Chevrolet's all-new Midget racing engine was unveiled at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by GM representatives and United States Auto Club (USAC) team owner Tony Stewart. Designed by GM Racing specifically for the USAC National Midget Car Series, the new purpose-built, four-cylinder Chevrolet racing engine will initially power Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones in upcoming events. The new Chevy Midget engine will be available to all USAC competitors through independent engine builders.
The new methanol-burning 166ci (2.7-liter) Chevy Midget racing engine produces more than 350 horsepower. The lightweight, inline four-cylinder engine employs an aluminum block and cylinder head with two valves per cylinder. Per USAC rules, the Chevy Midget engine is equipped with mechanical fuel injection and utilizes an electronic ignition system.
Starting with a clean sheet of paper and a blank computer screen, GM Racing engineers developed a package that is a departure from the engines traditionally used in Midget racing. The new Chevy powerplant stands out from its competition with an innovative architecture that improves its combustion efficiency, enhances airflow and lowers the center of gravity. Advanced technical resources such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and solid 3-D modeling used to design GM production engines were also used to develop the Chevrolet Midget racing engine.
The major components that define the Chevrolet Midget engine package – the cylinder block, cylinder head and certain ancillaries – will be available to all USAC competitors. Independent engine builders can then assemble Chevy Midget engines using internal components from their preferred suppliers. Kistler Racing Engines of Fremont, Ohio, supplies the Chevy engines that power the two TSR entries.
Researchers at Ford’s advanced driving simulator, Virtual Test Track Experiment (VIRTTEX), are devoting much of 2008 to study how active safety technologies in vehicles should alert drivers of potentially dangerous driving incidents.
Ford also conducted customer driving clinics to test warning systems for its new backup system, the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring warning system, which alerts drivers backing out of a parking space when traffic is approaching from the sides. The system will debut early next year and has three warnings – a flashing red light on the side mirror, an audible alert and a written warning on the instrument panel’s message center. The system makes its debut in early 2009
Piezo technology makes diesel engines efficient, clean and quiet. At the 29th Vienna International Engine Symposium, the Powertrain Division of Continental will be presenting a new piezo injector with direct drive and closed-loop needle control, opening the way for engine developers to further reduce consumption and emissions.
When it was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1’s power was estimated at 100 horsepower for each of its 6.2 liters of displacement. GM Powertrain has completed SAE certification of the ZR1’s supercharged LS9 V-8 and the results exceed the estimate: 638 horsepower (476 kW) and 604 lb.-ft. of torque (819 Nm).
“The TH!NK city is the world’s only crash-tested and highway-certified EV and is ideal for markets such as California where we will initiate demonstration projects offering an exceptionally safe and fun car to drive” says Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global. –“We are therefore proud to partner with the two pioneering investors in the clean tech field and to launch TH!NK city in North America with them.”