Red Bull revealed the first pictures of the RB10 F1 car. And it seems that they went the same route as Toro Rosso and Williams. It's a little bit worrying because if Red Bull did, there's a good chance it's going to be the right way to go. At least they did their best to hide the malformation..
The teams seem to be working hard to hide the secret parts of their new F1 cars but that did not stop some curious photographers from getting closer shots of Red Bull's mysterious little air vent. It could be not that mysterious... But our passion for this sport makes us thirsty for details!
Could it be the key element of the new RB8's design? Adrian Newey admitted that last year, they built their car around the exhaust position. This year, with the blown diffuser solution banned, the world champions might want to find another trick that'll make their car the fastest on the grid.
Last week we could see the first leaked pictures of the much anticipated X1 Prototype for the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 racing simulation. Now Polyphony Digital have released a full set of pictures, a video of the car lapping the Nürburgring Gran Prix Circuit as well as the full technical specifications.
Design
The X1 Prototype is simply a design master piece. It's a cross between a jet fighter and a formula 1 car but it has its very own personality. It has a very smooth body designed for maximum aerodynamic effciency. And best of all, it has been imagined by master aerodynamic engineer and Red Bull Racing's chief technical officer, Adrian Newey which means in real life it would be winning races...
Performance
With a wet weight of 615 Kg and a twin turbocharged 3.0L V6 producing 1483 Hp the X1 prototype can theorically achieve a 0 to 96 km/h (60 mph) time of 1.4 seconds, with the 193 Km/h (120 mph) mark coming right after another 1.4 sconds and by the time a Camaro V6 reaches 60 mph in nearly 6.1 seconds, the X1 protype would already be at 320 km/h (200 mph). At that speed, the car is capable of achieving as much as 960 kilograms of down force. This allows the X1 to corner at unbelievably high speeds and virtually achieve a lap time of 1 minute 4 seconds in the Nürburgring Gran Prix circuit! To see Sebastian Vettel perform this astonishing lap, watch the video below.
Can they really make it?
Adrian Newey says yes. In fact, he describes the X1 as an evolution,"..delivering the optimum combination of tested technologies in a single integrated design." And that's because most of the elements included in this car have already been tested on protypes or race cars in the past. Technologies like the famous "Fan Car" which sucks the air flow beneath the car body to reduce its pressure and generate massive amounts of downforce, ride height suspension, variable transmission as well as active aero parts already exist or have existed on several race cars and even road cars.
Will it be as fast in real life?
If they can achieve 1483 Hp out of a direct injected twin turbo 3.0L V6 engine, then i don't see why a 615 Kg car propelled by such an engine woudln't go like a rocket!
Will it be drivable in real life?
You certainly need too much talent to drive an F1 car like Sebastian Vettel. But this car is so fast that it has reached the limit of what a human being body can take. If you are piloting a jet fighter at thousands of meters of altitude, it might not be a big deal to turn a second later. But if you do it on a track on the wheels of the X1 prototype, you'd be hitting the wall at 400 Km/h... Would you drive it?
With its outrageous styling and its particular lines, the GT by Citroën is one of its kind. But the fact that it was so unique, so futuristic, so unusual, didn't stop its designer Takumi Yamamoto from pushing the boundaries of his imagination even further by designing a race spec version. And it looks absolutely ferocious! The interior of the car had a similar treatment from the Polyphony Digital Team which wanted it to look like a modern jet fighter interior. Mission accomplished.
How about four of these on the Circuit de La Sarthe by night?
And that's not all. Polyphony digital was cooking something else for you, and it's called the X1 Prototype. Designed by none other than Formula One's current best designer, Mr Adrian Newey, the philosophy of this car is to go beyond restrictions and regulations. It's about creating a race car with no power nor aerodynamic restrictions. It's about creating the fastest, best handling machine while still obeying the laws of physics. To get a first glimpse of this car, check out the video below.
My favourite quotes about this car are:
"..the X1 is something new, created from a ‘what-if’ dream." - Kazunori Yamauchi
“This is the inspiration that brought Red Bull Racing and Polyphony together. And as a result the X1 Prototype is dynamite to drive.” - Adrian Newey
Here are some teasers..
On his first virtual lap with the X1 Prototype, Sebastian Vettel managed to beat Kimi Raikkonen's 2005 lap record by 20 seconds! This is without a doubt going to be one of the most extreme driving experiences that we have ever tried on a racing simulation.
This actually is the Red Bull Racing factory autoclave (and not a wind tunnel)
In my latest post, i was evoking the possibility that a wind tunnel could be integrated in Gran Turismo 5. It's obvious that i was being too optimistic. Nevertheless i still believe in such a wild idea, knowing that Kazunori Yamauchi the game's creator is always looking to reproduce every aspect of the racing world in the game. I don't have an idea about the proportions and the doability of such a project though.
The thing is, at a certain point of my post i was mentionning the presence of a wind tunnel in the video which was totally wrong because thanks to a very kind reader, now we know that the device featured in none other than the autoclave. So to avoid people's misinformation, i choose to write this clarification post.
An autoclave is basically a very big oven used during two stages of carbon fiber parts manufacturing: "de-bulk" and "cure".
- de-bulk: operated at lower temperatures, "which get the resin to the point where it flows and compacts the material down in the mould". - cure: "The cure is the process during which the carbon-fibre acquires its strength and stiffness".
Statements by: Colin Watts, Composites Manager. [source: F1technical]
The more popular wind tunnel is used to improve and analyse the car's aerodynamic properties. You can watch these two videos to campare the two processes.
In this video: the Red Bull Racing's factory autoclave
In this video: the Red Bull Racing's factory wind tunnel
Goind back to Gran Turismo 5, i found this interesting statement in the Red Bull Racing site:
"In this version, gamers will get the chance drive the Nordschleife, try out the Top Gear test track and unlock a special car which... well, let's just say Adrian Newey is involved as is Sebastian Vettel and they both met the game's designer Kazunori Yamauchi in Milton Keynes earlier this year."
This really strengthens the possibility of integrating the Red Bull F1 car in the game.
Thanks for "Anonymous" and JvM from GTplanet. (or maybe the same person)
[source: Red Bull Racing] ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
