Events
These sponsorship partnerships align well with our dual strategy: growing electrification capabilities whilst continuing advanced internal combustion engine work. The teams are targeting top results at this year’s competition and MAHLE Powertrain is supporting them in achieving their goals by providing access to extensive technical capabilities, experience and world-class facilities. Are you wondering how the teams are progressing? Read about their latest team update below!
Cardiff Racing
10 members from Cardiff Racing recently visited MAHLE Powertrain in Northampton, with the aim of developing key wiring skills and knowledge prior to beginning in-house manufacture of their electrical wiring loom. The team spent the afternoon in a workshop with MAHLE Powertrain technical experts, discussing best practices for loom manufacture and learning more about CAN communications, before embarking on a tour of the facilities. Cardiff Racing Operations Director, James Lansdowne, said “The team at MAHLE Powertrain were extremely welcoming and receptive to our visit. The experience the team gained will be invaluable to improving the quality and reliability of CR16 and our future cars, and we are very grateful to MAHLE for hosting us”.
The build of Cardiff Racing’s current vehicle, CR16, has been progressing well. Manufacture of the aluminium honeycomb monocoque (which forms the front three quarters of the chassis) has been completed, and machining of various brackets to mount the suspension components is ongoing. The design of the spaceframe (which will form the final quarter of the chassis) has been completed and will be sent for manufacture imminently. Testing has been ongoing for the new impact attenuator, and numerous components across the chassis, powertrain and aerodynamics package have reached the transition between design finalisation and manufacture.
Team Bath Racing Electric
The 2019-2020 season is shaping up to be an exciting one for TBRe! The team has been confirmed for entry into both Formula Student UK and Italy and is also planning to be the first UK electric team to compete in Formula Student Australia in December. TBRe is looking forward to meeting the teams attending these events and learning from the vast variety of talent and innovation present at these competitions, as well as to show case the designs that have been in development over the past year. As the automotive industry shifts to electric and autonomous vehicles, Formula Student is shifting with it. As one of the earliest adopters of the driverless competition, TBRe will yet again have two entries this year in the competition; one for the electric events and one for the driverless events.
Building on the complete overhaul done to the car in the 2018-2019 season, TBRe20 will bring rigorously tested designs and innovations to the scene in their first ever car with a fully integrated aerodynamics package consisting of a front wing, rear wing, floor and diffuser. The team’s core focus is on reliability, with a build plan allowing for numerous months of testing.
Using TBRe18 as a development platform, TBRe’s driverless team - TBRe AI - will continue to work on the initial designs which had been developed and showcased at FSUK 2019 which won them first place in both the Business and the ADS Design competitions.
Both team entries have set high expectations for the competitions but are confident in their ability to deliver on their promises and are excited to show everyone what they have come up with!
UBRacing
UBRacing have been very busy this year with the manufacturing of their new car (UBR23) which will be put through its paces as the team will be competing at Formula Student UK and Formula Student Spain. The chassis team are due to finish the monocoque in late March, whilst also completing crash testing earlier in January, saving 3 kg from a new crash structure. The aerodynamics team are working hard to finish manufacturing our new aero package, which includes new side wings and side pods to go with the new cooling system that the powertrain team have designed. The team have also put a great focus this year into improving their understanding of the car and working hard in preparation for the static events at the competition to maximise points across all the events. The team are looking forward to pushing UBR23 to the limit.
UBRacing will be visiting MAHLE Powertrain on 11th March to attend a sessions on combustion system development, electrification, and electric powertrain vehicle integration. A more detailed update on the team’s progress and the collaboration with MAHLE Powertrain will be shared in the next newsletter.
MAHLE Powertrain
MAHLE Powertrain continues to follow a dual strategy with equal focus on electrified IC engine technologies and 'complete' electric powertrain systems for BEVs, PHEVs and FCEVs. Read more about our electrification technologies here.
Gasoline PHEVs are predicted to dominate passenger vehicle sales over the next 20 years since they offer the best balance between performance, range, flexibility of use and total CO2 emissions for most users. A highly optimised hybrid powertrain with fully integrated IC engine, traction motor, generator and transmission, able to run in both series and parallel modes, represents a viable and cost effective solution for a wide range of vehicle applications. Read more about the new MAHLE Modular Hybrid Powertrain (MMHP) here.
For more information on the collaborative development activities and the teams’ progress towards the summer competitions and updates on MAHLE Powertrain follow us on social media and the next newsletters.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MAHLEUKCareers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/showcase/mahle-powertrain/
Cardiff Racing: http://www.cardiffracing.co.uk/
UBRacing: https://www.facebook.com/UBRacingUK/
TBRe: https://teambathracingelectric.com/