Factory Studs: Part 1

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is hotter than Christina Aguilera's pants. Sixteen wildly popular events this year beginning, as always, with Monte Carlo in late January. Before this year there were 14 rallies--10 gravel, three tarmac and one snow (Sweden). Now that the FIA is in year three of a three-year plan to make the WRC as big as Formula One, Japan and Mexico have been added and the mix now includes 12 gravel-spitting three-day weekends.

For better or for worse, the FIA absorbed the WRC at the end of 2001, and there have since been several rule changes that have directly affected the technology strategies adopted by each team. Among the hottest tech topics: weight distribution and center of gravity, aerodynamics with just the right downforce and cooling, low-mass suspensions with high durability, updated engines that don't break the bank, active vs. passive diffs, and the everlasting tire strategies. As you read this, the 10 factory-backed cars (five teams--Subaru, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Citroen and Ford--two cars each) eligible for Manufacturers' Championship points are getting set for either Cyprus (May 14 to 16), Acropolis (June 4 to 6) or Turkey (June 25 to 27). All gravel (actually, large rocks), lots of sand and flies.

Here's the skinny on three of the six A8 Class cars that'll finish the 2004 WRC season at the Telstra Rally Australia (November 12 to 14) in and around Perth. We'll bring you two more next month. We skipped Czech team Skoda and its Golf-based Fabia just because its only running in a few rallies. That and it stands a gopher pop's chance in hell.

555 SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM
Car - Subaru Impreza WRC2004
Car #1 - Petter Solberg (Norway)/ Phil Mills (Wales)
Car #2 - Mikko Hirvonen (Finland)/ Jarmo Lehtinen (Finland)

First off, Solberg gets the honor of driving his Prodrive/STi-prepped Impreza in the cross hairs this season by virtue of his having won the 2003 WRC Drivers' Championship by one point over Sebastien Loeb and his Citroen Xsara. Both Solberg and new number two Mikko Hirvonen didn't get into the Impreza WRC2004 in the competitive sense until the Corona Rally Mexico in mid-March of this year.

One thing that hasn't changed drastically is that cuddly turbo'd 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder. The inherent advantages of this squat unit (as opposed to the upright transverse fours in all other WRC cars) have always been a completely symmetrical layout of powertrain and drivetrain, along with a naturally low center of gravity for legendary stability and minimal weight transfer in curves. For the Impreza WRC2004, the exhaust manifold has been given a more direct path out and back and further mass has been removed from the existing crankshaft, camshaft and piston designs--the philosophy being, of course, that easier breathing and freedom of movement make for less power loss and quicker engine response to throttle input. The same applies to humans. The fuel injection system has also been modified for more efficient delivery of go-juice, helping power arrive quicker. Adding to this, the existing IHI turbo has also been tweaked to be more efficient and responsive. That means increased air-mass flow through the regulation 34mm restrictor (the WRC limit is 353 cubic feet of air per minute--10 cubic meters) with more boost and less backpressure, thanks to software updates in the new ECU. An added benefit of this has been lower temperatures in the compressor outlet, cooler and denser air producing more power by volume.

The greater volumes of air intake are also a benefit at high-altitude events like those in Mexico and Argentina, where cars can lose 25 percent of their claimed 296 SAE hp above 6,500 feet. Of course, that claimed output is hard to swallow when Subaru also claims 443 lb-ft. of torque at 4000 rpm. Any nerd with a calculator knows that hp=tq x rpm/5252. Do the math and they're admitting to 331 hp @ 4000 rpm. You'll see similar antics from the Ford rally team. As the Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) tells it, the aerodynamic changes are everywhere...and nowhere. One of those deals where every bit has been altered a touch to the point where it's not terribly noticeable unless the old and new cars are set side by side. Two alterations our little eyes spy right off are the slightly shallower rake to the hood, made possible by laying the radiator flatter for improved airflow, and small mods to the unique sectioned rear spoiler to aid in consistent stability at all slip angles, particularly through the many full-throttle sweepers contained in the 16-race schedule. Something affecting every team is the new minimum bodyshell weight of 705 pounds. The new Subaru gets an aluminum trunk lid and hood and aluminum front fenders, while door panels but rear fenders stay steel as on the production car. Front and side windows are now of lightweight polycarbonate plastic this year. As there's also the WRC minimum curb weight of 2,711 pounds, all these light materials are generally used to lessen the amount of weight up high, only to be redistributed to a lower point on the car as ballast. The roll cage of the Impreza WRC2004 is thus stronger down low now, which in turn improves not only driver safety in rollovers and impacts but also lowers the center of gravity even more and increases chassis rigidity for added responsiveness.

According to team principal, David Lapworth, the electrics, by far the least sexy part of any tech discussion for a gearhead, have undergone the most changes. Whereas the setup had always been three separate ECUs--one to monitor the engine, one for the chassis and one for the transmission--everything is now consolidated into one mother ECU communicating with all vital points via an all-new wiring harness developed closely with Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's landlord. This move eliminates any possibility of wiring redundancy in the system and cleans up the wiring scheme, always very good things.

What makes these new electrics completely sexy is that without them, little of the new-found quicker power delivery and handling reflexes of the 2004 car would be possible. One instance is the fresh ability to hold onto second, third or fourth gears longer, especially through those "tweener" curves where you'd really like to avoid a shift down. This is because there is now more power and torque available through a wider rev range than ever before. Hubba, hubba.

The all-important suspension setup was fairly defined by the WRC2003 Impreza, but the Sachs dampers have been further improved through increased adjustability. Links in the control arms, fore and aft, have been made of stronger stuff, while the overall geometry has been modified to minimize the package and add durability. Both the MacPherson struts all-around and four-pot Alcon/Prodrive ventilated brake discs remain the same. Another constant is the three electronic active differentials, this fast becoming a trend as opposed to the traditional passive differentials. The real benefit of the active setup is that it can anticipate and adapt faster to road conditions, whereas the mechanical units are fairly simple reactionary technology that may require more good old-fashioned luck and driver-induced elbow grease in certain situations.

One balancing act for the Impreza WRCs is their use of Pirelli tires while everyone else drives on Michelins. The challenge is both compound and tread-design related, and the team has traditionally prayed for lousy weather to level the field and let the drivers make more of the difference. Of course, the benefit is that Subaru doesn't need to wait in line for attention when it craves fresh tire thinking for this or that rally. The downside is that Pirelli is literally learning as it goes along and has been behind the Michelin eight ball often in the past few seasons, particularly on pavement. According to both Pirelli and Subaru, this traditional gap has narrowed significantly this season, though the results early on don't wholly convince us.

After Solberg's initial test of the new car right after Monte Carlo, his verdict was that it was almost there but needed more fine-tuning of the chassis, differentials and suspension to make the whole package more progressive. At its coming-out party in Mexico, in the hands of Solberg, it made good enough progress to be fastest on nine of the 15 stages over the three days. Unfortunately, some illegal outside assistance from a pack of journalists at the end of the first day handed Solberg a five-minute, 40-second penalty that cost him any chance of a podium finish.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS MOTOR SPORTS
Car - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04
Car #9 - Gilles Panizzi (Monte Carlo)/ Herve Panizzi (Monte Carlo)
Car #10 - Gianluigi "Gigi" Galli (Italy)/ Guido D'Amore (Italy) or Daniel Sola Villa (Spain)/ Xavier Amigo Colon (Spain) or Kristian Sohlberg (Finland)/ Kaj Lindstroem (Finland)

Well, they've pulled out of SCCA ProRally-- maybe forever--after having crushed everyone in 2003. While they were doing that, they'd pulled out of the WRC for that whole year, having cut their lame 2002 season short to save face and money. Now they're back in the big top and their goal for 2004, according to team officials, is simply to hone the car so as to get back in the top five in the Drivers' title in 2005. Then, in 2006, they plan to win everything there is to win. So, 2004 is a sleepy season at the back of the A8 Class pack. All of this is being craftily crafted by the crafty German Sven Quandt, heir to the BMW fortune. Weird, but true. Mitsubishi Motor Sports (MMSP) bought Ralliart's WRC operations in the UK in 2003. Not so weird.

Based on the Lancer EVO VIII, the completely new WRC version has a ways to go and it needs a big-time driver pairing by the time that all-important 2006 arrives. They actually started 2004 in Monte Carlo with the cranky and aging Panizzi brothers who traditionally nail tarmac but, well, suck on everything else. In Sweden, the car was driven by local snow boys with too many vowels in their names. Basically, Mitsubishi has about zero money this season and it's all about getting the car seriously in sync prior to splurging on any champ-material drivers or high-tech trinkets. Even so, this is by far the finest-looking Mitsu rally racer in history. Chock it up to three weeks of aerodynamics work in the wind tunnel at Lola in the UK. The chief goal was greater downforce at every point around the car. Technically, this Lancer is nowhere near as sophisticated as it will be in 2006 (check out the passive diffs front, rear and center), but the first goals are reliability and quickness.

Regarding the all-passive differential scheme (as opposed to the active center diff and Super Active Yaw Control on the EVO VIII), money and development time were certainly key issues. Given these limits, the decision was made to just make sure the new Lancer WRC made it through the final Sunday stage at every rally, thereby gathering all the input the team needs to optimize the 2005 car. Passive diffs are simpler in general and easier to calibrate from rally to rally. They don't have anywhere near the limitless range of adjustment of an electronic active diff, but Mitsu didn't have the cash to do all the necessary testing in time for the start of the 2004 season. Its guys tell me that a full active trio will be in place for testing by the end of this season.

Just look at all that apocalyptic aero work on the outside. Is that killer, or what? Both the hood and trunk lid are aluminum, front fenders are carbon composite and rear fenders have been left steel so as to add a little torsional rigidity and protect more against rocks spit back by the front wheels. The intercooler has a limited cooling surface, so airflow issues were addressed to maximize that situation.

The modified EVO VIII engine is tilted back only 15 degrees, but that, in turn, improves the front-facing exhaust manifold design to be less squirrelly, while keeping access to the intakes fairly clear should the mechanics need to do a quick fix. Both the exhaust manifold and intake are all new and emphasize as direct a path as possible. In addition to a larger version of the EVO VIII turbo, as with every WRC team, the most important search in the engine department is for low-end torque and the new, two-box data management system has aided and abetted this search. This new ECU setup from Magneti-Marelli has no onboard fuses or circuit breakers. The two boxes manage all engine and chassis data independently and plug directly into the laptops used by the engineers, who then recalibrate things in an instant. It's a less intricate, lower-cost and perfectly adequate system.

In another nod to simplicity and reliability, though the suspension design has all-new geometries, it's all MacPherson, uses high-strength steel parts and sticks with the adjustable Oehlins shocks found on past Lancer EVOs. Mitsubishi stresses the interchangeability of all suspension components left to right, and in some cases front to rear, should circumstances require such quick, MacGyver-style fixes. Again, the full-spec suspension will be in place for the final two or three rallies of 2004.

Like the Focus RS WRC, the Lancer WRC04 goes with Brembo for its brakes, big eight-pots for tarmac and two smaller sizes with four-pots on gravel and snow. Water cooling hasn't yet been included on the car's tech sheet for chilling the brakes, but this just makes maintenance easier for a cash-strapped team.The five-speed transversely mounted gearbox from Ricardo in the UK is completely new. Sequential-style paddle shifts will be incorporated later this season, but even this, for now, is done the old-fashioned way through a manual gearbox. Everything in 2004 is focused on getting the fundamentals, e.g. chassis and engine, as reliable and durable as possible before moving on to fancier footwork bits and pieces for 2005. Off-season testing this fall/winter will be crucial. If Panizzi and the new car can't post better results than they have this tough season, there may need to be a plan B somewhere. But if looks won rallies...

FORD BP RALLYE SPORT
Car- Ford Focus RS WRC
Car #7 - Markko Maertin (Estonia)/ Michael "Beef" Park (England)
Car #8 - Francois Duval (Belgium)/ Stephane Prevot (Belgium)

With Ford feeling the financial pinch all around the world, money for the Focus Rallye Sport development program was yanked back before the 2003 season started. What had been one of the great teams spending the most cash through 2002 (Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Markko Maertin) was suddenly turned into a farm club on food stamps, with young Estonian Maertin as number one driver and Francois Duval as second fiddle. These personnel moves happened in order to make sure more money went into the kick-ass car you see here, the Focus RS WRC 2004.

Introduced in April of 2003 at the New Zealand rally, Maertin and Duval put together a thoroughly impressive season considering the obstacles. And then they started 2004 with a two-three finish at Monte Carlo and a one-two in Mexico to take the lead in both Driver and Manufacturer points. The 2003 driver champion Petter Solberg tells us, "The new Focus RS is the fastest car out there this season."

Though it's the UK's M-Sport that's running the overall show for Ford in terms of caring for the car and keeping it out in front, it's Cosworth that still gets the job of working its magic on the 2.0-liter Duratec R engine. Much of the shock and awe over the car's great performance is due to the smart priorities taken by Ford given its sudden lack of money to throw at the program. The crankshaft and engine block are certainly machined to perfection, but they're both still common hardworking cast iron. This saves a lot of money and also ensures durability, a problem for some of the Ford WRCs in the recent past. In fact, when the drivers avoid rocks and rollovers, the Focus is unstoppable.

The fundamentally stock Duratec is here tilted back 25 degrees, a common move when looking to lower both the center of gravity and the exterior drag coefficient. The challenge with both the Focus and the Mitsu is that it's the intake side that faces the rear and that necessitates a fairly complicated serpentine exhaust path and isn't the ideal situation for the intake inlets, either. Both teams would like nothing more than to spin their 2-liters around as on the Peugeot and Citroen for WRC purposes, but neither has the time or money available this year to pull it off. They're looking ahead to maybe 2005 or most likely 2006 to do this engine flip. In the meantime, Cosworth has milked the absolute max performance out of its raw material. The Duratec R is as light and powerful as it's ever been, thanks primarily to its ultra-lightweight aluminum cylinder head and forged aluminum pistons and conrods. Balance and consequent friction, though exact figures are never shared, are the best among WRC entries. Working with the Pi engine management also from Cosworth Electronics, the powerband is the longest, response to throttle quickest and the top end just seems to go on for days.

As far as aerodynamics go, the only thing to be touched this year vs. last has been a new shape to the side-view mirror housings. This car as introduced in the middle of the 2003 season was already about 90-percent new on the exterior. Previously the lightweight panels were shaped exactly like the New Edge curves seen in the showroom. Working in the wind tunnel prior to having all of their money taken away, Ford and M-Sport came up with a sort of chunky-style, meaner-looking Focus with a rear spoiler inspired by the big unit used on the old Peugeot 206 WRC. Downforce and stability is the winning combo here, both drivers talking all the time about how easy it is to drive under any conditions.

Just like the other teams, Ford is doing everything it can to lower the center of gravity on the Focus RS WRC before the FIA concocts some new list of rules limiting all of this. This Focus has by far the narrowest transmission tunnel in the WRC with a special small-circumference prop shaft. This allows the driver and co-driver to sit practically rubbing shoulders and knees, which in turn lowers the yaw moment. It also helps minimize the heat transfered into the cabin by the spinning prop shaft, always a good thing during any Mediterranean summertime rally. Starting at New Zealand in April, the body shell weighs almost 25 pounds less and that ballast has been built into the guard that wraps around and protects the rear differential. As for the diffs, all three are active electronic units and are the icing on the cake so far as the perfect handling of the Focus is concerned. Ford and Cosworth would like to take the moving parts completely into the alloy realm, but aside from that, the drivetrain and powertrain of this new car are currently the envy of every other team.

Introduced on the production Focus last year, the new multi-link rear suspension is a departure from the typical MacPherson-dominated WRC car setups. Besides the trailing-arm struts in back, the RS WRC uses all titanium links, titanium uprights and ceramic wheel bearings. Again in this case, it's just a good thing that the Ford Rallye Sport guys got all of this done before Ford pulled the money plug on the operation. They look like geniuses. Braking is also a major player in the driveability of this car, Ford having a WRC partnership with Brembo. The big platters are four-piston all around on gravel rallies and bigger and eight-piston on the three-asphalt weekends.

Also in time for New Zealand, there was a software upgrade to get quicker response from the Garrett turbocharger. Inside the engine, both the crankshaft and cams were lightened even more to create further durability and better reaction times through less friction. Add brisker fuel injection and this RS underdog may actually win it all this year.