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DeltaWing to develop GT race car concept; step toward street-legal DeltaWing sports car

DeltaWing Technology Group is beginning development of a DeltaWing GT race car concept. The racer will be designed to demonstrate that with far less horsepower than many of today’s best sports cars, a two-seat performance car based on the DeltaWing architecture would deliver the same performance, yet with previously unattained fuel economy and efficiency. Expected to appear in 2015, this new DeltaWing Racing Cars project is a major step toward a street-legal two-seat DeltaWing sports car, the company said.

In Mat 2014, DeltaWing released a rendering of an application of its DeltaWing aerodynamic and lightweight design architecture as a street-legal, four-passenger car. DeltaWing Technologies said at the time that it was seeking OEM partners with the ultimate goal of licensing the DeltaWing vehicle architecture that is 35% lighter, requires 35% less horsepower, and consumes 35% less fuel. (Earlier post.)

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DeltaWing GT concept race car chassis. Click to enlarge.

The four cornerstones of the DeltaWing approach are reduced weight, increased powertrain efficiency, decreased energy consumption, and improved aerodynamics.

Brian Willis, DeltaWing Technologies’ newly appointed vice president, Engineering and Design, will lead this project. He also will lead the simultaneous and related project of the development of two- and four-seat DeltaWing road car prototypes for further development and real-world testing.

During his career, Willis has been a senior designer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd.; director of engineering for Élan Technologies’ motorsports division; chief engineer for Panoz Motorsport;, and technical director for Audi Sport Japan, winners of the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Team Goh Audi R8. Most recently, he was director of technical services for Multimatic Inc. in Canada.

The DeltaWing project’s roots are in racing, but the program has remained focused on its raceway-to-driveway mission and has proven the architecture’s performance, efficiency and green technology through the original DeltaWing Roadster and the Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars DWC13 Coupe. The coupe competes with about half the weight and aerodynamic drag, half the horsepower, and half the fuel consumption while delivering the same performance.

The DeltaWing design in the prototype roadster and coupe features a very narrow front track and conventional rear wheelbase. The result is a significant reduction in overall mass and weight coupled with an aerodynamic efficiency gain.

The rear-engine layout and narrow track design provides a 30:70 front-to-rear weight distribution, which allows engineers to use much smaller steering, braking, suspension, and other components up front to reduce overall mass and weight. Less mass and weight means less horsepower is needed to propel the vehicle, which in turn decreases fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Other benefits include reduced front tire and brake wear and less rolling resistance.

Comments

GdB

An interesting and worthwhile concept to explore in chassis design. Seems combining with all electric power would maximize the advantage. Otherwise go the koenigsegg regera route.

I would like to see a comparison of this concept versus the opposite layout like the t-rex motorcycle.

Brent Jatko

I think the "two wheels in front, one in the back" layout, similar to the T-Rex or the Morgan Trike, is more stable. But the DeltaWing might have some aero advantages, and electronics could help with stability issues.

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