Page 117 - NEW Armstrong Book - 2

THE MCLAREN ARTURA: MINIMIZING WEIGHT WAS KEY TO THE DESIGN OF THE ALL-NEW ELECTRIFIED POWERTRAIN, ENGINEERED TO OFFER THE ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION AND ELECTRIC POWER IN ONE PACKAGE AND ESTABLISH NEW BENCHMARKS FOR COMBINED PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY IN THE SUPERCAR CLASS. (SOURCE: NITIN DAHAD)
at operating temperatures that deliver the highest level of performance.
To further optimize packaging and weight, the battery man- agement unit sits alongside the modules, with the power distribution unit integrated into the battery. An integrated power unit acts as a DC/DC converter for the vehicle’s 12-V system, reducing weight by removing the need for a separate alternator and on-board battery charger.
An Artura driver can adjust how the electric motor is deployed to prioritize range or power or choose to shut off the inter- nal combustion engine for silent running. Energy harvesting is achieved purely from the combustion engine to maintain brake pedal feel, yet the battery can be charged from low to 80% full within minutes under normal driving conditions.
Ian Howshall, a global product manager at McLaren,
explained that the complete architecture of the car is brand new to accommodate the high-voltage battery required. He said that the fundamental changes were moving from large wiring harnesses to Ethernet and using decentralized elec- tronic control systems, with separate domain-based elec- tronic control units for different domains. These changes help minimize weight and improve critical signal response times.
No-rules track car
McMurtry Automotive exhibited its experimental, fully elec- tric track-car concept, the McMurtry Spéirling. The company
said it had created the ultimate no-rules track car by explor- ing the route that uninhibited technical evolution would have taken from the golden age of racing to shape the motorsport of today.
“Our aim is to change percep- tions on small cars, so we want to produce extremely small, fast, exciting, and efficient electric cars,” David Turton, a mechanical design engineer at the company, told me. “Today, we’re unveiling the no-rules track car, which is akin to a hypercar to demon- strate the technologies that are required to excite people about electric cars in this form factor.”
The development of the car is
funded by Irish billionaire and
inventor David McMurtry, who
founded Renishaw, a precision
metrology company. His backstory
is that he initially trained as an
apprentice in the aerospace indus-
try in the U.K. and then became the youngest-ever assistant chief of engine design for all Rolls-Royce engines manufac- tured in Filton, Bristol. While there, he invented the 3D touch- trigger probe to solve a measurement problem faced with the Olympus engines for the supersonic Concorde aircraft
BILLIONAIRE DAVID MCMURTRY FUNDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS OWN HYPERCAR.
(SOURCE: RENISHAW)
THE MCMURTRY SPÉIRLING IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ULTIMATE “NO-RULES TRACK CAR” EXPLORING THE ROUTE THAT UNINHIBITED TECHNICAL EVOLUTION CAN TAKE. (SOURCE: NITIN DAHAD)
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AspenCore News Coverage Pushing the Limits of Weight & Power Delivery in EV Hypercars