Hamburg (dpa) – When Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and their rivals hurtle around the world’s racing circuits, the average motorist benefits twice over.
First of all, he or she enjoy an exciting race weekend on the television and secondly, Formula One really does improve the motoring breed overall as engineers try out new ideas and components on the most gruelling test tracks of all.
Not that the knowledge they gain is restricted to exotic models like Ferrari sports cars or the Mercedes SLR supercar scheduled for 2003. Many medium-range saloons and coupes incorporate elements that have been tried and tested on the track.
The latest example of technology transfer to public roads is the bodywork of German maker BMW’s research vehicle Z 22.
Like a Formula One car the bodywork of the Z 22 is made of carbon- fibre-reinforced plastic and according to the company based in Munich, the main benefit coms through the weight saving incurred.
Although the Z 22 is larger than the estate version of BMW’s 5 series saloon it only weighs as much as a typical compact car. There are still a few hurdles to be taken before series production can get under way but the company is confident that the “BMW light” can go on sale in 2005.
Ceramic brakes are already an option. According to the developers, they are far superior to the traditional cast metal types used on most production cars. They weigh less, are stronger and also last longer.
Unfortunately they are difficult to manufacture and the enormous development costs has limited their use to racing only. Now for the first time Porsche is offering ceramic brakes on the 911 Turbo and Mercedes in the tuned CL 55 AMG model.
The option costs around 10,000 marks but within a space of a few years Mercedes believes that customers will be able to order all its top of the range models with ceramic stopping power.
The Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed is another example of track technology hitting the road. Company spokesman Joerg Walz in Frankfurt enthuses about this car’s pre-selector automatic gearbox operated from two switches on the steering wheel a la Formula One.
Audi customers also benefit from competition experience. The firm is not active in Formula One but without the rally successes of Walter Roehrl the famous Quattro four-wheel drive system pioneered by the firm would probably have never found its way into the showrooms.
Audi’s victory at this year’s Le Mans 24-hour race also had a knock-on effect. The firm was able to carry out exhaustive material fatigue tests impossible using standard cars on legal roads.
The performance of the new BMW M3 has been honed using knowledge gained in Formula One. The engine developes 343 horsepower without employing a supercharger or turbocharging device.
Engineers opted instead for high revolutions, which according to Gerhard Richter, chief developer at BMW M GmbH tuning division, means using technology adapted from the racing cars driven by Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button.
The component industry uses data from the pit lane for its own advanced product series.
Suspension expert Sachs has tried out a number of experimental products on Schumacher’s Formula One cars.
Admittedly it will probably be at least 10 years before the average motorist could afford to have titanium shock absorbers fitted but competition allows the development department to carry out extensive field trials with the exotic metal.
Aluminium bodywork used to be the preserve of racing cars and a handful of high performance sports models but over the last 10 to 15 years such lightweight construction has made from the track to the road.
Sachs believes too that carbon-fibre clutches – currently only used in competition – will also find their way soon into production cars.
Another example of the way racing technology can improve standard products is shown by oil giants Shell who supply the fuel for Schumacher’s Ferrari. Spokesman Lars-Olaf Brendel points out that scientists regularly examine used oil from the racing engines.
The microscopic metal particles they find can provide valuable data on wear and tear and sophisticated analysis can indicate the future life of a power unit.
Buyers of secondhand cars may soon be able to profit from such knowledge by taking a car they are interested in buying to an oil test station and obtaining reliable information on how long the engine is likely to provide reliable service.
