Nissan DeltaWing - Now There's Something You Don't See Every Day... by Kwicko

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Nissan DeltaWing - Now There's Something You Don't See Every Day...

POSTED BY: KWICKO
UPDATED: Sunday, June 3, 2012 15:56
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Sunday, June 3, 2012 9:48 AM

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Radical new racecar set to take on the 24 Hours of LeMans this year.

http://www.deltawingracing.com/

1.6 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder diesel engine, 5 speed transmission, 300hp - yes, ONLY three hundred horses for a racecar. They're betting it will be fast enough and efficient enough to finish ahead of the rest.

Oh, and it only weighs 575kg (1265 pounds).

I can't call it pretty, but it sure will be interesting to see how it performs against the big boys from Audi and Toyota, among others.

Oh, and one of the drivers got his break into the big leagues of racing by winning a video game. Shades of The Last Starfighter - Gran Turismo puts on their "GT Academy" each year, and drivers from around the world compete to get a shot at a real racing gig. Lucas Ordoñez won the inaugural event and has had good results in real race cars since then!

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero

"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 10:47 AM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

Wowwwwha? I guess when you think of it the physics of racing games is/are pretty sophisticated - they could make it so there was a completely enclosed cockpit with a video screen for the "driver" with cameras outside with a computer graphics filter to simulate a game even further - give him a controller and he'd not know the difference other than the smell of jet fuel. That would make a pretty good commercial for xbox actually.
Question: Doesn't that narrow front end make you wonder about cornering stability and traction?

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 11:30 AM

WHOZIT

It looks like it would be more at home at the Daytona Super Speedway then a road course.

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 11:41 AM

KWICKO

Yeah, the guys at the top in the GT Academy are generally using wheel-n-pedal controls and race seat setups. I've gotten into the top 1000 with my little PS3 DualShock controller, but the difference between the times for number 1000 and number 1 are sometimes ten seconds per lap or so, and I don't think a fancy control setup is really going to help me THAT much. :)

Gran Turismo has enough realism in its physics that I used to use it to try out suspension tuning ideas for my actual race car, and it was surprisingly close.

As to the DeltaWing racer, they seem to have the stability worked out; most of the downforce and aerodynamic loading are shifted to the rear (more traction for the drive wheels), while having two narrow front wheels gives more stability than a single wide wheel would.

What they're going for is that fine line between having enough downforce for the corners, and having too much downforce (which is also aerodynamic drag) for the straightaways. A Formula 1 car, for example, might generate over 4000 pounds of downforce at speed, while weighing only around 1320 pounds. As such, it creates so much downforce that at 100mph, it could drive across your ceiling! The downside is, that also creates one hell of a lot of drag, pushing all that air around. The DeltaWing is aimed at finding new levels of efficiency by punching a smaller hole in the air to start with, and by not trying to use all that air to mash the car into the ground.

I have my doubts that the car will even finish the race. LeMans is brutal, and the DeltaWing hasn't had much of a shakedown period. Generally, if you're going to LeMans, you start out at Sebring and Daytona, with races of 12 and 24 hours, respectively, and then move on to the monster 24-hour race at Le Sarthe (a.k.a., LeMans). Along the way, there are usually other shorter (2 hours or so) races that are run, so you can find weaknesses in the car or its systems and get them sorted before the biggest race in the world.

The DeltaWing has had some testing, but really doesn't have any race results that I can find. As such, it will be starting the event as basically a pure prototype. I hope I'm wrong, and it not only finishes, but finishes strong; it would herald a big shift in racing technology if it does.

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero

"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 11:42 AM

WHOZIT

Holy Crap! I just noticed it has headlights on it's rear fenders

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 11:55 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Reminds me of what might be a Bat Mobile.

" We're all just folk. " - Mal

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 12:46 PM

KWICKO

I still can't help thinking of Clarkson and the Reliant Robin when I see the DeltaWing, though...

Video of DeltaWing during testing at Sebring. It seems to handle quite better than a Reliant Robin.

Oh, and top speeds of around 235mph. Yowza!

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero

"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Sunday, June 3, 2012 3:56 PM

FREMDFIRMA

*snicker*

Dear me, I wonder what they'd make of MY videogame driving them - prolly call out the men in white coats to have me locked up!
There's just something hilarious about watching a couple cars doing the by-the-book in-out nascar turn on the inside line as my massive heap of mopar-madness goes flying past three-quarter sideways, with the rear tires howling out a cloud of smoke and slicing through to the inside straight-a-way with the hammer down and a quick shake of the tail lights, shuffling the weight balance to the rear as the hammer comes down and dips the back end for that deep dig and vault down the line which is just... just... meh heh hewhahahaHAHAHAHAHHAHA
*cue maniacal cackle*
ahem, uh, yeah, there's REASONS why it's prolly a good thing I dun actually own a muscle car.

-Frem

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