| A technical look at the cars taking part in the A1 | | | | International and is made up of a core of |
| Grand Prix Of Nations - keeping in mind that they | | | | aluminium honeycomb surrounded by a carbon |
| are all kept to the exact same standards in | | | | fibre skin. This results in a one-piece safety cell |
| engines and aerodynamics to level the playing field. | | | | tub which has proven to be incredibly resistant to |
| | | | twisting (a good thing). |
| The look of the car itself was inspired by what | | | | |
| Sheikh Maktoum regards as a good looking race | | | | The Vital Statistics: |
| car. Hey, if you're the boss then they have to | | | | Weight: About 600kg |
| listen to you, right? | | | | Gearbox: 6-speed sequential with paddle-shift |
| | | | Engine Size: 3.4 litre V8 |
| Also very much at the front of developer's | | | | Valve-Train: 4 OH Cams and 4 valves per |
| minds was the need for excitement in the sport | | | | cylinder |
| in the form of overtaking; a problem with cars at | | | | Max Power: 412kW or 520bhp |
| high speeds with high downforce. What happens, | | | | Fuel Tank: 135 litres |
| generally speaking, is a very high volume of dirty | | | | |
| air (by dirty air I mean unstable and not unclean) | | | | Another addition to the cars to create exciting |
| is flung out behind the car generating the high | | | | racing is the Powerboost: |
| downforce. This means the car immediately | | | | This is a driver-activated system which boosts |
| behind loses downforce and this in turn makes it | | | | the car to it's maximum of 550bhp at the touch |
| very difficult for passing as the vehicle following | | | | of a button. Each driver has a limited number of |
| becomes difficult to handle. What the developers | | | | times he can use this option (about 8 times in a |
| of the A1 GP cars have created is a car that | | | | feature race) and once he has activated it it will |
| creates a very small pocket of dirty air and at | | | | stay at the boosted power until he lifts his foot |
| the same time engineered the front wing in a | | | | off the accelerator. This has to make for some |
| way that would allow close following and | | | | exciting passes and surely some great defensive |
| therefore a lot of passing to happen throughout a | | | | manoeuvres as well. |
| race. | | | | |
| | | | For some pictures of the A1 GP cars and for the |
| The chassis is made and designed by Lola | | | | latest race reviews click here. |