Following the FIA’s formal call for expressions of interest in the supply of an alternative engine for Formula One, the FIA have today outlined the technical requirements under which the alternative engine should be developed.
Whilst no price for engine supply has been defined the FIA have requested this be as low as possible, suggesting price point will be a differentiating factor in any business award decision.
The engine configuration requirement is confirmed to be:
- 2.5 Litre (or less) turbocharged V6, with a KW output greater than 640, which may be detuned to 530 in qualifying and race levels.
- Total weight of the power unit being less than 135kg.
- The FIA will impose no limits on Maximum RPM, engine durability or fuel flow.
- The power unit solution will feature no hybrid power.
- Hydraulics for the engine must be the same for all teams supplied.
- The unit must be compatible with the standard F1 ECU and data logger.
Manufacturers expressing interest in candidacy to become sole supplier of the alternative engine supply will have freedoms around:
- Number of turbochargers – 1 or 2
- Turbocharges must be able to cope with the maximum boost pressure imposed by the FIA.
- Freedom around cranktrain and valvetrain in all areas except crank length.
- Freedom is give on the exhaust system, although a variable exhaust system is not permitted.
The technical specification goes to explain the financial boundaries of the submission which includes but is not limited to; all engine sub assembly, all PU pressure charging components (turbo), PU Waste gate and air inlet system, the fuel system and electrical components.
In addition candidate manufacturers must provide support of 5 personnel per team supplied at all race and test events, along with sufficient power unit supplies for up to 20 events and 5000 km of testing.
Candidates have until 17:00 CET November 23rd to register their interest and capability to meet these requirements with the required supporting documentation.
Good stuff fellow word presser…
can you provide the link to the official FIA doc? I am unable to find it on their website.
Thanks!
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Thanks! the overview details are here: http://www.fia.com/invitation-tender for the technical details you need to email the FIA directly. I’ve made a summary of the document in the article.
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Found that page, but there is no official tender, and the expression of interest document does not have any of the technical specifications you have published.
So did you request that information directly from the FIA? Just wondering where it came from. Thanks. TD
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Yes, I requested and received the document from the FIA. Cheers!
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Hi John, great post.
I may have missed it above, but does this new engine have to last a min amount of races like the current V6 hybrid?
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Thanks Larry,
The FIA document stated no durability limit, suggesting no minimum number of races. That being said, if the manufacturer is required to produce at the lowest possible price point, producing a lower number of physical power units would be logical. So a maintaining a longer life engine, 4-5 races, principle would be likely .
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Thanks John.
Would there be a possibility of the supplier of this engine having different spec engines available to each team to chose from, much the same way the V6 hybrid does now from manufacturer?
For example: Spec A (premium), B and C?
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As I understand it. There would be one engine specification for all customers with no scope for in-season development. Perhaps no development for the life of the engine (2017-2019)
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A minimum of 870 H (640 kW) from a maximum 135 kg engine with free Rpm and fuel-flow,
what kind of rules are these anyway, none of today’s PUs could ever compete with that?
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If you consider the 2017 target for current PU technology + hybrid is 1000hp, they should be able to compete.
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But a 2.5 liter turbo with free fuel and Rpm, easily 1500 Hp without boost control?
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perhaps, but the power range of the alternative power unit will be limited by the FIA.
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But still, a 2.2 Ilmor/Chevy is 122 kg, which would fit the bill perfectly if converted to gasoline, while an F1 PU is a good 160+ with MGU-K, MGU-H and battery, they would be helpless even with the same peak-power.
But that is perhaps MrE’s general idea?
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I commented in an earlier article, the Ilmor Indycar engine should be able to compete with current F1 engine tech. It would be logical for Ilmor to be involved with the Alternative Engine submissions.
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And so would Honda’s such, built by Honda HPD in California, think about it?
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Totally Agree.
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It would probably make Alonso a happy man, perhaps he has been assured something like that?
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