Nissan Unveils 88 Pound 400-HP Race Car Engine 239
cartechboy writes "Motorsports used to be about lots of horsepower, torque, and big engines. In recent years there's been a shift to downsizing engines, using less fuel, and even using alternative energy such as clean diesel and hybrid powertrains. Today Nissan unveiled a 400-horsepower 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine that weighs only 88 pounds. This engine will be part of the advanced plug-in hybrid drivetrain that will power the ZEOD RC electrified race car that will run in the 2015 LMP1 class during the race season. Nissan says the driver of the ZEOD RC will be able to switch between electric power and gasoline power with the batteries being recharged via regenerative braking. Even more impressive, according to Nissan, for every hour the ZEOD RC races, the car will be able to run one lap of the Le Mans' 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe on electric power alone. If true, that will make it the first race car in history to complete a lap during a formal race with absolutely zero emissions. If this all works, we could be witnessing the future of motorsports unfold before our eyes later this year when the ZEOD RC (video) makes its race debut at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours in June."
Re:Series hybrids (Score:5, Funny)
... a gas turbine. Use it to drive a big alternator and viola!
Gas turbine + alternator = small stringed instrument?
Absolutely zero emissions (Score:5, Funny)
Since the battery was charged by burning gasoline in the engine, how does that make it "absolutely zero emissions"?
The rubber that comes off a tyre in one lap at speed should also qualify as pollution.
Re:Samzenpus headline (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Samzenpus headline (Score:3, Funny)
Strapping yourself into something with one seat and 3000hp, and racing it on a flat surface - that's crazy.
Strapping yourself into something with one seat and 3000hp, and then racing the thing on a surface that's constantly moving is a special kind of crazy.
Re:For the non USA people (Score:1, Funny)
"It's probably 402hp, since Nissan are Japanese and probably told the US press it was 40kg and 300kW."
It's probably neither, as Japanese manufacturers normally quote power in Pferdestärke (PS) (Metric Horsepower).
So if someone assumed 400PS was 400hp, then converted to kW, all figures will be wrong.
400 PS = 395 HP = 294kW (Rounded to nearest integer)