Acura = Alfa-Romeo = Alpina = Artega = Ascari = Aston-Martin = Audi = BMW = Bentley = Brabus = Bugatti = Buick = Cadillac = Caparo = Chevrolet = Chrysler = Citroen = Covini = Dacia = Daewoo = Daihatsu = Daimler = Devon = Dodge = Donkervoort = Farbio = Ferrari = Fiat = Fisker = Ford = GM = GMC = Gumpert = Holden = Honda = Hummer = Hyundai = Infiniti = Isuzu = Italdesign = Jaguar = Jeep = KTM = Kia = Koenigsegg = Lamborghini = Lancia = Land Rover = Leblanc = Lexus = Lincoln = Lobini = Lotus = MG = Mansory = Maserati = Maybach = Mazda = Mazel = McLaren = Mercedes-Benz = Mercury = Mindset = Mini = Mitsubishi = Morgan = Nismo = Nissan = Noble = ORCA = Oldsmobile = Opel = Peugeot = PGO = Pagani = Plymouth = Pontiac = Porsche = Renault = Rinspeed = Rolls-Royce = Rover = Saab = Saturn = Scion = Skoda = Smart = Spyker = SsangYong = Startech = Stola = Strosek = Suzuki = Torino = Subaru = Think = Toyota = Tramontana = Valmet = Vauxhall = Venturi = Volkswagen = Volvo = Wiesmann = Yes = Zagato = Zenvo.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Acura ILX Endurance Racer, 2013

 
 
 
  •  Acura ILX Endurance Racer, 2013

Developed and prepared by Team Honda Research-West, a competition version of the new 2013 Acura ILX will be unveiled the 2012 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, prior to making its competition debut at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race.

A pair of E1 class Acura ILX sedans, prepared to NASA U.S. Touring Car specs, will be entered for the traditional 25-hour endurance race that annually concludes the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) season at the challenging three-mile Thunderhill road course north of Sacramento, California.

Team Honda Research-West (THR-W) is primarily made up of Torrance, California-based associates from Honda R&D Americas, Inc., who work after-hours to showcase Honda and Acura products on the track. The team received a pair of new Acura ILX "body in white" bare chassis earlier this year from Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC, the exclusive global production source for the model. Additionally, a pair of "donor" cars from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. was used to provide suspension, powertrain, interior and electronic components.

Once the chassis and donor cars were delivered to the THR-W workshop, an extensive build program commenced that included the use of as many OEM components as possible, to retain serviceability and test outright durability of Acura's newest sedan. In preparing the cars for the grueling Thunderhill event, THR-W members focused their efforts less on performance modifications and more on reducing vehicle weight, to achieve the performance targets set by the team.

Safety equipment required by NASA included a full roll cage (designed by THR-W and built by Solo Motorsports); Bride Gardis III race seat; OMP competition steering wheel; Schroth safety harness; Brockway Engineering D Gauge digital OBD2 gauge; and Braille lightweight battery. Changes to the exterior included a Baja Designs LED lighting system for long winter night-running, a THR-W-designed front splitter and an APR GTC-200 rear spoiler.

Red Line oil lubricates the K24Z7 engine and 6-speed transmission. Cold air enters the engine through an AEM intake, while DEI heat rejection products help keep the heat under control from exhaust gases flowing through the custom-built AEM/120 Racing exhaust. H&R suspension and Enkei RPF1 wheels fitted with BF Goodrich R1 race tires complete the Acura ILX competition package.

Honda Performance Development (HPD), responsible for Honda racing programs ranging from entry-level categories to the IZOD IndyCar Series and World Endurance Championship, also contributed several racing-specific components to the ILX project. These included an HPD-lightened flywheel and racing clutch package, limited-slip differential, motor mounts, anti-roll bars and rear upper suspension control arms. All of these parts are available to racers through the HPD Honda Racing Line program.

The THR-W build team for the ILX includes a number of engineers and researchers from Honda R&D Americas (HRA). The team is headed by Project Leader Calvin Liu, a Design Engineer in the Surface Development Department. John Whiteman, Manager of the Advanced Product Planning Department, is responsible for race strategy and sponsorship. David Kirsch, Senior Engineer in the Information Technical Research Department, serves as Crew Chief and is responsible for the electrical system. Roy Richards, a coordinator in the Energy and Environmental Research Group, is responsible for budget and procurement of components for the team.

Once the initial build was complete, a testing program that included a pair of shakedown runs at Buttonwillow Raceway in southern California, followed by a more extensive run at Willow Springs International Raceway, was implemented to complete final preparations for Thunderhill.

The driving team for Thunderhill is headed by Matt Staal, Senior Planner, Advanced Product Planning, for HRA. Other members of the driver lineup include Project Leader Calvin Liu; Derek Ferretti, a Senior Modeler in the Styling Division at HRA; Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations at American Honda; Lee Niffenegger, a former SCCA National Champion and Senior Engineer in Business Development at HPD; Lawrence Hwang, Senior Stylist at HRA; Scott Nichol from Honda of Canada Manufacturing; Chad Gilsinger, a former SCCA National Champion and Senior Engineer at HRA in Ohio: and Brian Shanfeld, a former NASA National Champion, also from HRA in Ohio.

Zenvo ST1, 2010

 
 
 
  • Zenvo ST1, 2010

The Zenvo ST1 is designed to express the excessive power and performance of the car.

The design brief from the Zenvo creators to the designers at hermann & brandt design consultancy was to design a supercar that looked like no other supercar. The design had to be aggressive mixing supercar styling with race car elements.

The design of the Zenvo ST1 is made from free flowing accelerating lines creating the shape of the wheel arches, the roof line, side line and the lower side air intake. The sharp lines are connected by muscular organic surfacing creating dramatic reflections. Contrasting the general surfacing the design features a race car inspired lower carbon splitter.

The front of the Zenvo ST1 is designed around the hexagonal trademark Zenvo grille flanked by the large front air intakes used for brakes and engine cooling. The intakes are raked back to minimize drag and at the same time making the side impression of the car more compact.

The theme of the front is repeated in the rear which is designed around the big diffuser necessary for high speed stability. As on the front the center volume is flanked by large air exits extracting hot engine air as well as housing the exhaust and rear lights.

The rear spoiler mandatory for a car capable of extreme high speeds is partly integrated in the rear wing. It has a unique aerodynamic design following the raked shape of the rear end.

Technical Specifications

    * Max. power: 1104 hp (810 kW) at 6900 rpm
    * Max. torque: 1430Nm at 4500 rpm
    * Top speed: 375 km/h (electronically controlled)
    * Acceleration 0-100 km/h: 3.0 s
    * Dimension
          o Overall length: 4665 mm
          o Overall width, without mirrors: 2041 mm
          o Overall height: 1198 mm
          o Wheelbase: 3055 mm
          o Weight: 1376 kg
          o Headroom front: 1002 mm
          o Legroom front: 1104 mm
          o Shoulderroom front: 1398 mm
          o Cargo volume: 130 l
          o Fuel tank volume: 69 l
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