Ferrari Announces LMH Factory Program!

Amazing how a good livery can make the car look awesome.
I think it is fantastic that, rather than laying people off due to the F1 cost cap, Ferrari have embarked on this project.
After F1 doldrums and the Purosangre it is nice to be reminded why I love our marque.

 

Actually, they subcontracted the monocoque construction (not the design) to Dallara, and I suppose they subcontracted more things. Probably they won´t build more than 5 or 6 of these cars.

 

Good information. If only 5 or 6 cars are built, there won't be many sold to private teams.

 

IDK you guys; it’s kinda goofy looking don’t you think?, which is neither here nor there, and its sounds…well I guess the sound is neither here or there also. I find my interest to be about the same, (neither here or there). I guess part of my interest lies in the presentation and it probably shouldn’t drive my opinion because we are here to race and win and presentation isn’t going to help win but……

 

I don't know, it's just a guess. These cars are so expensive that I doubt many privateers can afford one. But who knows, maybe the LMDhs suck and the only decent thing that anybody can buy is the Ferrari. Just like the 333SP, nobody cared about it until they realized it could be a good business and built 40.

 

Probably can counter/sandbag BoP more effectively as well.

 

https://www.motorsport.com/wec/news/how-ferraris-new-le-mans-contender-is-a-statement-of-philosophy/10394100/

 

Honestly, it looks like all the other hyper cars. Nothing special. Looks like it was designed by Oreca with red paint and a yellow stripe with a 2.9 liter V6 Alfa Romeo engine...LOL. Sorry. I could not resist.

BMW and Porsche did a better job.

Now the 296 GT3 looks ready for battle. It looks like a purpose driven machine with a more expensive 2.9 Alfa V6 engine plus 30 degrees.

 

Nothing about the Porsche says Porsche to me. It is my least favorite of the designs. A face only a mother could love.

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I have been a Porsche fan for decades, so I may be a bit bias here.
I cannot argue about the esthetics of their car; surely functionality is more important than look on a race car?

I think Porsche has a different approach than most other constructors, and that's why their choice was LMDh instead of LMH.
Porsche has always been marketing their race cars, as part of their strategy.
That's what they did with the 917 initially, then with the 956 and 962, where their market was primarily in the US.
So they decided to have a car that would satisfy the IMSA market FIRST, and designed it accordingly.
Yes, using a Multimatic chassis, and a standard hybrid system seems a lot of compromise compared to a LMH car built in house.
But it will be cheaper to produce, and sell in numbers, whilst being able to run in both championships.
The BoP will take care of the performance deficit (if any) compared to a LMH Ferrari, Toyota or Peugeot, IMO.

 

You aren't wrong about anything you wrote. Just saying when IMSA had the 4 LMDh cars next to each other the Porsche stood out the most as the ugliest and the hardest one to determine what the brand was without looking at the badge. Of the 4 BMW got it right design wise (and I hate the design of current BMW road cars).

 

I learned a few more things about these cars. The engine is actual a structural member of the rear assembly. That is amazing piece of engineering to take your factory engine and make it a structural piece of the car.
The Ferrari uses more fins to control spill over which helps the cornering downforce. More so than other manufactures. The front nose incorporates F1 technology. Neat stuff.
The whole LMP/hypercar entry came about because of the F1 spending cap of $145 million. Ferrari had a surplus of racing funds. It is going to be fun to watch.

The debut is Sebring 2023 my home track. I am sure Ferrari will sneak over and do some pre-testing like everyone else.

 

I still haven't made it to Sebring. I reeeeaaaaallly need to go next year.

 

Great stuff! Sebring is my home track as well. There are some good places outside of the track to watch some testing. I wish I knew when they’d be there.

 

I'm a bit worried how these LMH cars will look at the track. I do like the design of the 499P but the performance is a question mark. Did FIA set the bar too low?

F1: 798 kg (with driver) / 1000+ hp = 0,8 kg/hp

LMH: 1030 kg ( ~ 1100 kg with driver) / 680 hp = 1,6 kg/hp

So acceleration is only half of the F1. I just hope we get at least some sound out of the LMH cars. So far it doesn't look too good.

On the positive side, the V6 in 296 GTB appears to produce better noice than Ferrari's V8 turbo engines. Also, this new stressed 120° V6 is most certainly going to end up in LaFerrari successor, so they will have great synergies testing it first in WEC / Le Mans. And from the packaging point of view that V6 will be one hell of a machine to end up in production car.

 

As far as I have understood, the LMH engine block is totally new. I suspect it does not share much more with the production V6 than the configuration of 3 litre 120° V6. Of course, it is likely to have some other similarities as well.

 

The 499P looks nothing like an Oreca. The Oreca is so unique, in fact, that no other LMDh or LMH car—except for the Oreca-based Acura—looks like it.

The V6–at 120 deg bank angle with a 3-throw crank—is nothing like the 90 deg Alfa V6 which, BTW, is derived from a Ferrari V8.

 

Yes, must be a new block and probably also new heads or cam covers for the structural loads being put through the engine.

 

Having the engine as a stress member on a sportscar isn't new; it's been done for the last 20 years at least.
The engine block on the Ferrari 499p isn't the same as the one on the 296 GTB, although it has the same configuration.
The Ferrari LMH has a special reinforced block with extra lugs from foundry to attach it to the bulkhead at the front and support the gearbox and rear suspension.

 

Interesting. Ill leave this here

 

F1 and endurance present completely different challenges:

F1: a GP is about 1h 30 minutes duration, and roughly 200 miles distance

Endurance : races are up to 24 hours duration, and up to between 3000 and 3200 miles distance

So, it's not surprising that a LMH car isn't built like a F1: it competes in races that are the equivalent of 16 GPs !!!

 

In fact it seems this same engine will powered the Laferrari replacement in 2024.

 

Hummm ... a stressed member engine on a road car? It's usually avoided for 2 reasons:

- they transmit too much vibrations to the chassis and it's uncomfortable for passengers
- you have to dis-assemble the rear from the bulkhead for most mechanical interventions hence massive maintenance cost.

But maybe Ferrari has found cures for these?

 

They already did it with the F50.
Remember we are talking about their Halo car.
Usually ultra collectible car without kms !