Photo: InMotion
If you haven’t heard of InMotion yet, you'll do from now now on, because they aim to grab current motorsport rivals and mop the floor with them, as their upcoming IM01 hybrid will be specifically built to break track records.
The IM01 is said to be the racecar of the future, capable of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and breaking the current Nurburgring lap record of 6 minutes 11 seconds 13 did by Stefan Bellof. The racecar is currently under development, with two teams of students from the Technical University of Eindhoven and the Fontys University of Applied Sciences hardly working to make it happen.
They hope to have the car ready before the end of 2015, test it and enter Le Mans in 2017.
What’s their recipe for a world champion car? Well, apart from being constructed on a lightweight frame chassis covered by a lightweight composite shell, it will be an experimental hybrid.
Unlike the other LMP1 hybrids, the IM01 will have four electric motors, one for each wheel, all powered by a high capacity battery pack. Since they’ll run it for 24 hours, a range extender will be used, but it won’t be your average three-cylinder unit running on LPG or something similar.
No sir, the team aims to fit the car with a rotary engine, one like those used by Mazda but on a smaller scale. Because this type of engine comes with less moving parts and will be maintained at an optimum rpm all time, it’s said to boast a 60 percent thermal efficiency; almost double the rest of the current engines can achieve.
This translates into an even less fuel thirsty car and will have to pit fewer times, giving it a significant lead over the rest of the Le Mans competitors if everything goes as planned.
However, even if it wins it won’t count, because the IM01 will enter the race as an experimental “garage 56” car. The prototype will also come with some special aerodynamics features like a neat way to use the engine and motors’ heat, similar to the blown diffusers in Formula 1, while the cockpit will be so narrow that the driver will only be looking ahead.
Just like the Nissan ZEOD RC, the IM01 ditches the rearview mirrors to gain an even lower drag coefficient, being replaced by videocameras feeding up some displays in the cabin.
Well, it sounds fantastic on paper, but let’s not forget this will have to go against hybrid-master Toyota, which might boast some similar tech in the couple next years.
They hope to have the car ready before the end of 2015, test it and enter Le Mans in 2017.
What’s their recipe for a world champion car? Well, apart from being constructed on a lightweight frame chassis covered by a lightweight composite shell, it will be an experimental hybrid.
Unlike the other LMP1 hybrids, the IM01 will have four electric motors, one for each wheel, all powered by a high capacity battery pack. Since they’ll run it for 24 hours, a range extender will be used, but it won’t be your average three-cylinder unit running on LPG or something similar.
No sir, the team aims to fit the car with a rotary engine, one like those used by Mazda but on a smaller scale. Because this type of engine comes with less moving parts and will be maintained at an optimum rpm all time, it’s said to boast a 60 percent thermal efficiency; almost double the rest of the current engines can achieve.
This translates into an even less fuel thirsty car and will have to pit fewer times, giving it a significant lead over the rest of the Le Mans competitors if everything goes as planned.
However, even if it wins it won’t count, because the IM01 will enter the race as an experimental “garage 56” car. The prototype will also come with some special aerodynamics features like a neat way to use the engine and motors’ heat, similar to the blown diffusers in Formula 1, while the cockpit will be so narrow that the driver will only be looking ahead.
Just like the Nissan ZEOD RC, the IM01 ditches the rearview mirrors to gain an even lower drag coefficient, being replaced by videocameras feeding up some displays in the cabin.
Well, it sounds fantastic on paper, but let’s not forget this will have to go against hybrid-master Toyota, which might boast some similar tech in the couple next years.
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