Backstage with Nissan Le Mans racer
2012-04-13 13:26
THE MAKING OF A RACE CAR: Nissan plans to take fans behind the scenes as it prepares its 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours charge.
Nissan has revealed a development film of its experimental DeltaWing that, it says, will revolutionise the world of motor racing.
As it did with its off-the-wall Juke-R project (available only in certain European markets, unfortunately), Nissan is again showing the development process behind the main attraction.
This time round, it’s a behind-the-scenes view at the development of the DeltaWing that the automaker will use to contest the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.
LE MANS GLORY
The series of videos will culminate in a TV documentary that will be aired after the June race.
The first video in the series shows the car undergoing wind tunnel testing at the Windshear facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Nissan DeltaWing designer Ben Bowlby said: “We’ve had the Nissan film crew following our every move throughout the development of the car over the past few months and this will give the fans a great insight into the creation of the Nissan DeltaWing.
“The finished product will be brilliant for the fans to get to see what goes on behind the scenes in the creation a project as unique as the Nissan DeltaWing.
“The wind tunnel work in particular was a key component of the project. The data we had from the scale model development and what our computer simulations told us showed we were moving in the right direction. In fact, the final results actually exceeded our expectations,” Bowlby added.
Darren Cox, general manager for Nissan in Europe, said: “Too often motorsport development is hidden away and kept secret – Nissan want to make this exciting part of the sport accessible. These films will give some insight into the very steep learning curve the team faces to even get to the Le Mans 24 Hours.”
To watch the series of films, visit Nissan Europe's YouTube page.
