Showcasing the Nissan Deltawing - Changing the Face of Sportscar Racing 2 NISSAN DELTAWING
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News From The 24 Hours of Le Mans - June 2012 Innovation Showcasing The Nissan DeltaWing - changing the face of sportscar racing 2 NISSAN DELTAWING California to begin construction of the car. Meanwhile, Bowlby and the DeltaWing leadership group secured the technical partners for the innovative gearbox, wheels, body materials, and, most important, a GAME carmaker partner. They found the perfect partner in Nissan. The automaker brought new CHANGER energy and a 300HP 1.6L Nissan DIG-T turbocharged direct injection engine. of Chip Ganassi, Duncan Dayton’s The team conducted tests at Sebring, Highcroft Racing and American Le Florida; Snetterton and Hethel, THE 80TH RUNNING OF the Le Mans Mans Series founder Dr. Don Panoz – England; Magny Cours, France, and 24 Hour race features a special car, the set off to secure the necessary technical Aragon, Spain, before completing over Nissan DeltaWing, true to the founding and strategic partners to bring the 450 miles at the recent Le Mans Test concepts of Le Mans, but nearly DeltaWing concept to the track. Day. unimaginable in its execution. They needed partner companies Because the Nissan DeltaWing Designed to compete at Le Mans with deep technical resources, a strong appears at the 2012 Le Mans under a with half the power, weight, drag, culture of innovation and a willingness special invitation as the 56th entry – and fuel of its contemporaries while to risk becoming carrying the number 0 – the delivering comparable performance, involved in a radically car races outside many of the all-new race car is in many ways different project. the class rules, it is also the most radical to appear at Le Mans Michelin was the ineligible to win or score over the past 40 years. first major technical points. It has no horizontal wings, an partner to commit The Nissan DeltaWing extremely narrow front wheel track, to the project. They will be driven by Marino and a three-point design concept that agreed to create Franchitti of Scotland, has stirred significant debate about special front tires – just four inches Michael Krumm of Germany and race cars of the future. (10 cm) wide – to accommodate Satoshi Motoyama of Japan. It was just twelve months ago that the DeltaWing’s radical design The car is expected to turn lap times officials of the Automobile Club de l’ requirements. in the 3-minute 45-second range Ouest announced that the DeltaWing Creating tires for a car that did not while using half the fuel and tires of project would receive their special yet exist required extensive analysis conventional entries. During the recent “56th Garage” invitation for the 2012 and simulation. Michelin drew deeply test day, the car used just one set of race. At that point, the upon their technical expertise Michelin tires for the entire day. DeltaWing Le Mans and Le Mans experiences, where The true impact of the Nissan car existed only in data the tiremaker and its technical DeltaWing may not be fully understood files and computer partner teams have achieved the for several years, but there is no simulations. overall race victory in each of the question that the conversation With the 2012 Le Mans past 14 consecutive years. regarding the future of motorsports, its invitation in hand, the As Michelin began tire technologies, innovations and role in group – led by concept development, the DeltaWing reducing energy consumption while originator Ben Bowlby, team turned to Dan Gurney maintaining performance have moved under the patronage and his All American Racers in to center stage. LE MANS 3 The words of Delta Daddy… BEN BOWLBY The background to the DeltaWing On how the DeltaWing turns: project: “Take a sledgehammer and put the heavy end “Motor racing, particularly in the States, on the ground. See how light the handle is? has become dominated by spec formulae - That is how the DeltaWing turns. The front which stifle design and innovation. The cars of the DeltaWing is incredibly light, but the are basically all the same. I was witnessing weight at the rear acts to stabilize the front.” the decline in interest in motor racing and I realised that I was part of a dinosaur industry.” Challenges at Le Mans: “The real challenge is that we are bringing a On Michelin: completely new car to Le Mans. More than “Michelin became the first major technical that, no supplier has race-proven components partner for the DeltaWing and gave us suitable for a car that weighs half as much as credibility and outstanding technical support an LMP1 car on the shelf.” at a critical time. Michelin has a million On Nissan’s Role: miles of experience at Le Mans, but no “Nissan understood immediately what we one has any experience with a car that did were trying to do and they saw that the car not yet exist. They took on a tremendous fitted their philosophy of making efficiency technical challenge and exceeded all of our cool. Nissan has provided us with our first expectations.” choice engine. It’s a spectacular piece. We’ve got the engine of our dreams: it’s What led to the DeltaWing? the right weight, has the right power and is “DeltaWing was born out of asking ourselves phenomenally efficient.” how we could use one of these small four- cylinder 1.6-litre turbo global race engines to On reactions to the car: go just as fast and consequently use less fuel, “As a designer, to have your baby shown to fewer tyres and so on. DeltaWing is an answer the world for the first time is a bit like wearing to how to go just as fast on less.” your heart on your sleeve…I am surprised at the global reaction so far because it has been Why Le Mans? incredibly massive. I suppose I am relieved “The ACO said it was fantastic. It encapsulated because that is why we stuck our necks out. the spirit of Le Mans and was exactly right for We believed it was important to do something ‘Garage 56’, DeltaWing shows that ahead of new and innovative in the first place.” hybrid, bio-fuel, or electric technology we can explore other ways to improve efficiency.” Impact - post Le Mans: “Le Mans is not the finish line for the DeltaWing – this is just the start. Our biggest hope is that what we are doing in France will be the catalyst to allowing further innovation in our sport.” Actualité des 24 heures du Mans - juin 2012 l’innovation Au cœur de La DeltaWing de Nissan – changer le visage de la course automobile 2 NISSAN DELTAWING techniques pour les révolutionnaires boîtes de vitesse, roues et matériaux de la carrosserie et, surtout, un constructeur automobile. Ils ont trouvé le partenaire parfait avec Nissan. Le fabricant d’automobiles a insufflé une nouvelle énergie, un moteur 4-cylindres de 1,6 L pourvu d’une injection directe et d’un turbocompresseur, badgé DIG-T (Direct Injection Gasoline – Turbocharged CHANGER = injection directe d’essence - les règles du jeu suralimenté), devant produire environ 300 chevaux. L’équipe a procédé à des essais à fondateur de la série American Le Mans Sebring (Floride), Snetterton et Hethel — entreprit de trouver les partenaires (Angleterre), Magny Cours (France) et LA 80E ÉDITION des 24 heures du techniques et stratégiques nécessaires Aragon (Espagne), avant de boucler les Mans mettra en vedette une voiture pour mettre en piste le concept de la 450 miles du récent Jour d’essais pour spéciale, la DeltaWing de Nissan, fidèle DeltaWing. les 24 Heures du Mans. aux concepts fondateurs du Mans, mais Ils avaient besoin de partenaires Comme la DeltaWing de Nissan d’une exécution presqu’inimaginable. disposant de solides ressources fera son entrée en 2012 à Le Mans sur Mise au point pour la compétition à techniques, dont la culture est invitation spéciale à s’engager dans Le Mans avec la moitié de la puissance, fortement axée sur l’innovation, et qui le « Garage 56 », et qu’elle n’est pas du poids, de la traînée aérodynamique étaient prêts à prendre des risques dans conforme aux règlements actuels du et du carburant de ses concurrentes, un projet radicalement différent. championnat, elle portera le numéro tout en livrant une performance Michelin fut le premier partenaire « 0 » et participera à la course hors comparable, cette toute nouvelle technique important à s’engager dans classement, c’est-à-dire qu’elle ne voiture de course est sous plusieurs le projet. Michelin accepta de créer des pourra pas remporter la aspects la plus radicale à apparaître à pneus avant spéciaux — d’à course ou des points. Le Mans depuis 40 ans. Elle est munie peine 4 pouces (10 cm) de La DeltaWing de d’ailes horizontales et d’une voie avant largeur — adaptés au design Nissan sera pilotée extrêmement étroite; son design en trois radical de la DeltaWing. par Marino Franchitti points alimente d’importants débats sur Créer des pneus pour d’Écosse, Michael Krumm les voitures de course de l’avenir. une voiture qui n’existait d’Allemagne et Satoshi Cela fait à peine 12 mois que pas encore a demandé des Motoyama du Japon. l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), analyses poussées et de On s’attend à ce que la voiture fasse organisateur des célèbres 24 Heures multiples simulations. Michelin s’est des chronos d’environ 3 minutes 45 du Mans, a invité la voiture à s’engager appuyée sur son expertise technique secondes tout en n’utilisant que la dans le célèbre « Garage 56 » pour et son expérience des courses des 24 moitié du carburant et des pneus des la course de 2012.