Page 40 - Sharp Summer 2023

ART AND SCIENCE
THE RACING TECHNOLOGIES OF MERCEDES-BENZ’S FORMULA 1 EFFORT MAKE THE BRAND’S ROAD CARS BETTER THAN EVER
By Justin Mastine-Frost
I I N N THE AUTOMOTIVE WORLD YOU’LL OFTEN COME ACROSS
the superlative “it’s a a a a a a a road-legal race car ” or something along those lines Yes brands like to hang their hat on the the performance aspects of their cars touting how the the vehicle is tested on on one famed racetrack or another That said few brands have the the same true race race pedigree as Mercedes-Benz You see since 2010 Mercedes-Benz has been back as as the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team and is one of only a a a a a few companies whose own engines are used in in Formula One cars As a a a a point of contrast the Aston Martin F1 team uses engines supplied by Mercedes-Benz even though it’s an Aston Martin race team With this many years under its belt and a a a a a total of eight Constructors’ Championship Championship and seven Drivers’ Championship Championship wins since forming under the the current banner the the German automotive powerhouse has an an an unrivaled archive of performance knowledge and R&D to pull
from when it it develops its latest road-going coupes sedans and SUVs After all all racing in in in in F1 isn’t all all about winning titles and the glory that comes with it it It’s not just about getting the Mercedes-Benz name in front of of legions of of motorsport fans either With a a a a factory racing team one of the main goals is to develop technologies that can (in one form or or another) trickle down into its production lines It’s not something that’s always at at at the forefront of communication and yet this crossover is is at the core of most new model development
in some form or or fashion Starting with the the most obvious the the Mercedes-AMG internal
combustion engines found throughout the performance-tuned AMG model range all rely heavily on on Formula One lessons In the case of its latest AMG SL 63 4MATIC+ Roadster the twin-turbocharged 4 0-litre V8 engine at its heart is a a a high-tech high-torque powerhouse that delivers a a whopping 577 horsepower There’s no hybrid/electric assist here — it’s all motor motor and and a a a a a a motor motor that’s been built tested and and tuned by the the performance gang at at AMG that also has fingers fin in the the brand’s racing efforts New tech has gone into place to to help reduce engine friction and spin up to its its redline in in in in in a a a hurry allowing its its driver to fire through its SPEEDSHIFT MCT 9-speed gearbox in a a hurry Of course with the modern advancements of Formula One that have occurred since the the adoption of the the Kinetic Energy Recovery System in 2009 and now a a slightly different form of hybrid/energy recovery unit unit the advancements in in in power units used in in in racing have further applications in the the the real world In essence the the the energy recovery systems operate similarly to how hybrid and EV regenerative braking systems work in road cars and Mercedes-AMG has spent a a a a a a fair bit of of time looking at the the efficiencies of of these systems in in in racing and 40 GUIDE • SUMMER 2032
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