Peugeot Launch new 2011 Le Mans racer still without KERS?

Peugeot will use a 3.7-litre V8 turbo-diesel engine to power its new 908 Le Mans challenger the French manufacturer confirmed at the car's launch in Paris on Thursday.

Though the company has long considered the use of hybrid technology, it has instead decided to build an engine using its tried and trusted diesel technology, according to the ACO's performance equalising regulations.

"We have also made full of our experience with the V12," said Peugeot Sport's technical director Bruno Famin. "We ultimately decided to opt for a turbocharged diesel V8, the characteristics of which are very similar to those of the V12 (which powered the old car).

"The angle of the 'vee' is 90 degrees (compared with 100 degrees in the case of the V12) for balance reasons. The cubic capacity is 3.7 litres and the new V8 HDi FAP boasts peak power of 550hp. We ran it for the first time on the dyno on January 25, 2010."

The all-new 908, so named in reference to its ultra-successful forebear - the 908 Hdi FAP - also continues the theme of closed top prototypes recently followed by Audi with its own new R18.

"We knew from previous testing work that there is little significant difference between open- and closed-cockpit cars in terms of their aerodynamic performance," said Famin. "At the same time, despite the added constraints they bring when working on them at races, closed-cockpit cars provide additional safety for the drivers. We therefore decided to stay with the same solution.

"Given the big reduction in engine power resulting from the 2011 regulations (a fall of approximately 150hp), we had to take a fresh look at the trade-off between aerodynamics, drag and downforce. The latter has been significantly reduced in order to maintain a reasonably high top speed."

But though visually the 908 clearly carries much of the DNA aerodynamically of its predecessor, Famin claims it is a completely new design from the ground up.

"The experience we have gained over the past four years helped to steer the decision-making process and our technical choices, although the only component which has been carried over at the end of the day is the windscreen wiper!" he said. "One of the principal difficulties we faced was having to design an all-new car while continuing to race another at the same time.

"We also needed to set ourselves sound objectives with a view to obtaining the best possible package with regard to engine performance, aerodynamics and weight distribution. We will only find out how successful we have been when we start racing the new car..."

Peugeot has also opted to go for rear-width sized 14.5in front tyres, just as Audi has done with its R18 - a concept pioneered by Acura's LMP1 in the American Le Mans Series in 2009.

"Today's LMP cars have a shortcoming with regard to front-end road holding performance," explained Famin. "The logical way to cure this was to increase the size of the contact patch between the tyres and the track, which entailed running bigger front wheels, within the limits specified by the regulations. This aspect of the car's development was carried out in close collaboration with our partner Michelin."

Peugeot began testing the new car, then codenamed the 90X, as early as last July, and is confident that it will prove to be as driver friendly as the car that took it to the LMS and Intercontinental titles in 2010.

"One of the very positive points we found was that the car's handling lived up to our expectations out of the box," said Famin. "With regard to its other strengths and weaknesses, we will need to wait until the first races to see how we compare with our rivals.

"That said, we continue to work without worrying about what our opponents are doing; we are simply focusing on our own objectives. Between the car's track debut in 2010 and the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, we will have completed 12 tests in all, at a number of different circuits."

Despite Peugeot carting a hybrid version of their 908 HDi FAP called the 'hy' around the show circuit as long ago as 2008, there's still no confirmation Peugeot will ever use KERS on board the official works cars.

First Shipment of Nissan Leafs Arrive in Europe.

The first regular shipment of 100% electric Nissan LEAFs bound for Europe is today arriving in North East England.

The 67 Nissan LEAFs aboard the ‘City of St. Petersburg', Nissan's brand new energy-saving car carrier for transporting vehicles in Europe, are destined for customers in the UK and Ireland and will be unloaded from the Port of Tyne as the carrier completes its maiden voyage.

"The arrival of the Nissan LEAF, the world's first affordable, all-electric car, in Europe is a landmark day for Nissan and European transport. The Nissan LEAF is a genuine alternative to petrol and diesel cars in terms of style, features, safety, performance and handling," said Simon Thomas, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Nissan International SA, Nissan's European headquarters.

"It is fitting that this first shipment of Nissan LEAFs is arriving on our new energy-saving car carrier, the City of St. Petersburg. We look forward to delivering these cars to the very first Nissan LEAF customers, who share our vision for an environmentally sustainable future for road transport," he added.

The City of St. Petersburg has a sleek and semi-spherical bow which reduces wind resistance by up to 50%, resulting in fuel reductions of up to 800 tonnes annually, equivalent to about 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The carrier will join the fleet of ships which export hundreds of thousands of vehicles from Nissan Sunderland Plant each year.

UK customers have been able to pre-order the Nissan LEAF since September 2010 ahead of deliveries starting in the coming weeks. Pre-orders for the Nissan LEAF, which is powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery, have reached more than 27,000 units globally. The zero-emission car is currently built in Japan, but will be manufactured in Sunderland from 2013, following the start of production of lithium-ion batteries for such cars at the plant in 2012.

A comprehensive charging network is currently under development in the UK. North East England alone will have 1,300 charge points by 2013, including quick chargers capable of refuelling a Nissan LEAF from when the empty warning light switches onto an 80% charge in just under 30 minutes. Nissan's network of EV dealers - currently 25 sites across the UK - will all be equipped with a quick charger.

Across the UK there are programmes under way to install around 9,000 charge points by 2013.

Nissan research has found that 80% of daily driving in Britain is below 30 miles. With the Nissan LEAF's ability to carry five passengers up to 109 miles (175 km) under the New European Driving Cycle, its arrival in Europe marks a significant development in the environmentally-friendly, cost efficient options available for motorists.

World's largest solar-powered boat [Video]

The world's largest solar powered boat will sail around the world to show solar power is a viable source of energy.


A nearly 100-feet long and 50-feet wide ship named "Planet Solar" weighs 60 tons, and is decked with photovoltaic modules. The vessel was launched in Monaco on Monday.

German entrepreneur Immo Stroeher and Swiss project founder, Raphael Domjan made their dream a reality.

They're taking it on a record-breaking round-the-world trip to show that solar power is a viable source of energy for transport.

On board batteries allow the boat to sail for about three days without fresh solar power.

According to the German shipbuilders, the vessel should be able to reach speeds of up to 15 nautical miles per hour. The crew of six hope to make it around the world in 160 days, all of them fossil-fuel free.

The catamaran will stop in Miami, Cancun, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi.

Honda Fit Hybrid Outsells Toyota Prius in Japan

The Toyota Prius hybrid surrendered its sales leadership in the Japanese car market in January for the first time in 20 months, topped by Honda's Fit Hybrid, the Japan Times and the Kyodo News reported today, citing industry sources.

The publications noted that Fit Hybrid sales have risen in Japan while sales of the Prius hybrid has steadily declined. The Fit Hybrid is the least expensive hybrid in Japan, costing about $19,300 at the current yen-dollar exchange rate.

Meanwhile, a report released Tuesday by New York-based consultant Interbrand said Toyota remains Japan's No. 1 global brand, but its value has fallen by 16% to $25.66 billion over the last year because of the recent massive Toyota recalls.

BMW, Peugeot and Citroen Form Joint Venture to Develop Hybrid Technology

BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen are setting up a joint venture to develop and produce hybrid- power components and software in an effort to cut supply costs.

The 50-50 partnership, to be named BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification, will begin operating in the second quarter and provide parts for both manufacturers’ vehicles starting in 2014, the companies said today in a joint statement. The project will be run by Wolfgang Guellich, BMW’s head of purchasing strategy, and Jean Leflour, chief of customer satisfaction at Peugeot.

“This cooperative venture will enable us to achieve significant economies of scale in the field of electrification,” BMW Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer said in the statement. “It also represents an important step on the road to sustainable mobility.”

BMW, which has its headquarters in Munich, has cooperated since 2006 on engines with Paris-based Peugeot, Europe’s second- biggest carmaker. In February 2010, the manufacturers said they would develop 4-cylinder gasoline engines that conform with the latest European Union environmental rules. The venture announced today follows a memorandum of understanding on hybrid-power technology development signed in October.

BMW Peugeot Citroen Electrification will involve suppliers in the development process and may sell products to other manufacturers, the carmakers said.

First images of the KERS powered 2011 Mercedes GP F1 [Video]

Mercedes GP unveils first images of its new MGPW02.

The KERS equipped car ran for the first time during the first F1 official testin at Valencia, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Adrian Newey says Red Bull's KERS must work

The Kinetic Energy Recovery System is making a return to Formula 1 this season and, unlike in 2009, all teams are expected to run it.

Red Bull's technical chief Adrian Newey believes it is crucial that his team gets its KERS working properly in 2011 if it's not to lose out to its rivals.

Two years ago, Red Bull developed its own KERS but decided not to race it as its main rival Brawn GP was also not using it.

But Newey reckons this year his team cannot afford to not get KERS working properly, as he believes the system will be a big advantage during race starts.

"The RB5 was actually packaged to take KERS and we did run it briefly pre-season," said Newey during the launch of the new car at Valencia. "We took the view at the start that there were other things we wanted to concentrate on in 2009 so we chose not to race with it through the season.

"Packaging is a challenge with KERS and the big challenge is to try and come up with a solution that doesn't compromise the aerodynamics too much, otherwise you drop the performance benefit that you get from putting KERS on.

"We are here to try hard to try and develop it through the pre-season so that we are confident that it does give us performance. I think one of the things that came clearly in 2009 was that the start-line performance of KERS was important.

"Fortunately the team that we were battling with, which was Brawn that year, also didn't have KERS so neither had an advantage over the other in that sense, so this year I think no doubt with McLaren and Ferrari and Mercedes having KERS and being extremely competitive, then we need to get it to work if for no other reason than simply performance off the line."

Despite last year's RB6 being the strongest car of the field, Newey is hopeful the new RB7 will benefit from the development of its predecessors to be even more competitive.

"First of all the car is third generation of a lineage starting with RB5, so it is further development of the family," he said. "We have adapted the car to suit the regulation changes, so putting KERS back on the car, going back to single diffuser, a few other details to suit the regulations.

"It is also difficult to design the car to Pirelli tyres. We obviously had a short test in Abu Dhabi post race last year but tyres have developed further since then, so it is a matter of learning as we go on through the tests."