THE F70 (LaFerrari) Thread

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/ferrari-releases-the-f70-s-rough-debut-details-along-with-a-rendering-ar134887.html

 

Before anyone gets excited, here are the first couple of sentences from the article: "We received an email today from some random Ferrari dealer saying that we had been chosen as a potential buyer for the upcoming F70. Attached to this email was an image."

A random dealer spamming out emails to potential buyers? For the most exclusive Ferrari in decades? Uhuh. Kind of puts the validity into perspective. Renderings are pretty ugly anyway.

 

I seriously think there's a difference between enthusiasts and fanboys. Enthusiasts often wind up owning and driving sportscars even if they're "modest" ones. A lot of fanboys don't.

Anyone who thinks that with minor upgrades they can give us a go at the Ring is welcome to try. On 10/27 we're going for a 6:41 on the NS and an FIA World Championship. Competition is always a good thing. As an aside at the last 24 the Viper's Qualifying lap was 1:27 seconds slower than ours (NS+GP) Once again I'm not sure minor upgrades are going to do it.

 

I laught when I read the article. I thought that someone is laughing on TopSpeed writters face.

 

Not a chance. That rendering has been around for over 6 months.

 

LOOKS GREAT!!!!!!!

FAST TOO!!!!!!!!!!

 

The fanboy/enthusiast distinction is probably correct.

I wouldn't call twin turbos a minor upgrade? Maybe more like minor compared to what you did to that Scud .

 

TT'ing wouldn't get a Viper anywhere near P 4/5 C at the Ring. At the Ring we make 2800lb
of downforce and pull 3G's. We did a 6:51 with about 550 total HP. At The Ring downforce that doesn't create huge drag thus requiring huge HP is the key. No Viper will ever make 2800lb of downforce. As an aside as one get's below 8:30 (NS+GP) the cost to drop 15 seconds off of that on a race car that can run 147 16 mile laps over 24 Hours at The Ring can easibly be 1MM euros.

 

Have you measured your braking G's?

 

We have measured our braking vs the guys who are ahead of us and we need work in that area. We are going to an entirely new braking system for our next race. In a 24 you have to factor in the ability to run on one set of rotors and as few pad changes as possible to save pit time. The GTR needed 30 changes over the 24. We did one and that one pad change wasn't really needed but done just to make sure. A big part for us is that our KERS system really upset the F/R vs 2011 and we're working to get closer to 50/50 but it's very hard. The KERS on the new Enzo will also adversely effect the F/R on the new Enzo and the P12 will have that issue as well. It will be very interesting to me to see where both of them wind up F/R. So far we've taken 42 Kilos out of the rear vs our 24 but it's very hard engineering work to do it.

 

At what speed do you generate 2800lbs? Just curious. ACR Viper makes 1000lbs of downforce at 150mph with relatively little aero. A TT ACR would put out what, 1200hp or so? Not sure how much aero downforce you could make and not have drag make it accelerate slower than your car with it's 550hp, but I'd wager it'd be pretty significant. 2800lbs? Don't know and I have no desire to get an ACR, let alone modify an ACR to find out so it's a purely academic discussion.

Anyway, you have more experience at it than I do, so I'll take your word at it but without class rule limitations it shouldn't be too difficult to make a car faster than yours for cheaper - same way a tuner car can beat a production car for cheaper due to not having to play by the same rules. It doesn't take anything away from either your car or the production car, just that it's as fast as it can be within it's specific set of limitations (rules). It's also not as much fun as trying to beat others playing in the same sandbox - hence why comparing a tuner car to a production car isn't much of a comparison on either side.

If you could double the power of your car, wouldn't it go a lot faster around the ring? Of course, but then you wouldn't fit into the rules for your class (or any class?), so there's no point in making the comparison.

 

In a 24 hour race, would you consider using something other than Carbon? I know you know this, but for the benefit of the readers, the MP4-12C uses steel brakes, and all reports are that they are great, last a long time and have very little fade. (Haven't driven the McL yet so I can't speak from personal experience.)

 

We make 2800lbs of downforce at about 120mph. The fastest ANY car could go around the Ring (NS) today due to configuration and condition is about 6:30. With a bit more HP which we're working on and other changes we're hoping to drop from 6:51 to 6:41. There is no inexpensive tuner car that is going to get close to that. Pagani who have a lot of Ring experience and a lot of HP are trying for faster than that but that's a HUGE effort and lower than that may not be possible for anyone. No car can use more than about 700HP at the Ring without LMP1 level downforce (4000lb) and it's VERY hard to reach that downforce level at The Ring because of uneven surfaces and the high ride height you have to run because of the bumps. If either the New Enzo or the P12 get close to 7:10 I'll be very impressed but I think 7:15 is more likely. Remember the 599XX did a 6:58 on race tires, good aero and huge HP.

 

We use steel brakes as required by regulation.

In addition to not being allowed, carbon wouldn't be ideal at the Ring because the surface is rough and a stone can shatter a carbon rotor.

 

McLaren's at the 24 were interesting. Five entered and a lot crashed. We beat all of them.
One thing not everybody thinks about and is a real issue for a hypercar is making a car that when it starts to go lets the driver know that it's going and gives a driver enough time and the ability to catch it. It took a huge amount of engineering and testing to get P 4/5C to that point and new Ferrari's aren't "Widowmakers" either.

 

Buts that's what made early 911 s so popular.

 

And we all thought that German engineering has always been the best...



But seriously--to see Walter Rohrl drive Yellow Bird around the NS kind of makes you consider the engineering of the car a bit less and the size of your testicles a bit more...

 

We just assumed that they knew better than we did.

 

Another quick road car that could probably run a sub 7 mnute time at the NS is the Dauer 962 with ground effect

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139393466&postcount=16

http://dauer962.de/dauer-962-lm-street.html
http://dauer962.de/technische-daten.html

 

Don't you mean Stefan Roser? Yeah, lap times aren't everything. I think he put it best in response to his 'style' not making for the best lap times: "You don't always make love to a woman to have children."

 

Yep, Stefan Roser, "faszination".

 

Are you including F1 cars? I apologise if your not, but if you are, do you honestly think that a contemporary F1 car with full factory backing would only lap 20 seconds faster then the P4/5 Competizione around the current Nordschleife?

 

I don’t think an F1 car would survive a lap around the ring

 

It wouldn't. (NS)

The fastest F1 lap time ever at the Ring (NS) was Lauda during Practice in Ferrari F1 of 6:58 in the 70ies. Around that time the fastest lap ever of the Ring (NS) was set by Stephen Bellof in a Porsche 956 of 6:11.13 but the Ring was faster then because of configuration and surface. A modern F1 car at speed wouldn't make one lap.

In 2007 Heidfeld in a demo run in a BMW F1 did a 6:58 and some say that if he hadn't slowed as directed to by BMW he would have broken 6 but he did slow and he didn't. Some estimated his time at 6:12. The surface is a lot different from 2007 to 2012 and the 2012 F1 cars while very fast on smooth surfaces are less suited to the NS that the 2007 F1 car was.

The fastest lap of the Ring ever set during practice by drafting 3 identical cars. He was killed soon thereafter during the race and the video has in car camera of the crash. RIP

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO7nlYzbPxY[/ame]