ASTON MARTIN - AMR-ONE W
hen Aston Martin Racing (AMR) was given the green light for the
AMR-ONE programme one of the major issues it faced was what kind of powertrain to install. The choice of an in-line six harks back to the famous Bentley-designed Lagonda six fitted in modified version to the Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1. However, in the modern era, such an engine layout is rare, especially in turbocharged form. This choice has put Aston Martin’s engineers in the firing line for a lot of criticism. David Richards reveals that he thinks much of it should be taken with a pinch of salt. The teams that are questioning the layout are both diesel teams,’ he said. ‘If you are trying to argue the case, that the equivalency is right, you would say ‘if they used a proper petrol engine then they would get equal performance but because they use a crap design that’s why they are not equal to us.’ It is a very political answer. Even the ACO said that if we used a proper engine we would have more power. We told them that is completely wrong, and that they should show us the science that tells them that.’ To show us the science, AMR’s engine boss Jason Hill explains the 6-cylinder engine design concept. ‘What people need to
understand with this engine is that when we talk about development problems, we need to make clear that the engine does not suffer from any sort of epidemic. We are doing a completely new engine, from a clean sheet of paper. We started running it in January and, when you look at our competitors, they have a clear process of six months from when the engine is run to when it goes in a car. We had to have ours in the car in February. Believe me when I say that the guys running round with four rings on their car would have the same problems, but they do it behind closed doors… we are doing ours on track.’
SIX OF THE BEST When AMR announced that its new LMP1 contender would be powered by a small capacity, straight six engine, there were more than a few raised
The doubters were quick to criticise AMR’s choice of a turbocharged in-line six, but the company are convinced of its worth, stating that individual cylinder loads are lower than with a four cylinder, and its installed height is lower, too
eyebrows. It has been several decades since such an engine configuration appeared in racing, and is a major departure from the large capacity, naturally aspirated V12 of the DBR9, and later the Lola Aston Martin powered by a modified version of the same engine, featuring direct fuel injection. However, the selection of such an unusual configuration is not as strange as it might first appear, as Hill explained: ‘There are several key reasons for opting to go with the straight six. Predominantly, you cannot look at the engine in isolation, you need to look at the complete package. In terms of establishing the architecture, you have to look at the peak cylinder loads and peak bearing loads. If you need larger bearings then this will affect the installation height of the engine and the overall packaging. So you have to ask what the advantages of a four over a six really are. Okay, it is shorter, but the car is 5m long so you are going to end up with a space behind the engine. Though the six is longer, the installation height is reduced and the individual cylinder loads are decreased. The only area [where the four has an advantage] is friction but, if you do the work, there is not much in it between
A single turbocharger configuration was chosen, but early tests with an inboard location caused problems with heat management and power potential, so an outboard location was run at Le Mans. The team are currently working on a new iteration of the system
the two configurations.’ With the engine layout decided, Aston Martin had a short time to design and build the new engine. Although initial plans were laid out for factors such as crankshaft geometry and general architecture in 2009, no real design work could be completed
until the project was confirmed in 2010. The first engine then ran on the dyno in January 2011.
DIRECT INJECTION The intention was always to run with a direct injection system, and AMR opted to utilise Bosch Motorsport’s customer system,
Le Mans •
www.racecar-engineering.com
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