DeltaWing concept car to race at Le Mans

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Le Mans endurance race is a 24-hour competition that features cars that typically have an engine that comes in at over five liters. One team, known as the Project 56 group, has created a car that has an engine with only 1.6 liters. The car, which has been dubbed the DeltaWing concept car, manages to run with its reduced engine capacity by significantly improving the aerodynamics of the vehicle and reducing the weight of the car to increase the fuel efficiency.

The cars has been given the 56th spot in the 2012 24 hours of Le Mans races starting grid, a spot usually reserved for experimental cars that are powered by a variety of alternative technologies. Since the race is about endurance, as much as it is about staying power as it is about speed a car in any spot has the potential to win the 24 hour long race. This spot is good for a car that is high on fuel efficiency, since the race rewards cars that have to make fewer fuel stops.

The cars 1.6-liter turbocharged engine is roughly 300 horsepower, which is about half of the horses found inside the engines of a typical competitor at Le Mans. The car also features a slim front end attached to a narrower track than the rear, which makes the car aerodynamic and makes the car easier to move forward.

The car seats two, a driver and a backup driver. The technology in concept cars that tests well at Le Mans has a decent chance of showing up in production cars, though no plans have been made at this time.

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