Acura/HPD's future plans

[Stefvh]

I think Barrichello is not retiring.But yes, he could be a good driver for Acura.

[JAG]

Isn't Coulthard best friends with De Ferran?

Plus, he's already drove at Le Mans in the Jaguar XJ200C, and id managed by Brundle, himself a Le Mans Legend!

[FIRE]

Coulthard has said he will not race in DTM, Nascar or LMS.

[dxk1]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Coulthard has said he will not race in DTM, Nascar or LMS.

That still leaves ALMS and LeMans as possibilities, No?

DK

[Zurbert82]

I think the LMS reference would rule out him wanting to drive a Le Mans Prototype.

[AU N EGL]

I talked to a freind who works for Ilmor ( builders of the IRL and Accura Engines) Said they are working on new engines. that is plural.

Yes Ilmore builds the Honda IRL and Accura ALMS engines. Just badges them Honda or Accura.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

I talked to a freind who works for Ilmor ( builders of the IRL and Accura Engines) Said they are working on new engines. that is plural.

Yes Ilmore builds the Honda IRL and Accura ALMS engines. Just badges them Honda or Accura.

They are not Ilmore engines badged as either Honda or Acura! They are Honda (not sure if they are involved with the Acura) engines built under contract by Ilmor and not simply badged.

Most recently, a new racing chapter evolved under Robert's direction with Acura entering the fiercely competitive American Le Mans Racing Series (ALMS). The Acura ALMS program features the Acura LM V8, HPD's first-ever and Honda's first racing engine produced outside of Honda R&D Japan. The three Acura-powered teams made a spectacular debut this year by taking the first, second and fourth positions in the LMP2 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the world's most prestigious road-racing events.

http://racing.honda.com/press/detail.aspx?id=4334


L.P.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

I talked to a freind who works for Ilmor ( builders of the IRL and Accura Engines) Said they are working on new engines. that is plural.

Yes Ilmore builds the Honda IRL and Accura ALMS engines. Just badges them Honda or Accura.

Hmm, is Ilmore not partly owned by Penske? If Porsche really stop the LMP2 operation and don't move up to P1, could the Captain(sponsorship provided) do it on his own with some kind of Penske-fied customer chassis and Ilmore engines?

[broadrun96]

Probably not as I'm sure there are confidentiality agreements in place that block them from even discussing manufacturing methods and any particulars. Probably also prohibits keeping any plans or tools to build the engine or sell it within the series for years.

[protopuma]

In late 2002, Mercedes-Benz elected to begin a phased buyout of Ilmor. This began to stifle opportunities for Special Projects and so Roger and Mario elected to buy the business, along with the Ilmor name. This was accomplished by the end of June 2005 and so a new Ilmor was born. The company is led by Steve Miller, an engineer with a 15-year history of success in US racing.

This team of people working in partnership with Honda Performance Development in California created an engine that has totally dominated the last few seasons of racing in the IRL.

http://www.ilmor.co.uk/profile.php So they for sure work in the IRL. What AU N EGL sounds very plausible, although they don't say they work with Honda/Acura in alms on their website.

[AU N EGL]

the Brand ( Honda ) will say they deisgned the engine. The Ilmore ppl say they desigend the engine, and Honda paid to have the Ilmore engine badged as Honda for IRL and Acura for the ALMS cars.

This is Ilmore in Mich USA, not the Ilmore in the UK ( same company though )

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

the Brand ( Honda ) will say they deisgned the engine. The Ilmore ppl say they desigend the engine, and Honda paid to have the Ilmore engine badged as Honda for IRL and Acura for the ALMS cars.

This is Ilmore in Mich USA, not the Ilmore in the UK ( same company though )

Really, show me where in the Ilmore history it states that it is an Ilmore engine! Heck, show me where it states that anywhere, that has any substance to it.

Originally Posted by protopuma

http://www.ilmor.co.uk/profile.php So they for sure work in the IRL. What AU N EGL sounds very plausible, although they don't say they work with Honda/Acura in alms on their website.

I never said they were not. In fact I even stated that they build the engines. But as a contractor not a supplier!


L.P.

[Bob Riebe]

Tom is correct, go dig around the IRL forums and you will find it listed there.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by Bob Riebe

Tom is correct, go dig around the IRL forums and you will find it listed there.

Facts, not supposition, please.


L.P.

[Bob Riebe]

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

Facts, not supposition, please.


L.P.

Get off your butt and look it up, because you do not think so does not change the facts.

[JAG]

I never thought I'd say this, but with so many high reving V8 P2's in the ALMS, I hope Acura go for a turbo P1 motor, or at least an atmo V10 (NSX marketing?) or V12.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by Bob Riebe

Get off your butt and look it up, because you do not think so does not change the facts.

Frankly my butt is none of your concern! And it is not my facts that are in question, but the lack thereof from those with the opposing view. Now if it is to difficult for those concerned so be it, but to imply that this is fact, without supplying the corroborating facts, shows the depth of validity of the statement.


L.P.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by JAG

I never thought I'd say this, but with so many high reving V8 P2's in the ALMS, I hope Acura go for a turbo P1 motor, or at least an atmo V10 (NSX marketing?) or V12.

Yes it would be nice to see the V10 from the NSX (replacement) in the P-1 also.


L.P.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

Frankly my butt is none of your concern! And it is not my facts that are in question, but the lack thereof from those with the opposing view. Now if it is to difficult for those concerned so be it, but to imply that this is fact, without supplying the corroborating facts, shows the depth of validity of the statement.


L.P.

Lane

The statement came from an Ilmore Engineer and a long time freind. So good info in my book.

He said the current engine is close to the older Chevy badges Ilmore and the Cosworth Ilmores IRL engines of yeasteryear them most ppl want to believe.

Not much difference in the past 10 or so years.

Why would Ilmore not want to publish this? they make a lot of money from other companies rebadging their engiens to the company with the big dollars.

We kinda joked a bit, that the ALMS Accuras at first were not really Accuras or Hondas at all. French chassies and Ilmore engines subcontacted or outsourced then badged as Accura.
Now they have changed quite a bit on the bodies, but not the engines that much.

Sounds like NASCAR doesn't it?

[Félix]

What I understood was that HPD was designing a new V8 for the competitive IRL... before Toyota and GM went away. The engine became the spec engine (in 3.5 form) last year I think and before that its development was finished with the ALMS project in mind.

The PR-reports I read proudly said it was the first Honda engine completely designed outside of Japan by their North-American performance arm. I'm sure HPD has that kind of design capacity if you check.

They have surely used tricks from the Ilmor designs they already used and probably hire them to make the engines. But saying it's not a Honda engine because it has lineage from a specialist company would mean that all the F1 engines are not from the manufacturer badging them because they are built by a specialist entity owned by the manufacturer and originate from ideas and designs that were one day brought there by specialists.

[chernaudi]

It's just like how the Audi R8's and maybe the R10's engines were designed with the help of Cosworth(and I don't mean the Mahle pistons-much of the R8's engine was designed with the help of Cosworth, and they probably made contributions to the R10 engine).

Most racing engines are designed with the help of an ally outside firm(Audi and Cosworth), or one owned by a car maker(Mechachrome/Supertec and Renault). However, since the Acura LMP2 engine has no direct lineage to the IRL engines(doubtlessly, HPD are using tricks learned from the Indy Car engines, but not an actual design for LMP2 engine's basis), the Ilmor connection is probably comparable to Cosworth's relationship with Audi-design consulting/aid, but not manufacture.

[AU N EGL]

It was mentioned to me that how close the old Chevy, Toyota IRL engines and the New Honda IRL engines are. I then asked if almost to the point of changing the valve covers with the different names and you cant tell them apart? He answered not quite but close

And that the Accura LMP2 engines is not too different then the Honda IRL engine. again all designed and built by Ilmore. But PAID for by the big makes for Brand Marketing.

Oh well

Ilmore is working on new engines all the time. If one is a new Accura LMP1 engine I dont know and he would not say.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by JAG

I never thought I'd say this, but with so many high reving V8 P2's in the ALMS, I hope Acura go for a turbo P1 motor, or at least an atmo V10 (NSX marketing?) or V12.

I'd like some variation as well, BUT all the V8s do sound drastically different. The Acuras sound odd... very cool on decel.

[chernaudi]

Acura are running brake shrouds like what Audi and Peugeot have: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...mid-ohio-blog/

[JAG]

Some rumours about a three car Le Mans P1 program also.

So what will happen to the P2's, customer cars?