“the board said, ‘we want to be sure that we can win’ ”
Tech Spec Class: LMP1 Prototype
Weight: 900kg (inc 50kg ballast)
Monocoque: carbon fi bre composite design incorporating aluminium honeycomb core
Engine: fully stressed, turbocharged, 3.7-litre V6; 120 degree cylinder angle; four valves per cylinder; DOHC; single Garrett turbocharger; 1 x 47.5mm air restrictor; turbo boost pressure: 3.0bar absolute
Electrics: lithium ion battery, Bosch MS14
Engine lubrication: dry sump, Castrol oil
Power: above 397kW (540bhp)
Torque: above 900Nm
Transmission: rear-wheel drive; traction control Clutch: carbon fi bre
Gearbox: Xtrac six-speed sequential Suspension::
independent with double wishbones all round; pushrod with torsion bars; adjustable dampers
Brakes: hydraulic dual circuit; monobloc light alloy calipers; ventilated carbon fi bre discs front and rear
Wheels: front 14.75 x 18; rear 14.5 x 18
Tyres: Michelin radial, front 360/710-18; rear 370/710-18
Length: 4650mm Width: 2000mm Height: 1030mm Fuel cell capacity: 65 litres
for 2014. By then, a petrol hybrid engine is the most likely solution for the company, housed in another coupé body to increase aerodynamic effi ciency. For now, though, the new 908 is a safe
option, not a revolutionary car, though Peugeot says it has optimised every area of the old car it is based upon. The decision to stick with diesel was a given, as was the development of another coupé body shape, leaving the company able to draw on previous experience, rather than take Audi’s route of a completely new concept. ‘We stuck with diesel because we know diesel,’
said Peugeot’s technical director, Bruno Famin. ‘We started with a 100 per cent new car, but this Peugeot team has no experience of petrol engines. We would have to learn from zero – direct injection, all kinds of very sharp technologies – and it would have been a waste of time. Much better to capitalise on what we already knew.’ Although Audi says its V6 is better
equipped to deal with the performance balancing that will surely come within the next three years, Peugeot has opted for a 3.7-litre V8, saying that turbo boost pressure problems are limited to
engine capacity, and that both will be similarly affected when the restrictions come anyway. However, after two ILMC (Intercontinental Le Mans Cup) races, the ACO elected not to restrict the diesels, a decision that Famin fully supports: ‘We thought the balance was okay for everyone,’ he said. ‘There was no objective to change anything because there was nothing to say that the balance was not good. When you look at who was at Sebring, Le Castellet and Spa there are not enough facts. At Sebring, the HPD (Honda Performance Developments) car was very good. The cars
10
www.racecarengineering.com • August 2011 17
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