Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i Racecar Engineering

What philosophy does is ask the questions equations alone cannot answer; questions about function, judgement and interpretation Philosophy: the examination of the principles, assumptions and values that shape how we understand the world and make decisions within it. Philosophy isn’t a word usually associated with engineering. Engineering is precise, objective and tangible. Philosophy is almost the opposite; undefined, subjective and esoteric. Yet philosophy certainly has a role within engineering, even at the highest levels. What philosophy does is ask the questions equations alone cannot answer; questions about function, judgement and interpretation. In any process, from designing a racecar through to running a race weekend trackside, every engineer involved makes decisions that go beyond mere calculation. They must decide what to prioritise, what to ignore, even what success means. Call it…

Cadillac will go into the 2026 endurance racing season with a brand new aerodynamic package that the American company hopes will improve its chances of victory. Each of the LMDh manufacturers has introduced upgrade kits for next year, including Porsche, BMW, Acura and Alpine, which only competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but Cadillac’s is by far the most extreme. So different is it that the old kit could not be attached to the 2026 tub so, in IMSA’s sanctioned test at Daytona in November, the teams had one kit each to test, and drivers were under strict instruction not to bend them. The changes are partly due to a new aerodynamic testing regime for all cars, including the LMH models from Peugeot, Toyota and Ferrari, which sees them…

Peugeot has launched a circuit racing version of its 208-based rally car. The off-road Peugeot 208 Racing, which was featured in RE V35N3, was first adapted for both Rally4 and Rally6 regulations, but is now available to run on conventional racetracks. The circuit product is called the 208 Racing TC6 and is powered by a 1.2-litre, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine that produces 145bhp and 240Nm of torque. The chassis has been lowered by 50mm and incorporates an FIA-approved welded rollcage. A bespoke damper package has been developed to allow the car to be run on any supplier’s standard 205/45 R17 production tyres. Other changes include recalibrated steering and brake systems designed specifically for the demands of circuit racing. At 1000kg, the car is also 50kg lighter than its off-road sibling. ‘Derived…

‘It feels like we could be the start of something really exciting for W2RC, where we almost get back to what the Dakar Rally was in the ’80s and ’90s’  Jack Lambert, head of technical integration at Defender Rally Have you ever wondered what a commonly-used 4x4 car that you see on the school run might actually be capable of? Here’s your chance. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is preparing to tackle the gruelling Dakar Rally in January 2026 with the D7X-R, a rallying version of the Defender Octa. It will line up in the new Stock class, which imposes strict limitations on what parts can be modified from the production base car. JLR, competing under the Defender brand name, has committed to three seasons in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship…

After eight years with the old chassis, Formula Regional is replacing its racecars with completely new ones, built to fresh 2026 regulations. The category sits at step four on the FIA’s single-seater pyramid, with F1 at the pinnacle, and is the highest to permit different car and engine constructors. Most karting graduates begin their careers at the pyramid’s base in Formula 4, which is covered by numerous national series. However, the step from F4 to the FIA Formula 3 Championship is a large one, both in terms of driving demands and seat availability. This gap was bridged in late 2017, when the FIA approved the creation of a regional Formula 3 rule set with slower, more accessible cars than the international series that supports F1 events. The series was named…

Every great initiative has to start somewhere. This one began in the spring of 1989 in Southern California, when PR consultant, Peter Mills, was chatting with Stuart ‘Stu’ Hayner, who had been racing sports cars professionally since 1987. Out at Bonneville, said Mills, in July 1940, Ab Jenkins set a World Land Speed Record for 24 hours at 160mph. The record still stood, added Mills, the only one of its kind still standing. Others had tried to surpass it. In 1968, automotive legend, Mickey Thompson, together with drag racer, Danny Ongais, tackled Bonneville’s ‘big circle’ with specially prepared Ford Mustang Mach 1s. They claimed a class record for 24 hours, but fell short of Jenkins’ absolute standard by 3.5mph. The Mercedes-Benz C111/2 streamliner earned a world record for completing 5000…

The 1978 Formula 1 grand prix season saw Mario Andretti win the Drivers’ title, and Lotus the Teams’ accolade after a dominant second half of the season with the Lotus 79 model. Featuring the now iconic livery of the JPS cigarette brand, the car was groundbreaking in its design and application of advanced aerodynamics. It was the latest in a series of pioneering cars from Lotus, and it set the tone for an aerodynamic design that still lives on today. Peter Wright, a mechanical engineer with a degree from University of Cambridge, had been working on ground effect for years, starting at BRM in the late 1960s. He wasn’t the first to have noticed the possible advantage of using low-pressure areas under the car to create downforce; the Germans had…

The FIA Formula E World Championship’s anticipated Gen4 car has been revealed and tested for the first time by manufacturers. Mule testing has been covered by the series organisers and spec component suppliers since March, but the session at Monteblanco in November marked the first time that rear powertrain builders and race drivers had a chance to sample it. Gen4 is comfortably the most powerful Formula E car to date, producing up to 600kW (804bhp) in continuous four-wheel drive, dwarfing the 350kW ceiling of the current Gen3 Evo. The test involved all five of the manufacturers that have signed up for Gen4 so far. Chassis constructor, Spark Racing Technology, delivered one car to each of them ahead of the test. The manufacturer teams were at the track for five days,…

‘I thought I might go circuit racing with it, so it’s built as a silhouette of an [Audi] R8 from the wheel centrelines up’  Simon Bainbridge, owner / driver of the SBR Chrono Stand alongside Simon Bainbridge’s hillclimb racer for any length of time and you will witness a steady stream of curious spectators approach, many of whom will then ask the same question: ‘What on earth is that?’ It’s a fair point, as there is nothing else that looks quite like this car on track, road or hillclimb course throughout the UK. There’s almost nothing else that will perform like it, either. The car competes in the almost-anything-goes Sports Libre hillclimb and sprint classes and, while it’s very loosely based on an Audi R8, it is a one-off build…

Acura’s ARX-06 was launched in time for the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, the first race for the LMDh sportscar rule set. BMW, Cadillac and Porsche introduced rival cars at the same time, while in Europe a new Alpine arrived, too. However, there were a few aspects of the Acura that set it apart. The first was that the company chose the McLaren [now Motion] Applied TAG-320 ECU, similar to that used in Formula 1, for which it needed to write its own code to control vehicle dynamics. Acura’s rivals all opted for a Bosch system that came pre-coded. Another big difference was the Acura featured an all-new engine – a 2.4-litre, twin-turbo 90-degree V6 – designed specifically for sportscar and endurance competition. To date, Acura remains the only LMDh…

NASCAR placed teams into a much smaller operating window with the introduction of the Gen 7 car, which made its debut in 2022. Those teams have responded by finding ways to accurately adjust the smallest variables on their cars. One way they’ve been able to achieve that is by employing faster and more accurate measurement tools, and one company at the epicentre of those tools is Techmor, located in the heart of NASCAR country in Cornelius, North Carolina. Techmor was founded by engineer, Todd Mory, in 2004 while he was in his final years as a senior engineer at Toyota Racing Development (TRD). Mory previously worked in design, development and engineering at Lutron Electronics and Visteon Corporation before moving to Ford, where he worked on a variety of projects, ranging…

Lucas Di Grassi, the 2016-’17 Formula E champion, and Lola Cars have unveiled an extreme electric racecar concept that claims to be capable of lapping the Monaco Grand Prix circuit faster than a current F1 car. The DGR-Lola has two electric motors capable of producing 600kW (804bhp), their power coming from a 60kWh battery. It is designed to have extremely low drag and includes active aerodynamics. ‘This project should serve as an inspiration for the future generations of electric racing cars,’ says Di Grassi, who raced 18 times in F1 and was also part of Audi’s LMP1 driver line up. ‘The question of whether such cars can be faster than Formula 1 has been answered with data and simulation. My plan is to build this car in the next two…

The competition plans for Opel’s new electric rally car have been announced, with Germany’s ADAC organising a single-make trophy. The Opel Mokka GSE Rally was launched as a concept earlier this year, but is now being readied to replace the current Corsa Rally Electric, which has been active on the stages since 2021. The ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup will consist of seven rounds across six European countries; the first will be held around Eindhoven in May. Featuring a 207kW (281bhp) output, the Mokka rally car is just over twice as powerful as its 100kW Corsa predecessor. Developed to FIA eRally5 regulations, it features a 54kWh battery (vs 50kWh in the Corsa), a multi-plate limited-slip differential and a competition-spec gearbox. The motor, inverter, battery and wiring harness are carried over…