Posts Tagged ‘Le Mans Racer’

Peugeot to End Endurance Programme

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

It has just today been announced that Peugeot is to pull the plug on its Le Mans programme with immediate effect. This is a big surprise to all in the endurance racing field, particularly as Peugeot has achieved such great success as one of the front-running manufacturers.

They had been Audi’s main rival for many years now, and they had embarked upon running a series of variants of its diesel powered 908 prototypes in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the related sports car series since 2007. This of course was a fantastic way to develop certain diesel technologies, including diesel particulate filters.

The greatest achievement for Peugeot in the endurance programme was winning the momentous Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2009. Further success came last year when they won the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup title before the series then transformed into the World Endurance Championship this year.

In a statement from the French manufacturer, Peugeot have said: “This decision has been taken in the context of a difficult economic environment in Europe. Peugeot has chosen to concentrate resources on its sales performance in 2012.”

Peugeot’s decision to pull the plug is perhaps a rather justified one when considering the fact that car sales for the company have been plummeting.

Peugeot’s of old were never the prettiest cars it must be said, however, recently they have turned a corner with their design and development. The Peugeot RCZ, and the new 508, both look great and it indeed makes me wonder whether such developments have come from the great work Peugeot have been carrying out at Le Mans and within the sports car series.

However, having said that, with Peugeot now concentrating solely on their road vehicles, and with these great cars already there as a base to build upon, we can hopefully expect to see even better things fly off Peugeot’s design board and onto our roads. Hopefully this will also, therefore, lead to an increase in sales for the company, and maybe one day they will be able to make a very welcome and valiant return to sports car racing.

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Posted in Car Manufacturers, Diesel Particulate Filters | No Comments »

Toyota Reignite Le Mans Passion

Monday, October 17th, 2011

It has recently been announced that Toyota will make a welcome return to the world’s most famous endurance race. The 24 Hours of Le Mans next summer will see the Japanese car maker enter the top LMP1 class with a completely new machine.

The new team behind Toyota’s return to the spotlight will be based at Toyota Motorsport’s headquarters in Cologne and the new prototype is set to begin pre-season testing in early 2012. So far little to no detail has been provided with regard to the Le Mans contender; all we know is that it will be running a hybrid petrol powertrain.

The cars chassis will be developed by the Germany-based team whilst the engine will be built and engineered by the genius team of Toyota back in Japan. It is expected that the car will also compete in a number of other races next year.

The Toyota will face tough competition, especially from the hybrid turbo diesel powered machines of Peugeot and Audi. The Peugeot 908 and the Audi R18 TDI were the class of the field at Le Mans this year, with super efficient, reliable and powerful engines propelling them round the 8.5 mile circuit ahead of anyone else. Whether these cars even use every day diesel components, such as a diesel particulate filter that one would expect from their every day diesel powered road car, is something we cannot be sure about. However, we do know that more often than not, a successful racing car will mean that the technology used will trickle down into the road cars of the future.

That is most certainly the case with Toyota’s new venture, and Toyota’s Motorsport Chairman has said: “By using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new challenge. In addition, we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production car technology.” It’s certainly looking good for Toyota’s future road cars then!

Toyota, of course, has a rich history with Le Mans. The 1980s, and in particular the 1990s, saw great success for the Japanese company. The iconic and enormously fast GT-One of the 90s set a lap record around the Circuit de la Sarthe and Britain’s much loved F1 commentator and former racing driver, Martin Brundle, was lucky enough to race one.

The question now is: Will the car in front be a Toyota? With next year’s race fast approaching already, they do indeed aim to be back at the front of the sport competing for victory. Even if this is not quite possible at next year’s race however, just having them on the grid is sure to spice things up a notch!

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Posted in Diesel Particulate Filters, Hybrid Car, Racing | 1 Comment »

Aston Martin Produce A Le Mans Racer

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Aston Martin are all set to release a brand new technologically advanced racing vehicle, which is expected to go toe to toe with the diesel-powered beasts at Le Mans.

This new car was constructed by the expert team at Aston Martin Racing, who were keen on using a carbon fibre monocoque and an intriguing aerodynamic addition, called the ‘blade fin’.

The elegant AMR-One will bear the trademark livery of Gulf Oil International and will be powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged 6 cylinder direct injection petrol engine. It will generate somewhere in the region of 540bhp, making it significantly less powerful than the V12 vehicle which graced some of the world’s top tracks last year.

George Howard-Chappell, Aston Martin’s Racing Team Principal, said, ‘we have chosen to run with a six cylinder turbocharged engine because we believe this offers the best potential within the petrol engine regulations.’

‘With the ACO’s commitment to effectively balance the performance of petrol and diesel Le Mans entrants, our hopes are high that we’ll see the closest racing yet in the premiere LMP1 category.’

The vehicle has also been kitted out with an impressive sequential Xtrac gearbox. Handling is dealt with by the fabulous Brembo callipers and lightweight discs.

Aston Martin firmly believe that Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke, and an as yet unnamed motorist will produce their best performances in the top notch 007 car. Meanwhile Adrian Fernanandez, Andy Meyrick and Harold Primat will have the opportunity to prove their worth in the 009.

David Richards, Aston Martin Racing Chairman and founder of Prodrive, said, ‘George and the team have been extremely busy over the winter months and they have been working day and night to produce what is not only a stunningly beautiful race car but one which will use the new ACO regulations to best effect.

‘Just like the road cars, the AMR-One has been elegantly engineered where simplicity runs throughout to produce what we expect to be a competitive and reliable endurance racer.’

The 007 and 009 racers will now be put through their paces on numerous test tracks. Unfortunately motoring fans won’t be able to see the AMR-One at the first race at Sebring on 19th March 2011.
However, they can expect to hear the vehicle’s exhausts roaring into action during the later Petit Le Mans, Spa and Le Mans 24 hour races.

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Posted in Exhausts, Stainless Steel Exhausts | No Comments »