ricardo Strategic Consulting has taken an in- As Dave Shemmans takes over the Ricardo CEO’s mantle depth look at every step of the design and assembly from Rodney Westhead, John Griffiths of the Financial process and, as Tony Lewin reports, has come up with Times speaks to both men about the company’s past, key strategic recommendations for companies present and future considering entering the €5000 market 18 Koichi Fukaya The president of Denso, the world’s fourth-largest automotive supplier, tells Tony Lewin about his ambitious plans for Europe – and his ideas on safety systems 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: Mark Roberts, Anthony Smith, Tel: +44 (0)1273 455611 John Griffiths 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 Hybrid fever grips Frankfurt he German auto industry has at Tlast embraced hybrid technology as leading automakers and suppliers revealed concepts and prototype systems at September’s auto show in Frankfurt. German companies have long insisted that advanced diesels are a more effective fuel-saving solution, but have bowed to market pressure from the US where hybrids have gained a high profile thanks to the BMW’s active success of Toyota’s Prius. Public hybrid combines new concern has also been raised in the High Precision Injection engine wake of air-quality alerts in several with Super Cap hybrid system German cities earlier in 2005. supplier says BMW, leading to rapid Mercedes-Benz showed two ZF on hybrids acceleration and a 20 per cent alternative hybrid versions of its new S- for rear-drive luxury improvement in European drive cycle Class sedan, the Direct Hybrid combined cars. Some of that technology was fuel economy. The e-motor and power with a 3.5 litre V6 gasoline engine and shown in the BMW Active Hybrid, a electronics are packaged within the the Bluetec Hybrid using a 3.0 litre V6 concept vehicle based on the X3 SUV envelope of a standard automatic diesel. The diesel is notable for its use of and designed to show the transmission, simplifying packaging selective catalytic NOx reduction, performance-enhancing potential of within the vehicle. DaimlerChrysler claiming it to be the hybrid powertrains. The concept’s Separately, ZF and Siemens VDO cleanest diesel car in the world. major innovation is the choice of ultra announced they were to form a BMW surprised many by capacitors – ‘Super Caps’ in BMW’s partnership aimed at offering hybrid announcing that it was to join the GM- promotional material – to store solutions at all levels to the world’s DaimlerChrysler alliance to build a captured braking energy. automakers, while Getrag showed a two-mode hybrid; it had already been Super Caps allow much faster broad range of transmissions with co-operating with transmission absorption and discharge of energy, integrated electric drive motors. US Air Force tests diesel hybrid tanker Mack Trucks has developed a prototype hybrid electric powertrain for Class 8 heavy duty trucks. Built in conjunction with the US Air Force Advanced Power Technology Office, the powertrain is Text installed in a 6x4 Mack chassis hauling a 6000 gallon Air Force refuelling tanker. The 107 hp electric motor, control and battery systems were supplied by Enova Systems and help improve the economy of the 12 litre diesel engine powering the 11 metre, 33 tonne vehicle. Mack is part of the Volvo trucks group, which also revealed its new range of FH and FM trucks. Powered by all-new engines of 13 and 9 litres, they meet upcoming EU4 and EU5 heavy duty regulations and, equipped with SCR catalytic NOx-reduction technology, are claimed to be the cleanest trucks ever produced by Volvo. Lexus launches 2nd hybrid HCCI collaboration Green number plates Return of the two-stroke? Amid all the excitement GM, Bosch and Stanford Germany is considering Daihatsu’s twin-cylinder about hybrids at the university are launching a introducing three different 2CDDI-II two stroke diesel Frankfurt show, just one new three-year research programme vehicle number plate types concept uses turbo and production hybrid was into Homogeneous Charge to indicate the level of supercharging to extract 65 kW launched: the rear-drive Compression Ignition, tipped as particulate emissions of from 1.2 litres. NOx emissions News in brief News Lexus GS 450h a highly promising technology individual vehicles are low, says Daihatsu 04 RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW • Q4, 2005 Tokyo on a hydrogen high RICARDO QUARTERLY ydrogen, in a variety of different Presenting the F600 Hygenius REVIEW Hpropulsion systems, was the concept, Mercedes-Benz R&D director flavour of the Tokyo show in October. Thomas Weber said that its fuel cell The task of RQ is to highlight the latest Honda, Toyota and Suzuki all system was 40 per cent more compact thinking in automotive engineering and showed next-generation fuel cell than previous versions, yet more technology worldwide – both within concept vehicles, the latter efficient and powerful. Energy Ricardo and among other leading incorporating General Motors by-wire consumption was down by 16 per companies. By presenting an up-to-date mix of news, profiles and interviews with know-how. Mercedes-Benz presented cent, he said, thanks to regenerative top business leaders we paint an perhaps the most realistic proposal in braking, while power had risen to 115 interesting and exciting picture of R&D the shape of its B-Class-sized F600 hp. Consumption is the equivalent of activity at a world-class automotive Hygenius, while Mazda unveiled yet 2.9 litres of diesel per 100 km. engineering services provider. It is a formula that has certainly been a hit with the worldwide automotive community: in the four years since RQ was launched we have had to increase our print run to 14,000 copies to keep pace with the demand to read about Ricardo and its activities. Client confidentiality is of the utmost importance to Ricardo, which means that we can only report on a small fraction of the work carried out by the company. So we are especially grateful to those Ricardo customers who have kindly agreed to co-operate with RQ and allow their programmes to be highlighted in print: without such help from customers it Mercedes R&D would not be possible to present such a chief Thomas Weber: fascinating insight into the way vehicles fuel cells now 40 per are conceived and developed. cent more compact another twist on its rotary theme – a hydrogen-fuelled rotary linked to a Downsizing becomes real hybrid drivetrain in the Premacy Smaller, but higher-powered engines are compact SUV body. fast becoming a production reality. Toyota showcased the latest in its Volkswagen has launched its novel 1.4 in-house fuel cell technology with the litre Twincharger (right), a direct-injection Fine-X concept, a Camry-sized sedan gasoline four cylinder with both turbo- with wheel motors and independent and superchargers. Installed in the steering at all four corners allowing it Golf GT, it gives 170 hp yet returns to turn 360 degrees on the spot. A consumption of 7.2 litres per 100 km. new 70 Mpa high-pressure hydrogen At Tokyo VW showed a lightweight tank, also developed in-house, further Eco Racer sports car achieving 230 improves the vehicle’s range. km/h and 3.4 litres per 100 km from a next-generation turbo diesel of 1.5 litres Honda, for its part, displayed the FC- and 136 hp. X, a sleek four-seater with its fuel cell PSA and Ford also claimed to be in the stack mounted centrally under the forefront of the downsizing trend with its floor. Honda says it has halved the latest generation collaborative diesels. size of the stack and doubled The 170 hp dual sequential turbocharged hydrogen storage capacity to provide 2.2 litre unit for passenger cars has the a range of over 500 km. It is capable of performance normally associated with a starting at ambient temperatures as 2.5 litre, says PSA.