Mercedes to Completely Redesign CART Engine for 1998

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Mercedes to Completely Redesign CART Engine for 1998
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Not an evolution of the old engine,
but a "clean sheet of paper" appraoch
Smaller. Lighter. Faster.
The New 1998 Mercedes-Benz CART Indy Car Engine
Mercedes-Benz will defendits 1997 CART Manufacturer's Championship with a "clean sheet of paper"engine.
The Mercedes-Benz IC108E, currently being dynamometer tested insecrecy at Ilmor Engineering, the race engine-building arm of Mercedes, inBrixworth, England, employs the latest technology garnered from thethree-pointed star's CART and Formula One racing programs and issignificantly smaller and lighter than the IC108D, which this seasonpowered nine PPG Cup wins and six pole positions — including the fastestqualifying lap in racing history (240.942 mph.).
Competitive Demands
"The level of competition in the CART series demands that we mustcontinually improve our engines, which results in a new or heavily revisedengine each year," said Paul Ray, vice president of Ilmor. "With theexception of the 500I (which was produced for a separate set of rules forthe Indianapolis 500 in 1994), each Mercedes engine has representedevolutionary developments -- updates of the previous model. For 1998, wedecided a clean sheet of paper approach was best because there was no waywe could encompass all of the new technology available to us in anythingless than an all-new design. When the new engine hits the track for testingthis December, all of the more than 4,000 parts and components from the1997 engine become instantly obsolete."
Why tamper with success when the 1997 engine dominated the CARTseason with more wins than all the competition combined?
"We began design work on the new engine before we ever won a racewith the IC108D," Ray explained. "This is part of the continuousdevelopment process. You must move forward with new ideas well before eachseason ends. So, to introduce an all-new engine, you must begin long beforethe current model has proven to be successful."
A Radical Two-Way Street
Some of the technology in the IC108E derives from lessons learnedwith the Mercedes-Benz engine which powered West-McLaren-Mercedes driversMika Hakkinen and David Coulthard to a one-two finish at the 1997 F-1season finale in Jerez, Spain, but Ray was quick to point out that thetransfer of technology between Mercedes' F-1 and CART programs is a two-waystreet.
"The engine is radically different from anything we've done inCART before, but a lot of it represents a new application of technologythat's already proven itself in F-1," he explained. "Some of the new CARTtechnology and innovations may be included in future Mercedes F-1 engines."
Mercedes-Benz won 40 percent of the races it entered in 1997, andwas the only engine manufacturer to power race wins in both CART andFormula One. In addition to nine wins during the 17-race PPG CART WorldSeries, Mercedes-Benz's CLK-GTR scored six victories during the 11-race FIAGT Championship season, with driver Bernd Schneider claiming the driver'schampionship and Team AMG-Mercedes collecting the team title. In FormulaOne, the Silver Arrows visited victory lane three times in 17 races,continuing a history of success on the track that dates back more than 100years to the first auto race ever held.
Source: Mercedes-Benz USA


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Mercedes to Completely Redesign CART Engine for 1998 ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Not an evolution of the old engine, but a "clean sheet of paper" appraoch Smaller. Lighter. Faster. The New 1998 Mercedes-Benz CART Indy Car Engine Mercedes-Benz will defendits 1997 CART Manufacturer's Championship with a "clean sheet of paper"engine. The Mercedes-Benz IC108E, currently being dynamometer tested insecrecy at Ilmor Engineering, the race engine-building arm of Mercedes, inBrixworth, England, employs the latest technology garnered from thethree-pointed star's CART and Formula One racing programs and issignificantly smaller and lighter than the IC108D, which this seasonpowered nine PPG Cup wins and six pole positions — including the fastestqualifying lap in racing history (240.942 mph.). Competitive Demands "The level of competition in the CART series demands that we mustcontinually improve our engines, which results in a new or heavily revisedengine each year," said Paul Ray, vice president of Ilmor. "With theexception of the 500I (which was produced for a separate set of rules forthe Indianapolis 500 in 1994), each Mercedes engine has representedevolutionary developments -- updates of the previous model. For 1998, wedecided a clean sheet of paper approach was best because there was no waywe could encompass all of the new technology available to us in anythingless than an all-new design. When the new engine hits the track for testingthis December, all of the more than 4,000 parts and components from the1997 engine become instantly obsolete." Why tamper with success when the 1997 engine dominated the CARTseason with more wins than all the competition combined? "We began design work on the new engine before we ever won a racewith the IC108D," Ray explained. "This is part of the continuousdevelopment process. You must move forward with new ideas well before eachseason ends. So, to introduce an all-new engine, you must begin long beforethe current model has proven to be successful." A Radical Two-Way Street Some of the technology in the IC108E derives from lessons learnedwith the Mercedes-Benz engine which powered West-McLaren-Mercedes driversMika Hakkinen and David Coulthard to a one-two finish at the 1997 F-1season finale in Jerez, Spain, but Ray was quick to point out that thetransfer of technology between Mercedes' F-1 and CART programs is a two-waystreet. "The engine is radically different from anything we've done inCART before, but a lot of it represents a new application of technologythat's already proven itself in F-1," he explained. "Some of the new CARTtechnology and innovations may be included in future Mercedes F-1 engines." Mercedes-Benz won 40 percent of the races it entered in 1997, andwas the only engine manufacturer to power race wins in both CART andFormula One. In addition to nine wins during the 17-race PPG CART WorldSeries, Mercedes-Benz's CLK-GTR scored six victories during the 11-race FIAGT Championship season, with driver Bernd Schneider claiming the driver'schampionship and Team AMG-Mercedes collecting the team title. In FormulaOne, the Silver Arrows visited victory lane three times in 17 races,continuing a history of success on the track that dates back more than 100years to the first auto race ever held. Source: Mercedes-Benz USA