RET127 Temp Digital

7 When the Hypercar regulations were announced at the end of last year it was envisaged that the permitted power curve would peak at 585 kW, but since then there has been a rethink to bring car performance in line with that of the next-generation of IMSA’s top category, to be known as LMDh. Replacing DPi, those cars are set to have a minimum weight of 1030 kg and maximum power unit output of 500 kW (including the use of a spec 50 kW ERS unit) so that figure (670 bhp) is now understood to be the peak of the LMH power curve. An LMH car will also have a minimum weight of 1030 kg, while its homologated aero package will have performance comparable to LMDh aero figures (tested under comparable conditions). However, where LMDh imposes a spec rear-wheel energy recovery and redeployment system, the LMH rules allow for 200 kW of the total permitted output to be applied through the front wheels via an ERS. Nevertheless, it is not compulsory for an LMH car to have four-wheel drive or even an ERS. Moreover, rather than being road-derived – as was the original plan – an LMH car can be purpose-designed. During the 2020 Le Mans race week – delayed until mid-September – TGRE confirmed that its four-wheel-drive Hypercar powertrain was undergoing dyno testing in Japan. Provisionally the Hypercar era will kick off with a WEC race at Sebring next March. Lining up to challenge Toyota next year are Glickenhaus and ByKolles, with no sign of Aston Martin or Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA). The Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar programme – using the naturally aspirated Cosworth V12, as described in RET 125 (Spring/ Summer 2020) – remains frozen on the basis of commercial consideration. In essence, Aston Martin planned to underwrite its Hypercar campaign with sales to customer teams, but the teams now have the option to challenge for outright wins via the LMDh route, which will be much more affordable. The Gordon Murray-designed McLaren F1 GTR supercar won Le Mans in 1995, and there was hope that GMA’s T.50 supercar would undertake a Le Mans programme. This, like the Valkyrie, uses a naturally aspirated Cosworth V12. However, compared with the Aston Martin unit, GMA’s is smaller in displacement, at 3.9 litres versus 6.5 litres, and thus runs to a higher crankshaft speed for a given output. It is stressed by Cosworth that the two engines do not share any common components. A key emphasis of the T.50 is minimising weight, and GMA has developed an 890 kg track-only version. Sadly, the minimum Hypercar weight of 1030 kg makes it impractical for the GMA machine to compete. It is a shame that neither it nor the Valkyrie are set to take Cosworth back on the road to Le Mans glory. Glickenhaus is developing a two-wheel-drive Hypercar that was originally intended to have an Alfa Romeo production-based 2.9 litre V6 twin turbo prepared by its regular engine developer Autotecnica Motori in Italy. However, Glickenhaus has no intention of using an ERS, and as Hypercar rules evolved, a planned increase from 500 to 585 kW gave rise to concern that the envisaged production-based engine would not provide the required power output with a sufficient margin of dependability. No matter that the target is now back at 500 kW, the intermediate target of 585 kW prompted Glickenhaus to engage Pipo Moteurs in France to produce a 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo as a pure race engine, t Toyota demonstrated its GR Super Sport concept at Le Mans this year Render of ByKolles’ 2021 Hypercar