Project 1221
this morning released their latest update, stating that
their planned gas turbine powered supercar will have its power
increased to 1500bhp. The mysterious budding supercar maker
- headed by legendary former Ferrari engineer Mauro
Forghieri - has been drip releasing snippets information on
its forthcoming supercar since the turn of the year. Last
month, during the Paris Airshow, they revealed that the
Bugatti Veyron-beating quoted power for their car - dubbed
the MF1 - would be drawn from a Williams
International-developed gas turbine.
25.07.2005 -
PROJECT 1221 PRESS RELEASE
Remaining on the
subject of the recently enjoyed power increase mentioned in
last month's update, we are now quite thrilled to report
that last week in Walled Lake, Michigan following a
technical analysis with our strategic suppliers
Williams International,
with Dr. Sam Williams exceptionally contributing his
personal technical input and ideas, it was jointly decided
to go for even more power, namely fifteen hundred hp.
As a consequence
we might miss our initially set target for the MF1
power/weight ratio by actually improving on it. It goes
without saying that the ensuing performance would be
unapproachable by any other car to an extent even greater
than originally intended. In fact, the
preliminary simulations with this latest power level might
well be described as shocking. Yet, increased power would
not affect in any way the drivability or the comfort of the
machine under all driving conditions. Additionally, since
the powerplant offers aviation-standard reliability, this
increased power comes with absolute peace of mind.
There is much speculation regarding
the supposed slow response of a
gas turbine engine as opposed to
an equivalent reciprocating engine. What seems to be
overlooked though is the word "equivalent" because, quite
simply, a reciprocating engine of such power has never been
mounted on a road or racing car before. In any case our
engine provides literally instant power from walking pace
and in quantities that would render the (selectable)
traction control indeed indispensable for everyone but the
bravest.
One positive aspect is that the considerable exhaust output
can be very effectively employed to assist airflow
underneath the car and therefore to improve traction by
increasing aerodynamic negative lift, especially at low and
medium speeds. Crucially, this exhaust-induced "ground effect" is free of
aerodynamic drag. It is reminded
that we are always talking about a turboshaft engine - not a
jet engine - since apparently there seems to be some
confusion on the subject. |