AER V8 Turbo for Dyson's New Lola's in 2006

[19dodge]

Story Here

Makes sense that they stick with AER..

[cmk]

I know nothing was decided for quite some time, but I have to admit that the smart money always seemed to be pointing this way. Good to see this engine with Dyson (and Intersport) though.

[Bentley03]

Despite the reported uncertainty about Dyson power in 2006, I think this is the decision we all expected. It sounds like this engine is going to be a cracker, and hopefully may encourage the team to make a visit to France next June!! The next question is open top or closed top........

[Graham Goodwin]

Open - definitely

[SALEEN S7R]

Good news, albeit expected. Would be nice to see Dyson at Le Mans next year I have to admit, but the team dont seem interested in running at Le Mans for whatever reason. Shame, because IMO they would defintely be one of the front runners and possibly a potential podium finisher.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

Open - definitely

Thanks Graham.

OT: To the best of your knowledge, do Lola have any closed top LMP1's on order?

[The Badger]

There was talk of a closed top Lola , Riley and Dome . There was a lot of potential customer interest in a possible Bentley if it had been available . I dont really understand why nobody has put in an order yet for a closed proto . I thought it was a very favourable solution .

Why ?

[Graham Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

Thanks Graham.

OT: To the best of your knowledge, do Lola have any closed top LMP1's on order?

None that I know of

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Good news, albeit expected. Would be nice to see Dyson at Le Mans next year I have to admit, but the team dont seem interested in running at Le Mans for whatever reason. Shame, because IMO they would defintely be one of the front runners and possibly a potential podium finisher.

That's probably just it - they may not want to be "potential podium finishers" - they want to be winners...

[billnchristy]

Can't wait to see the cars and how this new lump performs...could make for a very interesting year.

[TWK]

Originally Posted by The Badger

There was talk of a closed top Lola , Riley and Dome . There was a lot of potential customer interest in a possible Bentley if it had been available . I dont really understand why nobody has put in an order yet for a closed proto . I thought it was a very favourable solution .

Why ?

Because it's not a very favorable solution?

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by TWK

Because it's not a very favorable solution?

When I spoke with Bill Riley in May he seemed to think the opposite. That a closed top car could have a potential advantage, especially at Le Mans.

[TWK]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

When I spoke with Bill Riley in May he seemed to think the opposite. That a closed top car could have a potential advantage, especially at Le Mans.

Key words, Mike: "could have potential" and "at Le Mans".

Think US tracks, and think a team with that as their primary interest. You're the aero expert, but there is a reason for the lack of closed top LMP cars, of course.

[MulsanneMike]

Well Bill didn't say potentially equal...a potential advantage, especially at Le Mans...

And recall Elleray's answer to my inquiry:

MC: Now that open top cars are mandated to run symmetrical roll over structures, do closed top cars look any more attractive than they did under the old regulations? What are the benefits of running a closed top sports car as compared to an open top car? What are the drawbacks?

PE: I think that the regulations do make the coupe attractive. There were some fairly subtle problems in producing a competitive one that were written into the old regulations and those have all gone. Against that the coupe has lost its theoretical power advantage. That is significant at Le Mans but needs to be looked at carefully – the ability of the older style coupe to get its power down entering the straights was just as important and the new regulations have probably helped it in this area.

The problems with running one are mainly practical. If it’s hot and more particularly humid then it’s a sod to cool the cockpit, and if its wet then the last thing you want the driver to do is switch on the windscreen wiper. We went through hell trying to sort those things out on the Bentley – as well as stopping the inside of the screen misting up. We were more or less there by 2003, but of course the race was dry and it wasn’t particularly hot. The driver change used to be an issue as well but that was more a case of restructuring the sequence of events and again we had that buttoned up so that it was taking less time than refueling in 2003.

There also used to be the worry about extracting an injured driver from one. The new regs have partially addressed that.

Benefits – well, as I have said the older style coupe had a pretty good drag figure, and even if the newer one is not quite at that level it should be possible to produce a pretty efficient car. At Le Mans that counts for an awful lot.

And finally, Le Mans isn't necssarily all about low drag, low downforce, recall Bill Riley, this time talking about the MkIIIC but his comments re: Le Mans are still relevant:

Is there going to be a Le Mans spec?

The car is not far from Lemans spec. In 2000 I ran more downforce (and drag) at Lemans than I ran at Daytona. It has turned into a downforce track. There is no reason for this change. I think it is just evolution. Remember Lemans is never open for testing so the evolution of what package works the best is slower than at most tracks that are open for testing. To tune the car for Lemans you would remove the dive planes and lower the flap and wing.

So a car designed with Le Mans in mind isn't necessarily hopeless in the ALMS...one car in particular comes to mind...the Audi R8