BMW is committed to a future of turbocharged engines, both diesel and petrol, that will enable it to drop each cylinder set down a peg.

The V10 is dead, thank god, replaced by V8s. In time, V8s will become straight-sixes. Straight-sixes will become four-cylinders. Four-cylinders will become three-pots. We might not see BMW Boxer engines in cars just yet, but don’t rule it out longer-term (Fiat’s done two-cylinders with TwinAir, after all).

Turbochargers are the enabler to ensuring fewer cylinders can still produce sufficient torque, power and big car feel. BMW, pone of the turbo pioneers in the 1970s, has a wealth of expertise to call upon, including that of Paul Rosch, leader of the 1980s F1 turbo programme.

BMW thus has a clear strategy for vehicle turbocharging, that caters for both petrol and diesel engines: this determines both the choice of turbocharger and guides the lengthy calibration process once development begins.

There are two basic strategies in BMW’s choice of turbocharger unit – one for diesel, one for petrol. The 1 Series, boasting an all-turbo engine line-up, is a good car to demonstrate this.

Ignore confusing names for now: BMW muddles things with its TwinPower Turbo naming system. The assumption this means ‘twin turbos’ is incorrect, but it’s not entirely obvious what it does actually mean. Nor is the fact it means different things for different fuels.

So, here’s BMW’s turbo strategy for the new 1 Series, in a nutshell.

Diesel

Variable geometry turbo

Variable geometry turbos optimise the aspect ratio of the turbo according to engine revs. They allow strong boost at low engine speed but don’t choke the turbo of air at high speeds.

The secret is a series of adjustable vanes, which direct airflow onto the turbine housing. They’re adjustable according to engine revs and manipulate the passage of exhaust gas.

Small exhaust gas flow at lower engines speeds sees the vane almost close. This directs a sharp flow of air (which is accelerated due to the narrow passage) to the turbine wheel, maximising its force and helping minimise turbo ‘lag’.

At high engine speeds, the vanes fully open, directing gases directly onto the turbines. This ensures the gas is fully unrestricted, maximising efficiently.

Variable geometry turbos are common on diesels, and their benefits are felt most strongly at low engine revs. They’re rare on petrol engines due to the much higher exhaust gases, which creates a challenge for the mechanical reliability of the adjustable vane system. Only Porsche currently offers a variable geometry petrol turbo, in the 911 Turbo.

Petrol

Twin-scroll turbo

Here, cylinders whose firing pulses interfere with each other are separated. In a four-cylinder engine, two cylinders feed the turbo on one side of the inlet, and the other two feed the separated-off other side.

Twin-scroll turbos are fed by a manifold similarly divided: instead of being open, it’s also divided in two. Result: exhaust gases flow more smoothly through the system, which allows the cylinders to be filled more completely and also scavenged more completely.

As it’s so much more efficient, greater valve overlap can be used, too – the exhaust gases are ‘self cleansing’ so don’t need such tight control in and out: this keeps cylinder temperatures down, which further improves efficiency.

BMW started the theory with the twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, whose units were fed by a dual trio of cylinders. “The we learned it’s even better to combine Valvetronic and a single twin-scroll turbo,” said the BMW engineer I spoke to on the launch. “This further reduces losses – any efficiency at the turbo level is very significant: as it is the breathing system of the motor, efficiencies are multiplied through the whole engine…”

Clever stuff. And if you want to really understand why it’s so important to separate out cylinder pulses, put your hand over a (cold) exhaust pipe, and feel the ‘pops’ of gas.

Mix and match?

Makes sense. But why not use twin-scroll on diesels? Pointless, said my BMW man. Diesels work at lower load, with more air, so the spread between min and max airflow is not as big.

BMW has instead tailored the characteristics of both feels to the characteristics of turbos available by suppliers. It has hidden this optimisation beneath the veneer of confusing names, sadly, but the merits are clear upon investigation.

The internal combustion engines is moving towards a turbocharged future. BMW possesses a great deal of IP in the area and continues to demonstrate this on its new car introductions.

Question is, what next for BMW’s turbo strategy?

+ flickr: on launch

+ Saab classic: USB press kit joy

+ BMW 1 Series power meters

McLaren F1 owners are currently in possession of a potential goldmine. Literally. 

The price of gold is at an all-time high: on Friday, the intraday price rose to $1637.50/oz, as investors seek out what’s descirbed as ‘the ultimate safe haven’. It’s a renowned beacon of safety, says the Wall Street Journal, and people are flocking to it.

Why now? Because on top of many global uncertainties, the US debt crisis is also panicking investors. The US Congress is split and the stalemate is worrying (amongst others) the moneymen.

As of Friday, just four days were left to sort it all out: given such dramas, the security of gold is seen as even more attractive than it already was. Hence, the gold rush.

Which means McLaren F1 owners are quids in.

Gold bay

That’s because the engine bay of the McLaren F1 is clad in heat-resistant gold foil. Not just any gold foil, either, but full-fat 24 carat gold.

A car developed without compromise naturally uses the best materials, whatever they are and whatever their cost. Few things reflect heat better than gold. So into the engine bay it went.

And now it’s worth more than ever. Familiar with all these gold cash-in places, which give you money by weight for old gold rings, necklaces and the like? Well, McLaren F1 owners can now take great heart in the fact there’s a great chunk of ready cash sitting a few inches behind them, should they wish to do the same.

£776.75 to be exact.

That’s the going rate for the 25g of 24 carat gold in the McLaren F1, according to one random online gold cash-in site. Staggering, aye? Not that any McLaren F1 owners would ever dream of doing such a thing. But you’ve got to admit, a nugget like this is pretty cool, no?

There’s a serious point, of course. Modern cars are made from a bounty of precious materials, and while the gold in the McLaren F1 is an extreme example, there’s still value in the various alloys a new car carries. Whereas old cars really were junk after a certain age, you’ll always be able to extract some value from a modern car – if only from the catalytic convertor alone.

As End Of Life regulations commit car makers to disposing of old cars at no cost and with increasing fervour, you can be sure the added value of these materials has been factored into their calculations. It’s not all just legal obligation and charity, you know.

Not just car makers, either. I wonder if CAP factors the gold price into the McLaren F1′s RV…

UPDATE – 19 August 2011

Sky News Business today reports gold has reached another high, of $1859.95/oz. Maybe McLaren F1 owners should hold onto their fast-appreciating asset…

+ McLaren dashboard comes to Runkeeper

+ McLaren F1 dashboard on the cheap

+ iPhone App from Rolls-Royce: best in the world

Renault is one of the most successful F1 engine makers of recent years.

Be it Williams, Renault (Lotus?) itself or now Red Bull, the firm’s Formula 1 engines have powered countless race wins, plus a hefty haul of World Driver and Constructor titles.

All this expenditure must be justified though, which is why car makers oft witter on about their F1 programmes driving what happens on the road. Indeed, we all think: like a Renault Clio 200 really is about to get a 2.4-litre V8.

But finally, Renault has revealed exactly how F1 can help road car programmes – with the headline-grabber being it’s giving us the most powerful (yet green) 1.6-litre diesel engine ever sold. Cue the 1.6 Energy dCi 130: the most advanced mid-range diesel yet built?

Facts

Renault wants to cut its range CO2 average from today’s 135g/km to below 120g/km in 2013, and below 100g/km come 2016. To do this, it needs new engines, with big incremental CO2 falls. Renault says its new Energy engines must cut CO2 by 30-40g/km over the motor they replace.

The R9M 1.6 Energy dCi 130, on paper, does this: 30g/km less CO2 and 20% better fuel economy than the 1.9 dCi 130 FQ9 it replaces. Design work started in 2006 and it was a clean-sheet design that generated 30 patents.

Of its 264 components, 75% are new: the rest mostly come from the MR9 2.0 dCi 150. There are also six specific CO2-reducing technologies, that together drop CO2 by that 20% total.

F1 link

The F1 link is genuine. Engineers from RenaultSport F1 in Viry-Chatillon worked with road car engine designers in Rueil to transfer F1 tech to the road.

Philippe Coblence managed the R9M project at Rueil – and formerly did the same at Viry-Chatillon for F1 engines in the early 2000s. He facilitated the technology transfer, and helped deliver three key areas of F1 engine thinking in the design of the 1.6 Energy dCi 130.

1: Square

Matching bore and stroke is loved by F1 engineers and is also present here. It allows large diameter valves to be used, which fill the combustion chambers more efficiently.

2: Water flow

Transverse water flow* is a common in F1. It means smaller water pumps can be used. Renault has combined it with a double water jacket, allowing a controlled flow of water can be focused solely on the hot zones – combustion chamber, injectors – and cools each cylinder equally.

As water is fed downstream of the water pump, it does not flow round the combustion cylinders, meaning the cylinder head is cooled more efficiently. Water flows ‘natrually’ round the system too, with no obstructions, meaning less wasted fuel.

3: Internal friction

Super-finished surfaces and UFLEX piston ring technology have both been used, after featuring in F1 for the past decade. UFLEX is, says Renault, like a multi-blade razor: it adapts to contours and does not exert undue pressure – maximum efficiency, minimum friction.

Low-pressure EGR

Most Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems are high pressure. They take exhaust gas from the combustion chamber almost as soon as it leaves, and inject this hot gas straight into the air intake. This reduces NOx but raises the intake pressure, restricting turbo pressure.

The 1.6 Energy dCi 130 has low-pressure EGR. This is far more complicated. Exhaust gases are recovered much further downstream, after they’ve been through both the turbine and particulate filter. They are cooled in an intercooler, then recirculated through the turbo to increase its pressure.

They are then cooled a second time, before re-entering the air intake. This ‘cold loop’ means the recirculation rate can be increased, further improving efficiency and reducing NOx levels.

Remember how turbocharged engines perform better on cold days, because the air density is higher? The same applies here.

The 1.6 Energy dCi 130 allows it because the distance between the catalyst, particulate filter and air intake is so short.

Thermal management

Cold engines – below 80deg C – are inefficient: combustion is incomplete and cold lubricant is more viscous, increasing friction.

Renault helps the engine warm up 3 minutes faster by using a valve in the cooling circuit. This is closed when it’s cold, so water can’t circulate through the engine, around the combustion chambers. The engine thus warms up faster. Water does, however, flow round the engine: that double jacket coming into play again.

When warm, the solenoid opens. And when it’s really warn, the thermostat opens, engaging the entire cooling circuit. The transverse flow of water is F1-derived and results in a simpler thermal management system that’s consistent and effective. A direct Renault F1 crossover to road cars.

Other stuff

• Renault claims swift variable-geometry turbo response from low revs, that’s so good, the technology behind it has been patented.
• The compression ratio is lower, for fewer emissions, with performance maintained by a higher turbo pressure: 2.7 bar is a 12% increase.
• Injection pressure is capped to 1600 bar, rather than 1800 bar, so smaller components can be used.
• The engine is the first to benefit from full work by Renault’s new NVH department: Renault says it’s as refined as a D-sector vehicle.
• 160 engineers worked on the engine, which took 32 months to complete. 76% new, the project cost €230m.
• Downsizing from 1.9 to 1.6 reduces the swept volume of each cylinder by 16%.

Although the Energy dCi 130 programme was co-funded by Alliance partner Nissan, Renault led development through being the ‘acknowledged diesel specialist’ of the two. Unlike Nissan, it was also able to call upon an in-house F1 programme, and it’s this learning that’s been applied here.

It’s easy to scoff at such claims of F1 technology transfer, but here, Renault given proof positive that race track learning really can benefit road cars – with 64.2mpg and 115g/km being a benefit all of us can enjoy.

Now, Renault, just bring on the Megane Coupe Lotus Energy dCi 130 launch special.

* Transverse water flow explained: Most engines use longitudinal coolant flow: it enters at one side of the cylinder head and flows through the entire head before exiting. See the problem? Yes – cylinder 1 heats up the coolant before it reaches cylinder 2, and so on. Poor cylinder 4.

Transverse flow sees coolant enter the side of the engine, with the return at the opposite side of the cylinder head. Each cylinder is separated from the others to avoid interference. Result? No heat soak from one cylinder to the next, making it much more efficient.

Longitudinal is commonplace, as it’s easier to cast and thus mass-produce. Transverse is better, though. In which direction does the coolant in your engine flow? Have you ever even considered it? I’m thinking not…

+ Nic Hamilton: in the family

+ SEAT + Germany = enjoyneering

+ Jason Plato: real-world racing car superstar

This week, a brand-new motor racing circuit opened in the UK, with a fanfare that included laps by an F1 car during the opening ceremony.

OK, it wasn’t quite Lewis Hamilton doing things that shouldn’t be possible in a McLaren MP4/26, and its driver wasn’t fully on it, but the Larrouse Lola SC88 that graced the launch party was still a damned impressive coup that sounded the business. See?

Called Blyton Park, the new circuit is, as are most UK racetracks, a former airfield: in the second World War, it was a US bomber base. For the past half-decade, though, it’s hosted local grass roots motorsport for Gainsborough locals.

Business entrepreneur Richard Usher is the man behind the transformation into a full circuit (complete with corner names and everything): he paid for the 1.5 mile of fresh asphalt, and has done plenty more besides with the £500k he’s reportedly invested into the venue. All to help both trackday fans and lower-formulae racers.

First on his priority list is to attract Rallycross and Supermoto: within days of opening, Blyton had already hosted the second round of the MSA Rallycross Championship, and Usher is hopeful it will be sanctioned for Sprint meetings in time, too. (TOP TIP: general circuit bookings can also be made, car makers, if ever you’re in need of a press launch location.)

That May 4 launch day certainly showed a few more variations: the mix of cars was enormous. Such as? Try Lancia Stratos, Nissan Silvia S15 drifter, original rally Escorts and a Chevy-powered Vauxhall Firenza. Oh, and some bikes. Oh, and a Suzuki Swift rallycar. And, well, you get the idea. A bit of all sorts.

But not full-on racing cars, says Usher. He doesn’t want track competition there: against-the-clock sprints are his idea”. “The UK already has enough race tracks.

“I hope the wide range of vehicles that we saw here today will reflect the range of vehicles we attract to Blyton.” If this just so happens to include BTCC testing, then so be it – but actual wheel-to-wheel racing is not on the agenda.

Speaking of BTCC, it was designed by former BTCC driver Eugene O’Brian, in collaboration with one of our own, Evo journo John Barker. (His mythical mega-money Capri was actually at the opening day event, too). According to Evo, they were approached separately to design a track, but both came up with spookily similar designs. Merging the two created Blyton Park.

It’s not every day you can write about a new circuit in the UK, so I wish Blyton Park all the very best. Every motoring journalist’s dream is to earn enough money not only to buy the dream garage, but also to invest in somewhere to drive them all. Richard Usher has done just that: power to him.

Looks like I need £600k, then. The dream garage won’t cost much, given my tastes… but I now know the circuit is going to be a fair bit more on top. Best do as Usher did and get entrepreneurialising, then.

+ How F1 links BRDC to GOMW

+ BTCC: the anger behind the anguish

+ Jason Plato: real world racing car superstar

Pirelli is bringing colour into F1 with a great example of a quickly-recognised cognitive key.

6 different colours of tyre sidewall markings are to be used – enabling fans to visually identify which grade of tyre the driver is running on.

The colours will take some learning, but it’ll be worth it for those who love ‘reading’ races. They are:

• Orange: Wet
• Light blue: Intermediate
• Red: Supersoft
• Yellow: Soft
• White: Medium
• Silver: Hard

Orange and blue will be used in wet races, meaning most F1 races will see a mix of red, yellow, white and silver.

Remembering which is which will at first require a mnenomic, though. Any thoughts?

I’m musing: pointers include silver/metal/hard, white/in the middle/medium and red/raw/soft (as they’re likely to, ahem, be ‘rubbed away’ rapidly)… maybe, even, ‘hot laps on the reds’…

Good lord. Please, do you have a better one?

Comment below and vote for your favourite!

BRDC members have a prime spot to watch the Silverstone Grand Prix each year.

The famed building, right next to the pits entry, is a Silverstone landmark and THE place to be if you’ve earned the right to be one of Britain’s motor racing elite.

Today, Damon Hill will preside over a cast of hundreds – including Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Derek Warwick and umpteen other fan’s favourites.

I was able to have a peek on Friday night, too, as the BRDC hosted members of the press, including GOMW members. So, to see from where they’ll be watching, check out the gallery below.

It shows the three-storey building’s smart chairs, live-feed TVs and panoramic roof balcony from where most will be packed come 1pm today.

There are more images on my Facebook Page too. Oh, to be a Brit motor racing star and earn the right to apply for membership…

1966 was a good year for World Cup football but also a good year for F1-loving members of the Guild of Motoring Writers.

Ford, amazingly, built a chalet at Silverstone, for motorsport-nut F1 journos to drink tea and smoke pipes in. Yup, that’s how motor racing was, back in the day. Impossible to imagine it today – particularly on the chosen prime location, next to the Silverstone pit entry.

It was a sister hut to the Guild Chalet at Goodwood, where the annual GOMW Motor Show Test Day had ran since 1948.

If all this history sounds a bit bonkers, bear in mind some of the esteemed members the Guild’s had. Indeed, it was no less than the late 9th Duke of Richmond who, as GOMW President, set up the Silverstone hut. As a founder member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (busy guy), he also established the practice of inviting BRDC pals along, too.

The following year, the Guild Test Day was moved to Silverstone, and based at said hut. It continued there for years, before moving to Donington Park. (Incidentally, why is it not run today? Well, it is: aka SMMT Test Day…)

Today, the hut is history – nowadays, the BRDC base is situated there. A press barbecue hosted by the BRDC on the eve of the British GP gave me the chance to see how the site has been tranformed.

The BRDC building is a genuine landmark, way beyond anything the Guild had there back in the day. As I found on Friday, though, you can still get a cracking cup of tea there…

Look out soon for some views from the night!

F1 is stuck in the dark ages in one incredibly road-car-relevant area.

It still uses 13-inch wheels!

This is a surprise detailed in Autosport’s news pages a few weeks ago. Debate has been stirred up because Michelin is musing on returning to F1 – but only with a rule change that would see wheels grow.

This is a few decades behind road cars: take the Hyundai i20 on test recently. That’s an £11k supermini hatch with a 1.2-litre engine – and even this comes with 15-inch alloys as standard.

You’re not a hot hatch of any credibility if you don’t have 18-inches, while 19”s and 20”s are de rigueur for sportscars.

That’s why Michelin’s proposing that F1 grows up. Introduces 18-inches, as are already fitted to sportscars: this would let the company use Le Mans prototype tyre tech as a base for a new set of F1 boots. (Tantalisingly, Autosport also says there’s talk of a non-control-tyre rule: that’ll further spice things up.)

Williams F1 tech man Sam Michael reckons it’s a goer, reports Autosport. ‘It would bring Formula 1 into the modern world.’ 13-inches are now specific only to F1 and micro-engined city cars. Introduce 18”s and you’re suddenly far closer to a road car.

They also, dammit, look far better. Which designer would seriously sketch a car with the rim size and tyre sidewall profile of an F1 car? Other than one from the 1960s? Today, big wheels and liquorice profiles is where it’s at – and it’s making ride quality still decent that’s preoccupying thousands of chassis engineers right now.

How to buy the World Cup of motorsport

Lewis Hamilton and Gilles Villeneuve

Richard Branson’s Virgin F1 (Teenage) Fanclub

WORLD Cup fever kicks off this summer but you can get in right now – even if you’re not a football fan.

Up for auction is, well, ‘the A1 GP series’.

Yes, really – you can bid for:

•    20 A1 GP cars
•    14 Lola Formula single-seaters
•    Spare engines
•    Spare body parts
•    25 team shacks
•    Pit perches
•    Flight cases
•    Ferrari 599GTB safety car
•    Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT medical car

Amazing, aye? This is not just buying an old racing car – it’s buying an entire racing operation. As raced by current F1 drivers Toni Liuzzi and Sebastian Buemi, and former Renault/now-infamous crashgate driver Nelson Piquet Jr. New Williams F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg actually won the championship in 2006; HRT cult star Karun Chandhok and Force India Malaysia star Adrian Sutil also ran in it.

You may not know this, either: the A1 GP car is not only Ferrari-engined, but also based on THE 2004 Ferrari F1 racer that Schumacher used for one of his many World Championship title wins. Heritage at this level comes little higher.

What’s all this World Cup stuff, though? Well, that was the unique part of A1 GP. Instead of driving for teams, drivers were run by nationality. Robbie Kerr often represented the UK, for instance, though Adam Carroll also drove for ‘us’. It was launched in 2004 and ran until last year, when the set-up running it, err, ran into difficulties.

Even so, it was still an FIA-accredited ‘world’ championship, that has a decent heritage and served as feeder school for more than a few handy pilots. You can see the whole auction stock down at a site in Surrey, with more information through the auctioneer’s website.

Anything stopping a rich benefactor buying the whole lot and laying on another summer World Cup for car fans, then? Plenty, probably, but seeing as the eventual buyer will get all the IP rights including A1 GP trademarks and the A1 GP domain name, this journo sees it as all quite straightforward…

Updates will follow!

Bentley’s bad tooth

Lewis Hamilton and Gilles Villeneuve

Richard Branson’s F1 (Teenage) Fanclub

LEWIS Hamilton is getting a bit of a hard time at the hands of the Oz Police.

OK, he was hooning. It was, as he said, a little silly. But…. He’s a Grand Prix driver. The best in the world. Surely, although rules iz rules, a teeny leniency could have overridden the need to make quite such an example of him?

The fact a motorcyclist was killed on a nearby road did LH no favours. But, at the same time, I think of the Italian mindset. Where such abandon is, well, not encouraged exactly (certainly not if it’s dangerous), but not frowned upon either.

Then, I think back to Gilles Villeneuve, to Gerald Donaldson’s magisterial book, to the tails of how one of my favourite drivers ever used to set a challenge to his team-mates.

Such as? Well, the drive back from Modena to home in Switzerland.? Let’s see, went the challenge, who can bomb our road-going Ferraris for the furthest, without lifting our foot from the floored accelerator…

OK. It’s a bit foolhardy. But tell me there’s not a part of you that also doesn’t think it’s quite cool…

Mind you, Donaldson also tells us of something else the Australian Police wouldn’t like: Villeneuve’s tendency to enter said Ferrari, floor throttle, start it up, dump the clutch and spin-turn away from a standing, well, park.

Just like Hamilton, a total hero. And if you want to know why I used the above image, of the 1979 French Grand Prix, check this out:

Richard Branson’s Virgin F1 (Teenage) Fanclub

Motorsport and Twitter aim for Groundswell

The most amazing save of 2009