New Ferrari Challenge Stradale: Geneva 2003
Published: 6th March 2003
Reduction |
% reduction in terms
of total car weight |
|
| Engine and gearbox | 11 kg |
4% |
| Unsuspended mass | 5 kg |
3% |
| Body | 94 kg |
12% |
Reducing a car's weight also means a reduction in its inertia. The main effect of this on the Challenge Stradale, together with the peak power increase provided by the V8 engine, is a considerable increase in performance, particularly as regards pick-up and acceleration.
The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and covers 400 metres from a standing start in 12.1 seconds.
Racing Interiors
Only the essential remains Essentiality - in the most specific meaning of the term - is the dominant characteristic of the Challenge Stradale's interior, right from the elimination of unnecessary features like carpeting and mats, to a racing-style interpretation for every single feature.
The rev counter located right in the centre of the instruments becomes the driver's main point of reference, emphasised by the yellow graphics and red indicator that ensure optimum contrast and legibility. The entire panel is enclosed within a carbon-fibre element that also houses secondary instruments and other telltales.
The new steering wheel, with a squashed crown in the upper section fitted with a sight just like on the racing version, has F1 gear-change paddles, the right one having been lengthened to facilitate changing up when pulling out of corners.
The car is fitted with carbon fibre-structure racing seats upholstered with a high-grip textile.
Door panels are made entirely of carbon fibre, as is the central tunnel, which has been designed to house all the car's main controls - ignition button, reverse gear button, dynamic vehicle settings (race, launch control, ASR excluder) within easy reach of the driver.
The car can be fitted with either 3-point attachment or 4-point racing attachment racing seat belts and an aluminium roll-bar that's 40% lighter than a conventional type, developed specifically for the Challenge Stradale.
The Challenge Stradale is equipped with the existing previous 360 Modena 90° V8 engine mounted centrally behind the cabin in a longitudinal configuration as a single block together with the gearbox and differential. Peak power output of the V8 engine has been raised to 425 bhp at 8,500 rpm to give an exceptional power rating that exceeds 118.5 bhp/litre, which makes it the most powerful normally-aspirated V8 ever built by Ferrari. The extremely high peak torque remains unchanged at 373 Nm (275 lbft) at 4,750 rpm.
On the mechanical front, couplings for rotating parts in
the Challenge Stradale's V8 have been carefully selected and
this has led to a significant improvement in performance.
Modifications to the engine can be grouped in the following
areas:
1. Optimisation of the compression ratio by means of additional work on components involved in it (Heads, Pistons)
2. Optimisation of the engine's fluid dynamics, by means of the following modificationsinterventions:
- use of an intake manifold with inserted stacks and burnished ducts, in addition to burnishing the intake ducts and head exhaust
- optimisation of the section and head of the intake manifold coupling
- use of a specific intake timing
- use of a new low-load loss, airflow meter
- new low counter-pressure exhaust silencer
3. Optimisation of mechanical performance was achieved by means of the following interventions:
- selection of low-friction cylinder blocks
- new positioning of valve-springs
F1 Gearbox
The entire development of the Challenge Stradale was based around the F1-type electro-hydraulic transmission that controls the clutch and gearbox by means of blades integral with the steering column - a trademark of Ferrari cars and a solution developed specifically for racing.
The increase in precision guaranteed by the new control strategy applied specifically to this car, and also by a faster processing speed, has reduced gear-change time throughout the entire range of use, with a minimum of 150 milliseconds when using the super-performance option.
The available gear-change configurations are consistent with the car's top-level sporting profile and so only include manual gear-change operated by the driver using F1-type paddles (there is no automatic gearbox option).
The reverse gear is engaged by means of a button on the central tunnel.
There are two gear-change configurations (Sport and Race): each of these configurations corresponds to an integrated car-control logic as regards damper set-up and traction control (ASR).
In "RACE" mode and with the ASR disengaged there's also a "launch control" strategy as used in Formula 1, a feature specially designed to give drivers a high-performance start in good grip conditions.
