Nissan DeltaWing Returns to Racing at Petit Le Mans
(American LeMans Series) … The pioneering, dart-shaped Nissan DeltaWing will compete in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda on Oct. 17-20 at Road Atlanta. The revolutionary race car was designed to perform like a contemporary sports prototype while cutting weight, fuel consumption and tire use by half.
…The project provided a test bed for Nissan to develop future innovations that can be filtered into the company’s global motorsport programs as well as future road products. This will continue to be the case at Petit Le Mans, with new technology being tried during the race and further development work carried out by partner, Michelin, on its bespoke tires, specially built for the Nissan DeltaWing.
“The Nissan DeltaWing’s inclusion on the grid at Petit Le Mans reflects the vision and determination that embody the future of sports car racing,” said ALMS President and CEO Scott Atherton. “The car’s participation brings a benchmark example of innovation and leading-edge automotive technology to the season finale of a remarkable season for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.”
…Based on fuel consumption and tire wear data taken during more than six hours of running at Le Mans, the car was on course to achieve its goal of completing the 24 Hours using half the fuel and half the tires of its fellow entrants. Data taken from a standard LMP2 car at Le Mans indicated that it used 2,350 liters (620 gallons) of fuel and changed tires every 300 miles, going through nine sets. And, while the LMP2 car had a fuel consumption level of 5 mpg, Nissan DeltaWing was running at 10.7 mpg. READ MORE
