Η Nissan έδωσε το πρώτο, από μια σειρά video, όπου μας δείχνει το πως κατασκεύασε και εξέλιξε το DeltaWing, το οποίο έκανε μερικούς γύρους στον αγώνα αντοχής του Sebring, ενώ θα λάβει μέρος στον 24-ωρο αγώνα του Le Mans.
Στο πρώτο video βλέπουμε τις δοκιμές που έγιναν στην αεροδυναμική σήραγγα Windshear στις εγκαταστάσεις στη πόλη Charlotte της Νότιας Καρολίνας. Έχει κατασκευαστεί σε συνεργασία της Nissan, της Highcroft Racing και της All American Racers και θα τρέξει στο φετινό Le Mans.
Μηχανικά φορά ένα turbo 1.600αρη κινητήρα της Nissan τεχνολογίας DIG-T (Direct Injection Gasoline – Turbocharged) άμεσου ψεκασμού απόδοσης 300 ίππων. Και αν δεν σου ακούγονται πολλά σαν άλογα, θα σου πω ότι το αυτοκίνητο ζυγίζει μόλις 475 κιλά και έτσι μπορεί να πιάσει τελική μεγαλύτερη των 322 χλμ/ώρα. Έχει το μισό βάρος και την μισή αεροδυναμική αντίσταση από ένα συμβατικό αγωνιστικό και γυρίζει στο Le Mans γρηγορότερα από τα LMP2 αγωνιστικά και λίγο αργότερα από αυτά της LMP1.
To αγωνιστικό λειτουργεί ως demo car για νέες τεχνολογίες που θα περάσουν μέσα στα επόμενα χρόνια στα αυτοκίνητα παραγωγής. Τον σχεδιασμό του τον έχουν αναλάβει οι Dan Gurney, Don Panoz, Ben Bowlby και το Michelin Special invitation. Οδηγοί του είναι οι Marino Franchitti και Michael Krumm.
[Πηγή: Nissan]
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NISSAN DELTAWING DEVELOPMENT FILM SERIES KICKS OFF
WIND TUNNEL TESTING – PART #1 OF ‘BEHIND-THE-SCENES’ STORY SHOWING DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL LE MANS CAR
- First Nissan DeltaWing development film unveiled
- Video series to tell ‘behind-the-scenes’ story of revolutionary car’s challenging journey on the road to Le Mans 24 Hours debut
- Available to view at http://www.youtube.com/user/nissanineurope
- European based testing to begin next week
ROLLE, Switzerland, Thursday, April 12, 2012: With European testing due to kick off next week for the Nissan DeltaWing, a new online film series highlighting the development of the revolutionary Le Mans 24 Hours entry was launched today.
Commissioned by Nissan and hosted at the Nissan in Europe YouTube page, the multi-part series will highlight different aspects of the car’s development and show the challenges of getting such an innovative project to its current stage and the huge task the team faces to finish the Le Mans 24 hours.
As it did with its similarly innovative Juke-R project, Nissan is breaking new ground in the way it makes the development process behind its highest-profile campaigns as accessible as possible.
New episodes of the film series will be launched roughly every two weeks between now and Le Mans and will culminate in a TV documentary, which will air after the endurance classic in June.
A Nissan film crew has followed the development of the unique racer, filming every move of Nissan DeltaWing designer Ben Bowlby and his engineering team as they have built the car, as well as recording how Nissan’s 1.6-litre DIG-T engine has been developed to be the ideal partner engine for the project.
When the car races at Le Mans it will be thanks to a number of key partners in the project. In addition to Nissan and Bowlby, project managing partner Don Panoz has been key to the car’s development, Dan Gurney and his All-American Racers organisation has built the prototype car in California and Duncan Dayton’s Highcroft Racing outfit and Michelin have also been heavily involved.
The first video in the series highlights the wind tunnel work on the car, carried out at the Windshear facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ben Bowlby said: “We’ve had the Nissan film crew following our every move throughout the development of the car over the past few months and this will give the fans a great insight into the creation of the Nissan DeltaWing.
“It was a bit strange at first to have a camera poked under our nose all the time but, after a while, the guys really felt like part of the team.
“The finished product will be brilliant for the fans to get to see what goes on behind the scenes in the creation a project as unique as the Nissan DeltaWing.
“The wind tunnel work in particular was a key component of the project. The data we had from the scale model development and what our computer simulations told us showed we were moving in the right direction.
“Getting the full-sized car in the wind tunnel really cemented that. In fact, the final results actually exceeded our expectations.”
Darren Cox, General Manager, Nissan in Europe, said: “As soon as Nissan’s involvement with the DeltaWing project began and long before it was announced, we wanted to make sure that the challenge of bringing such a revolutionary car to the race track was properly recorded.
“This is an innovative project that could change the face of motorsport and the fans should be shown the full story. Too often motorsport development is hidden away and kept secret – Nissan want to make this exciting part of the sport accessible. These films will give some insight into the very steep learning curve the team faces to even get to the Le Mans 24 Hours.”
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