Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to car design, and Nissan isn’t taking any prisoners with their Deltawing racer.
According to Nissan, the concept behind the Deltawing is “to half the aerodynamic drag, half the power, half the mass, half the fuel consumption, and half the tire consumption [while] still achieving the performance of our competitors.”
To achieve these results Nissan’s designers teamed up with CRP Technology, a leader in motorsports additive manufacturing, to create race able parts for their car. Included in the list of parts that were created by 3D printing were the Delatwing’s brake inlets and ducting, air inlet ducting and filter enclosure, underbody extension flange and the gearbox side covers. Key to the integrity of these 3D printed parts was their material – Windform XT.
According to Zack Eakin, the Deltawing’s gearbox engineer, “Once we realized that we could use Windform XT as a race-able part at the elevated temperatures & pressures we run the gearbox oil at, it opened up a big possibility for us that would have been cost & time prohibitive otherwise.”
While initial race tests have seen multiple setbacks, the Deltawing team will work to perfect their designs and look forward to competing in 2013 American Le Mans series season.
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Image Courtesy of Racecar Engineering