Car racing teams are in the business of winning races which means building the cars which are the fastest and perform the best, this is why so much money is spent in this industry on design, the slightest thing can not only impact the aesthetics but also the performance of a car. Although car racing may be seen as a rich man’s’ sport. it’s one that many of us enjoy to watch due to the sheer excitement of the power and speed that many of these cars achieve.
It’s pretty surprising just how much of that technology makes the transition to road cars, there may be more similarities between that growling Nascar or screaming F1 monster and your four door family saloon than you thought.
Examples of how Technology has Helped the Car Industry
- Tyres – this may not be the best start when you think about the problems Pirelli have been having this year . . . but the technology used for racing tyres has certainly trickled down for use on the roads. Although racing cars are made from a much softer rubber for increased performance it does shorten their life-span, road tyres are created differently but the lessons they’ve learned from the race track and technology is just the same.
- Engine air intake – is designed to keep the engines cool. Race car engines can have a problem with this which is why there have been such leaps and bounds in creating the best possible air intake designs – engines need to breathe to work efficiently.
- Design – race cars aren’t designed to look good, they are designed to be fast and reliable. Road cars can benefit from the aerodynamic advances from the wind tunnel and use them in a more attractive fashion. It’s not so much about bringing lap times down as increasing fuel economy and aesthetic appeal.
So next time you are in your car wishing you had a F1 version, just think for a minute about where many of the features came in the first place.
We have been involved in this area of product design, why not take a look at our case study for the work we did with Land Rover.
