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Since 2008, all cars have been powered by a 300bhp, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine but, as of 2012, this will be replaced by a 430bhp, 2.7-litre V8 unit


Composite front end panels replace steel ones and beneath is a removable tubular structure that supports a double wishbone front suspension


“a manufacturer only has to produce a car in South America”


With direct manufacturer competition costs started to spiral out of control, so a number of spec parts, such as brakes and suspension, were introduced.


Honda, Toyota, FIAT, Chevrolet, Peugeot and Renault, and with drivers such as former Renault test driver, Jose Maria Lopez, and Norberto Fontana, the standard of the series is high.


TIP OF THE ICEBERG In 2005, there were 10 manufacturers involved in the championship, and they took part in a race on the Rafaela oval circuit, the fi rst front-wheel drive Touring Cars to do so. The fastest outright speed recorded


was 280km/h, but the economic downturn hit the series soon after, as it did others around the world. However, costs were escalating out of control. In 2003, teams were building three or four different designs for the front hub alone in an effort to fi nd that competitive edge, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Until 2008, engine


regulations were similar to those of Super Touring engines up to 1999, but there needed


to be changes, so the series organisers introduced a spec engine – a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder unit built by Oreste Berta. The engines produce around 300bhp and development on them is banned. However, more recently, the organisers decided that this is not enough, and in 2012 will introduce a new engine formula – a spec 2.7-litre V8. This is to be provided by British company, Radical Performance Engines (RPE), who will supply 42 TCX V8s in a three-year deal.


V8 TECHNOLOGY The RPE TCX engine uses a 72 degree v angle and 32-valve, quad-cam, racing technology cylinder heads, mounted to a dedicated dry-sump crankcase, to develop 430bhp and up to 260ft.lbs of torque. A fl at plane, steel billet crankshaft transmits power to the gearbox, while a gear drive rotates the Formula 1-specifi cation scavenge pumps, twin oil supply pumps and coolant pump. RPE has constructed over 230 RP V8s since the engine’s


January 2012 • www.racecar-engineering.com 43


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