Nissan Deltawing v2.1

Description

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The DeltaWing is a racing car designed by Ben Bowlby and debuted at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The entry was run under the Project 56 name, composed of Ben Bowlby (design), Dan Gurney’s All American Racers (constructor), Duncan Dayton’s Highcroft Racing (racing team) and International Motor Sports Association owner Don Panoz (managing partner). Nissan’s NISMO division provided the engine in return for naming rights for part of 2012.

The DeltaWing was designed to reduce aerodynamic drag dramatically, to allow a marginally faster straight and corner speed than a 2009-2011 Dallara IndyCar on both ovals and road/street courses with half as much weight, engine power and fuel consumption. As the name suggests, it has a delta wing shape, with an unusually narrow 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) front track and a more traditional 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in) rear track. The car lacks any front or rear wings, downforce comes from the underbody. In 2012, the engine was a four-cylinder turbocharged direct injection 300 bhp unit assembled by Ray Mallock Engineering with largely Chevrolet parts. The model to run at Le Mans had a 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal) fuel tank, bespoke BBS 380 millimetres (15 in) wheels and Michelin tyres, a weight of 475 kilograms (1,047 lb), a power-to-weight ratio of 631 brake horsepower per ton, and a drag coefficient of 0.35.

The braking system weighs 13.2 kilograms (29.2 lb), about half the normal weight for a race car. Also unique compared to other race cars is that 72.5 percent of the mass and 76 percent of the downforce is at the rear. It has a moveable Gurney flap, normally not allowed but can be used by experimental vehicles.