Automobiles Review

Tag: LMP1

  • Lotus LMP1 Unveiled At 24 Hours Of Le Mans

    Lotus-LMP1-THUMBLotus LMP1 or the P1/01 has just took a centre stage at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans event and was unveiled to the media and public for the very first time. However, the car didn’t participate in the race due to delays resulting from an unavoidable change in engine supplier. Despite this, the unveiling was an enormously proud moment for the team, because the iconic LMP 1 class represents the highest class of sports car racing. It attracts some of the best drivers in the world and is dominated by world famous manufacturers.

    The Lotus LMP1 car is an entirely new car built from the start to meet the new WEC regulations for the LMP1 L privateer racing category. LMP1 car was designed by Chief Designer Paul White and is powered by an AER (Advanced Engine Research) V6 turbo engine.

    Precisely, it is an aluminium 6 cylinder, 90 degree V angle Turbocharged unit which uses one turbocharger per bank. It has 2 aluminium cylinder Heads with 4 valves per cylinder and 4 camshafts. The fuel injection system is GDI which features 2 Synchronous High pressure fuel pumps. The ignition system uses Bosch Motorsport Coils and Bosch Spark plugs, while the throttle System is independently drive by wire per bank. The engine is coupled with a six-gear sequential gearbox with pedal shift.

    In fact, the LMP1 stands for “Le Mans Sportscar Prototype 1”. The prototype vehicle stands on a chassis built from carbon composites monocoque with CFK crash elements at the front and rear. The vehicle runs on BBS fogged rims of the size 13 x 18 inches both at the front and rear. They are wrapped in Michelin tyres of the size 31/71 – 18 X Radial.

    The total weight of the car is impressive – it is just 850 kg, which promises a good performance. This weight is due to the material used for the bodywork which is primarily a lightweight carbon composite. At last, the wheel suspension of the car is independent and includes adjustable dampers.

    Lotus LMP1
    Lotus LMP1
    Lotus LMP1
    Lotus LMP1

    Source: Lotus

  • Porsche LMP1 To Compete In 2014 WEC And Le Mans

    Porsche-LMP1-THUMBNew Porsche LMP1 Sports Prototype is going to compete in the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from next year. The car has successfully completed its first rollout today on the Porsche test track in Weissach.

    As a matter of fact, LMP1 turned its first laps several weeks earlier than planned, this allows few additional weeks for more testing and further development. The regulations for next year are mainly based on efficiency, which makes the competition amongst engineers more interesting and hides new challenges.

    In addition, it was announced that from the 2014 season, the Porsche LMP1 racer will be fielded by a Weissach-based works squad. The first person to drive the vehicle on the race track was Timo Bernhard, who said that the car feels great and impatiently looks forward to testing it in the coming weeks and months with his colleague Romain Dumas.

    The main aim of the development of this Porsche was to achieve the best possible efficiency without compromising on performance. The engineers started with a blank sheet of paper in the design of the new LMP1 race car.

    Therefore they were able to apply many new technologies within the framework of the regulations necessary for the racings. These technologies will be applied to brand’s road legal automobiles in the future. After all, there’s a race car in every Porsche.

    Source: Porsche

  • Toyota LMP1 Hybrid Sports Car

    Toyota has announced that will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2012 with a new hybrid power sports car. The manufacturer will return to the world’s most famous endurance race will be with a new LMP1 chassis designed, developed and produced by Toyota Motorsport in Germany, equipped with a hybrid petrol powertrain engineered by Toyota in Japan.

    “Toyota has entered Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new challenge. We want to write a new chapter in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of hybrid technology.”, commented Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota Motor Corporation Senior Managing Officer and Toyota Motorsport Chairman.

    “In addition, we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production car technology. Le Mans is a legendary race and I would like to thank the ACO and the FIA for their constructive and positive co-operation over the last few months.”, he added.

    Toyota last competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours as a manufacturer in the late 1990s racing the GT-One, a car which famously established a new race lap record in 1999.

    Toyota LMP1 Hybrid Sports Car
    Toyota LMP1 Hybrid Sports Car

    Source: Toyota

  • Aston Martin LMP1 Defeated

    The Le Mans Series-winning Aston Martin LMP1 defeated in face-to-face battle by the most feared weapon in the British army, the Challenger II Battle Tank. Gathered together on the Salisbury Plain for a joint event organised by the army and Prodrive, which raised an estimated £6k for ‘Help for Heroes’, the iconic British racing car admitted defeat after there were no smooth racing track to use its superior speed to escape. (more…)