Part 2 - The Car
Dimensions
The A1 car's overall length is 4833mm, with a long wheelbase of 3000mm. A wide track of 1468 mm (front) and 1476 mm (rear) gives excellent cornering stability.
The car's overall height can be adjusted and changed depending on track conditions and driver preferences.
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[b]Specification[/b]
Wheelbase: 3000mm
Weight: Approx. 600 Kg ready to run (minus fuel and driver)
Front & Rear Suspension:
Double wishbone, pushrod operated twin coil over damper
Adjustable ride height, cambers and Toe.
Adjustable anti-dive and anti squat to optimise drive control
Anti Roll Bar: Quick change front and rear roll bars
Chassis: Carbon fibre skins, aluminium honeycomb core
Tested to meet all applicable crash safety standards
FIA approved side intrusion panels
Bodywork: Light weight Composite pre-preg bodywork
Gearbox: 6-speed transverse sequential Gear selection via a paddle shift system
Drive Line: Tripod jointed driveshafts
Brake: Manufacture TBA
Brake Discs & Pads:
Steel Discs, Carbon pads
Dampers: Installed Length 300mm
Wheels: Front 18" dia x 11"<br>Rear 18" dia x 13.5"
Steering: Jack Knight Developments Ltd fixed centre drop 8 tooth pinion 14dp
Steering Wheel: Sparco, 280mm diameter, with mounted Dash
Instrumentation & Display:
Steering wheel mounted Dash
Multi channel logging facility for engineering analyse
Seat Belt: Seat Belt 6 point harness
Fuel Cell: Cell approximately 135 Litres capacity
Clutch: AP 3-plate carbon/carbon, aluminium or steel hub
Tyres: Control Slick and treaded wet tyres
Chassis
The chassis can literally make or break a racing car, and the A1 Car boasts one of the very best.
Made and designed by Lola International, the A1 Car has a carbon fibre skin which cloaks a core made of aluminium honeycomb.
Based on bionic engineering principles found in nature, the hexagonal honeycomb gives remarkable strength for its weight, and has progressive deformation properties when experiencing an impact.
The aluminium honeycomb core works exceptionally well in racing cars. Combined with the carbon skin it gives a one-piece safety cell 'tub' which displays incredibly torsional rigidity (resistance against twisting).
Driver protection is ensured with FIA-approved side intrusion panels which protect from lateral impacts.
Engine
The heart of every racing car is undoubtedly its engine. The sound of a racing engine revving at full load is enough to make the hairs on the back of any racing fan's neck rise. When the engine wails, the discerning ear can tell how many cylinders the car has and eight-cylinder V-formation engines have been the favourite of drivers and engineers for years.
The all-new A1 Engine, code-named ZA1348, was developed specifically for the A1 Car by the team at Zytek Engineering.
A 3.4-litre V8 unit developing 520 bhp (550 bhp in PowerBoost mode), Zytek used its considerable expertise in theoretical analysis and practical experience to design the unit. It's got advanced electronic fuel injection, quad cams and four valves per cylinder to ensure exceptional fuel delivery even under high lateral g-forces.
Each A1 Engine will be powerful, flexible and durable - the engine block will last all season. Made of aluminium alloy, the engine block and head deliver the performance of a heavyweight in a flyweight package.
Despite its immense power the new engine weighs only 120kg - making the A1 Engine one of the lightest 3.4-litre racing engines ever made.
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[b]Technical Specifications:[/b]
Engine Type: ZA1348
Configuration: 90 degree V8
Displacement: 3400cc
Width: 619mm
Height: 542mm
Length: 543mm
Weight: 120kg
Cylinder Block: Sand Cast Aluminium Alloy
Cylinder Head: Sand Cast Aluminium Alloy
Valve Train: 4 Overhead Camshafts 4 Valves per Cylinder
Engine Management: Zytek EMS 4.6.1
Ignition: Zytek DCDI with coil over plug
Spark Plugs: NGK
Fuel: 100 Octane Racing
Max Torque: 330lbs ft - 442Nm
Max Power: 520 bhp - 387kW - (550 bhp - 410 kw with power boost button)
Bodywork
The unique A1 Car is built on a base of deliberately equalised technology. In itself, this would make the car distinctive. But extensive testing and thought has clothed it in a body of bold flowing lines and sophisticated aggression. Inspired by the distinctive shapes of the shark and stingray, it's unlike anything in world motorsport.
Good aerodynamics are crucial to the success of any racing car, and the A1 Grand Prix car has been specifically designed to excel in this area. Inspired by Sheikh Maktoum's vision of exciting-looking vehicles, the A1 Grand Prix car not only looks great, but is aerodynamically efficient.
Traditionally, cars with high downforce create a large volume of 'dirty' air behind them - meaning that cars following and trying to pass lose downforce, become difficult to drive and therefore have to drop back. This often leads to processional racing with little passing.
The A1 car has been specifically designed to create a very small pocket of dirty air behind it so that cars behind can get closer, allowing more chances to overtake. Additionally, the front wing has been designed to work particularly efficiently in close proximity to the car in front.
The bodywork was honed by experts at Lola International using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) before spending hundreds of hours in their on-site state-of-the-art windtunnel to give the best balance of two apparently disparate needs: high levels of downforce and close racing. The sidepods, engine cover and front and rear wings were all developed this way to give a striking, efficient design that allows close, exciting races.
The remainder of the bodywork is made of pre-impregnated carbon fibre composites. 'Pre-preg' gives better consistency and higher quality than hand-laid composites, giving greater strength, uniformity in the application of epoxy resin, and no weak spots. Pre-preg also means that a very specific amount of resin can be used, reducing weight.
Carbon fibre is 'laid up' into a mould, before being vacuum packed into special bags and 'cured' in an autoclave - effectively a giant high-pressure oven that turns the pre-preg from flexible, malleable material to very strong, stiff, light bodywork.
Carbon fibre is some four times lighter than steel, with the same strength. Or, put another way, 10 kilograms of carbon fibre is four times stronger than 10 kilograms of steel - making it the ideal material for A1 cars.
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