Daily Archives: March 31, 2012

When Audi contests the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year with a pair of R18 e-tron quattro… 1

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged chrysler chryslerpatriot flywheelhybrid Google+ on by (updated 4608 days ago)

When Audi contests the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year with a pair of R18 e-tron quattro hybrids with electro-mechanical flywheels, they will be the first to use that configuration in the classic endurance race.

While Audi will be the first to actually race at Le Mans, they aren't the first to try. Sixteen years before Williams first ran this system in its 2009 F1 car, +Chrysler Group LLC showed off a race car concept based around a flywheel powered hybrid.

The Patriot was shown as a concept in 1993 and it was hoped to run it at Le Mans in 1995. The chassis was designed by Reynard to the then-current World Sports Car rules but the powertrain was completely unique. Primary power came from a two-stage turbine driving a pair of alternators. The turbine was fueled by liquified natural gas. The electricity from the alternators was to feed a 500 hp AC induction traction motor.

Turbines have several advantages including being able to run on almost anything that will burn and producing a lot of power from a very small package. Unfortunately they aren't very good at transient response; that is handling sudden changes in output which is important on a race track where you spend a lot of time braking and accelerating.

That's where the flywheel comes in. Under braking, the motor would spin up the flywheel and then during acceleration the flywheel drive the alternators to generate a burst of electricity for accelerating.

While Williams and Porsche and have demonstrated the viability of using a flywheel hybrid in racing over the last 3 years, Chrysler was ahead of its time. During testing at Chrysler's tech center, flywheel failures destroyed several test cells and there were numerous other problems. By 1994, the project had been cancelled without ever running the completed powertrain in the Reynard chassis. The original concept now sits in the Walter P Chrysler museum in Auburn Hills MI.

As they say, timing is everything.

#chrysler #chryslerpatriot #flywheelhybrid

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Way back in July 1987 legendary rally driver Walter Röhrl strapped into the 600…

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Way back in July 1987 legendary rally driver Walter Röhrl strapped into the 600 hp +Audi USA Quattro Sport S1 at the bottom of the 14 mile Pikes Peak hill climb course in Colorado. 10 minutes and 48 seconds after crossing the start line, Röhrl had set an all-time record for traversing the course.

At the time, the entire course was still comprised of dirt and gravel. In the subsequent years, the road to the sky was gradually paved, a project that was completed prior to the 2011 race. That means that Röhrl's record will stand forever.

This July to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Röhrl's record run, Audi will be bringing him and the car back to Colorado to run the course again.

While I wasn't in Colorado in 1987, I did see the record-setting Quattro in April 2008. I was on a trip to Germany with Audi to drive the then-new A4 Avant and one of our stops was at company headquarters in Ingolstadt. In a remote corner of the sprawling Audi complex was a non-descript 6-story building known as Audi Tradition.

Over near the main factory, Audi has its Forum where customers come to eat gourmet meals and pick up their new cars. A small selection of historic Audi vehicles including race cars and concepts are usually on display in the museum area of the Forum.

However, much of the really cool stuff is in the Tradition building which like GM's Heritage Center is not open to the public. Stashed in this building are several hundred Audi, Auto Union, Horch, DKW and NSU cars and motorcycles that span Audi's 100+ year history.

On the second (or maybe it was the third floor) was a certain white Quattro Sport S1, the very same machine that Röhrl took to the record. When we saw the Quattro the turbocharged five-cylinder engine had been removed. We were told that the clutch in the car had failed and twenty years after it raced, the supplier was not in business and there were no replacement parts available. The support staff at Tradition were working on getting new parts manufactured and now it appears they succeeded.

Hopefully, Röhrl doesn't just cruise up the mountain this year and actually puts up a good show even though his run will just be an exhibition. It's always good to see a classic race car come back.

#audi #quattro #audiquattrosports1 #pikespeak #walterRöhrl

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