RECOMMENDATIONREPORT

To:
BillJohnson,HeadofR&D,TechwritingMotorCompany(TMC)
From:
AustinFisher,Intern
Date:
November8,2015
Subject:
RecommendationforImprovingTMCsHybridLineup

Background:

Duetoincreasingfederalregulationsonfueleconomyandemissions,TechwritingMotor
Company(TMC)hasdeterminedthatitisnecessarytobegindevelopingahybridvehicle.Every
majorautomanufacturerhasdonethesame.ManyconsidertheToyotaPriustobethefirstcarto
bringhybridsintothemainstreampubliceyeandothermanufactureshavefollowedsuit,
developingtheirownhybridstofillthegrowingconsumerdemandandtomeetstringent
regulations.TMCmustdothesameifitwishestostaycompetitiveintheevolvingmarket.

InordertokickstartTMCshybriddivisionasdiscussedatourlastmeetingandinmyresearch
proposal,IrecommendthatTMCbegindevelopingaprototypehybridracecar.Thiswouldhave
multiplebenefits.First,creatingaracecarthatisahybridandbrandedassuchwillgeneratealot
ofmediaexposure,informingthepublicthatwearedevelopingahybrid.Moreimportantly,it
willforceustoquicklydevelopahybriddrivetraininordertomeetadeadline,andprovidean
extremelydemandingenvironmentinwhichtotestit.

OverviewofRacingHybridTechnology:
KERS
(KineticEnergyRecoverySystem):
Asystemdesignedtorecoveracar'skinetic
energyuponbraking.Theenergyisstoredinareservoirsuchasaflywheel,
supercapacitor,orbatteries,andislaterdischargedtoincreaseacceleration.
Flywheel
:Amethodofstoringenergyinarotatingdisc.
Supercapacitor
:Similartoabattery,canbechargedanddischargedmuchmorerapidly
buthaslessoverallchargecapacityforagivenmass.
MGUK
(MotorGeneratorUnitKinetic):PartoftheF1KERS,recoverskineticenergy
tobestored,andthenactsasamotorwhenitisdischarged.
MGUH
(MGUHeat):SimilartoMGUK,butrecoversenergyfromtheheatofexhaust
gasesandcanactasamotortospooltheturbo.


BenefitsofParticipatinginRacing:

TechTransfer
Themostsignificantbenefitofparticipatinginracingisthetechnologytransferfromracingto
productioncars.Whendesigning,building,andtestingaracecar,manylessonsarelearned.
Thingswillbreakornotworkasdesigned,butthatisactuallybeneficial.Racingprovidesa
demandingenvironmentinwhichtofigureoutwhatworksandwhatdoesnt.

Anexampleofdirecttechtransferisthe7.0LsmallblockV8usedinthe2006Z06Corvette.
ThatandseveralotherkeydesignfeaturescamedirectlyfromtheCorvetteC5Rracing
1
program
.SteveWesoloski,theroadracinggroupmanageratGM,saysthatalthoughthe
logisticsofproductionpreventanymajorchangesduringaproductiongeneration,manylessons
1
learnedfromtheracingprogrambenefitthenextgenerationCorvette
.

Oneofthereasonsthatusingracingasamethodofdevelopmentissoeffectiveisstrict
developmentdeadlines.InapaperpublishedbySAEInternational,theauthorsexplainthatin
ordertotestandanalyzecompositeimpactperformanceforaFormulaOneteam,theywere
2
forcedtooptimizetheirdesignprocesscycleinordertomeetstrictschedulingdemands
.The
strategiesusedforquickdevelopmentturnaroundcarriedovertopassengercardevelopment,in
additiontothecompositedesignconcepts.

IfyoulookattherulesinFormulaOne(F1)racing,itisapparentthattheyaredesignedwithtech
transferinmind.LastyeartheengineswerechangedtomorefuelefficientturboV6hybridswith
3
stricterfuellimits,whichMercedessaysisimportantforroadcarrelevance
.Theenginesare
comparableinperformancetotheoldnaturallyaspiratedV8s,whileusing30%lessfuel.Both
MercedesandRenaulthadconsideredleavingF1ifthenewerengineswerenotadopted,dueto
4
concernsthattheoldengineswerenolongerrelevanttotechtransfer
.Whenteamsareforcedto
developfuelefficientenginesforracing,productioncarswillalsobenefitinaneraofstringent
fuelandemissionsregulations.

Inadditiontodevelopment,racingprovidesanenvironmentinwhichtotestandimprovehybrid
systemsthatcouldlaterbeimplementedincars.InadocumentaryonToyotasTS030prototype
hybridracecar,Iobservedthatthecarwashavingdifficultieswiththevoltagesinitshybrid
system,whichcausedthecartobeunpredictabletothepointofbeingdangerousforthedriver.
Ononerainytestingday,thecarwascrashedanddamagedbeyondrepairduetoissueswiththe
5
hybridsystemcausingalossofcontrol
.RacingwouldallowTMCtoworkoutissuesinahybrid
systembeforeproductionbegins,thusmakingTMChybridssaferforconsumers.

Publicity
Anotherbenefitofracingisthepublicitythatcomeswithit,especiallywithwinning.Inthepress
releaseforthePorsche911GT3Rhybridrace
car,theyarequicktopointoutinthefirst
paragraphthatthePorsche911haswonover
6
20,000racesoverits45+yearhistory
.Sucha
historyinmotorsportsdefinitelyattracts
customersandelevatestheperceptionofthe
company.Seetheimageattherightforan
exampleofhowAudiusestheirmotorsport
heritageasaformofadvertising.

ImagecourtesyofAudi

MercedesrecentlychangedthegraphicsontheirF1cartosayAMGHybridratherthanjust
7
AMG
.ItisnocoincidencethatMercedesalsorecentlyannouncedthatbytheyear2020,their
8
AMGlineupwillincludeahybriddrivetrain
.BrandingasuccessfulracecarasanAMGhybrid
willhelpthepublicperceiveahybriddrivetrainasaperformancebenefitratherthanadetriment
duetothecurrentassociationwithslowcarssuchasthePrius.

RacingSeriesSelection:

FormulaOne
Therearehundredsofracingseriesintheworld,soitcanbedifficulttofindtheoneidealfora
prototypehybrid.FormulaOne(F1)isconsideredbymanytobethepinnacleofmotorracing
9
withanaverageofaround24millionfanswatchingeveryrace
.HoweverF1wouldnotbeideal
forTMC.Forone,thebudgetisbeyondthescopeofTMC.In2013,thetopF1teamhada
10
budgetof$470million
.Additionally,thedesignrulesareveryrestricted.Allteamsmustusea
11
1.6LV6turboengineconnectedtoMGUKandMGUHunits
.ThiswouldmakeF1badfor
testingavarietyofhybriddrivetrains,aseveryoneislimitedtotheirownversionofthesame
engine.

WorldEnduranceChampionship
Incontrast,theWorldEnduranceChampionshipseries
(WEC)hasamuchmoreopenrulebook.Teamscanuse
almostanykindofdrivetraintheywant,andthecarsmore
closelyresembleproductioncars(closedcockpitwith
doors,coveredwheels,seeexampleatright).Foran
exampleofthedesigndiversity,in2014,threedifferent
AudisWEChybrid.ImageCourtesyofAudi

manufacturersranprototypehybridcarsinWEC:Audi,Porsche,andToyota.Audiscaruseda
V6turbodieselengineandaflywheelbasedKERSatthefrontwheels.Porschechoseagasoline
turboV4,andabatterybasedKERSwithaMGUKatthefrontwheelsandaGUHconnected
totheturbo(similartoF1sMGUH,butitonlyactsasageneratortochargethebattery).Toyota
11
optedforagasolineV8,andasupercapacitorbasedKERSonboththefrontandrearaxles
.

AnotheraspectofWECisthattheracesaremuchlonger(hencethetermendurance)andis
thereforeamuchmoredemandingtestenvironmentforthecar.WhileF1racescannotexceed2
hours,WECracesareaminimumof6hours,withthebiggestraceoftheseasonbeingthe24
HoursofLeMans,whichseesthecarsracingfor24hoursstraight.IfthegoalofTMCisto
developaproductioncarthatwouldlastforthousandsofmileswithoutbreakingdown,the
enduranceformatofWECwouldbeamuchbetterprovingground.

WhilethefreedomofdesignandenduranceformatofWECwouldbeidealforTMC,thereis
stillanissuewiththebudget.WhilenotasextremeasF1,theincrediblysuccessfulAudiWEC
12
programreportedlycost$242million
.Additionally,WECracestakeplaceallovertheworld,
whichcouldbedifficultforSanLuisObispobasedTMC.

IMSAWeatherTechSportsCarChampionship
TheIMSAWeatherTechSportsCarChampionshipisthebestalternativetoWEC.Itis
13
enduranceracingjustlikeWEC,withraceslastingfromacouplehoursupto24hours
.Races
takeplaceentirelyintheU.S(exceptoneinCanada).Ihavebeenunabletofindanyinformation
onhowmuchitwouldcosttoenterthisseries,butTMCwouldbespendingrelativelylittleon
transportation,lodging,food,andotherlogisticalissues,andcouldinsteadfocusonthe
developmentofthecar.Itwouldlikelystillcostmillionstohaveacompetitivecar,butnowhere
nearthescaleofF1andWEC.TMCwouldhavethesamebenefitsofenduranceracinglikein
WEC,butwithalessextremebudget.

SummaryofRecommendation:

IrecommendthatTMCcreatearacingdivisionthatwillspendthenextyearortwodevelopinga
hybridenduranceracecarthatwillcompeteintheIMSAWeatherTechSportsCar
Championship.Sinceaproductionhybridwoulddefinitelyuseabattery,Irecommendthatthe
racecaralsouseabatterybasedKERSduetothepotentialfortechtransfer.Theendurance
raceswillprovideaharshenvironmentinwhichtotestthecar,andmanylessonswillbelearned
thatcouldbeappliedtoaproductionhybrid.IbelievethisisthebestwayforTMCtobeginthe

developmentofahybriddrivetrain.Iappreciateyourconsiderationandsupport,andplease
contactmewithanyquestionsorcomments.

CC:JackMatthews,CEO
PhillipWalker,HeadofOperations
EdwardSmith,LeadTechnicalSupervisor

WorksCited

1. Kren,Lawrence."RacingtoTechTransfer."
MachineDesign
77.18(2005):
80,80,82,84,86,88.
ProQuest.
Web.6Nov.2015.
2. Doi,DouglasA.,RichardA.Jeryan,andHikmatF.Mahmood,etal."CompositeImpact
AnalysisofRaceCars:TechnologyTransfertoPassengerCarDevelopment."
SAE
International
(1998):n.pag.Web.6Nov.2015.
3. Noble,Jonathan."Analysis:WhyHybridEnginesAreanF1MustforMercedes."
Motorsport.com
.N.p.,28May2015.Web.06Nov.2015.
4. Benson,Andrew."MercedesCouldHaveQuitoverEngines."
BBCSport
.BBC,9Apr.
2014.Web.06Nov.2015.
5. Toyota'sRoadtoLeMans:RacingRedefined
.ByMaryJaneMorrison.RobertDalrymple
Productions,2012.
6. "911GT3RHybridCelebratesWorldDebutinGeneva."Porsche,2Nov.2010.Web.6
Nov.2015.
7. DeMorro,Christopher."MercedesRenamesItsFormula1CarAHybrid."
Gas2
.N.p.,
09May2014.Web.06Nov.2015.
8. Perlas,Giancarlo."MercedesAMGtoReleaseHybridEnginesin2020."
BenzInsider
.
N.p.,01Aug.2015.Web.06Nov.2015.
9. Zhang,Benjamin."3OfTheWorld'sBiggestCarRacesAreComingUpHere'sWhat
YouNeedToKnow."
BusinessInsider
.BusinessInsider,Inc,16May2014.Web.06
Nov.2015.
10. Miller,Mike."What'sItCosttoCompeteinFormulaOne?AnIndyCarComparison."
MotorSportsTalk
.NBC,22May2013.Web.06Nov.2015.
11. Gitlin,JonathanM."1000horsepowerTechnologypackedHybridRaceCarsTakethe
Polein2014."
ArsTechnica
.N.p.,17June2014.Web.06Nov.2015.
12. Pruett,Marshall."PRUETT:InsidetheAudiF1Rumors."
Racer.com
.N.p.,04Nov.
2014.Web.06Nov.2015.
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InternationalMotorSportsAssociation
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