More Questions?
Do racing car aerodynamics really have a road car application?
We are restricted by legislation and by the packaging requirements, of course, but we are focusing much more on improving the aerodynamic efficiency underneath the floor of the car. For example, as part of the Qashqai minor change (2010) we introduced a flat underfloor on the car which improved fuel consumption and emissions… it was one of the significant improvements particularly on the ‘eco’ Pure Drive version. We are really interested in exploring how we can enhance that further and it will be fascinating to see how DeltaWing approaches the issue.
– Jerry Hardcastle VP, Vehicle Design and Development, Nissan Europe.
The Nissan Micra also had its underbody redesigned to improve airflow for increased downforce and a drag coefficienct of 0.33
Darren Cox, General Manager, Nissan in Europe has answers for other questions that we have in mind.
Is Nismo (Nissan’s motorsport arm) involved?
NISMO has been involved in the project from the beginning. Its knowledge, gained through Super GT for example, has allowed it to validate the simulation and wind tunnel data. A key member of the Nissan team sent to the US since we got involved in the project is a multiple Super GT championship-winning engineer with NISMO in Japan. You can also expect the learnings from the rapid development of the DeltaWing engine to be used in the forthcoming Nissan Juke Nismo road car line, which shares exactly the same engine architecture.
Will it succeed?
Oh yes. What I love about this project, is that we are going to prove people wrong. We did it with Qashqai, which people initially saw as a very niche product with limited potential. Now, five years on, every manufacturer now has a direct rival in its range. We’re doing it with LEAF: within five years everyone will have an EV in their range. And although everyone at the moment says DeltaWing won’t work, in five years time sports cars might just look a bit more like this.
With a number of LMP2 cars on the Le Mans grid running conventional Nissan racing engines, are you sending out a mixed message?
The LMP2 programme is mainly a commercial exercise in which race teams buy Nissan’s technology because ours are the best engines out there. But we are very interested in the human side of motor sport, too. One of the things that attracted us to this project were names like Dan Gurney and Don Panoz, people who need no introduction to race fans. Ben Bowlby, too, is a very interesting guy. It’s this human side that has brought us closer to two of the LMP2 teams. Greaves Motorsport has a father and son in a car (ex-F1 racer Martin Brundle and son Alex) alongside our inaugural GT Academy winner and is approaching it in a thoroughly professional way, aiming for a win. Signatech Nissan, meanwhile, has an all French line-up including our second GT Academy graduate. Both give us an incredible dynamic. So we will have eyes on all our partners. The Nissan team will certainly be busy, with 12 cars on the grid featuring our technology.
What next for Nissan in motor sport? Formula 1?
No. Our sister brand Infiniti is already there thanks to its involvement with Red Bull and Alliance partner Renault provides the motive power for a number of teams.
LMP1 then?
There is a global review into our motorsport activity underway just now, and while we are at Le Mans we will have the perfect opportunity to look at the competition in LMP1 and review the new technical regulations due in 2014. If there’s an efficiency element brought into the programme that might well interest Nissan a bit more.
What was your first impression when you saw DeltaWing?
It reminded me a bit of the six-wheel Tyrrell Grand Prix car (Tyrrell P34 from 1976). With four small wheels at the front, it was a way of reducing frontal area to get a better airflow and it won a Grand Prix before regulation changes made it obsolete. But it was a different: if you apply the same approach as everyone else you’ll get a similar performance. The same applies to Renault in F1. Back when everyone had V8 Cosworth engine and Ferrari had its flat 12, Renault developed a small turbo engine. It took them a while to make it work and there were many public failures but you often learn more from your failures than from your successes. Once it was working, though, everyone else had to follow them.
Duncan Dayton, President, Highcroft Racing had something interesting to say about ‘other’ car companies
And Nissan’s involvement?
Nissan wants to become known as the most fuel-efficient car manufacturer out there. Kudos to them, and in particular to Darren Cox, for putting their neck on the chopping block. They really have the courage of their convictions and believe in the engineering. But change is something that scares a lot of people. We spoke not just to Nissan but to other car companies to help progress this project and they all claimed to be risk takers, but in reality they are what we Americans call Prairie Dogs… they keep their heads down in case some guy is going to shoot it off. No doubt, Nissan is taking a great gamble but by really pushing the envelope they will differentiate themselves from the other car makers.
Ben Bowlby on why they picked Le Mans after rejection at IndyCar.
Why Le Mans?
When we presented the concept to the ACO, they said it was fantastic. It encapsulated the spirit of Le Mans and was exactly right for ‘Garage 56′, the place in the pitlane set aside for experimental vehicles. DeltaWing shows that ahead of hybrid, bio-fuel, or electric technology we can explore other ways to improve efficiency. It follows a tradition at Le Mans which has seen experimental cars run there before, notably the Rover-BRM gas turbine car (which ran three times from 1963-65). Like the Rover-BRM we have been granted to run the ‘0′ number, which is very significant.
What challenges will you face at Le Mans?
The real challenge is that we are bringing a completely new car to Le Mans. More than that, no supplier has race-proven components suitable for a car that weighs half as much as an LMP-1 car on the shelf. We’ve done everything to meet our weight targets and the concept of the vehicle, and that means that we don’t yet know for sure that every component will survive a 24 Hour race.