McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[luca]

34 pages for this? Seriously...and unless you're a blind idiot you can clearly see that the exhaust is pointing backwards..

Those are dummy exhausts...or do you really think McLaren would give their secrets away so easily by voluntarily showing what's under the engine cover?

[delacf]

I thought the mclaren's wheel looked bigger than the ferraris until I made this direct comparison. Turns out they are very closely scaled and the Mp4-26 is 1 rim radius longer than the F150.

That´s a lot. Regards, delacf.

[Blackout]

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7554 ... 221240.jpg

Looks like the rear wishbones are attached to the engine, not the Gbox !
And seems that there is nothing under the radiator... no Kers installed ?
Interesting radiator shape and layout.

What are this things for ? (cooling and ...?):

[ringo]

I thought the mclaren's wheel looked bigger than the ferraris until I made this direct comparison. Turns out they are very closely scaled and the Mp4-26 is 1 rim radius longer than the F150.

Jenson has to fit remember.

[myurr]

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7554 ... 221240.jpg

Looks like the rear wishbones are attached to the engine, not the Gbox !
And seems that there is nothing under the radiator... no Kers installed ?
Interesting radiator shape and layout.

What are this things for ? (cooling and ...?):

KERS is apparently a single unit now and installed under the fuel tank.

[Owen.C93]

Brake calipers now at the bottom, I don't think they were last year. Well at the rear at least.

[timbo]

Once again they are putting a lot of weight high, and also to the sides.
Seems like Macca boys are not into low radius of gyration.

[gibells]

Guess you're talking about the 1996 F310

Yes, that's the one. Looking at this pic, both nineties cars are about as close to Macca as the other.

By the by, weren't both designed by Byrne, or did he get to Ferrari too late to make a difference?

[Pup]

Just out of curiosity, can the L-shaped sidepods be copied by other teams, or would that require changing some homologated component?

I don't see why not? I don't think the sidepod shapes or packaging under them and engine cover are homologated.

Are the side impact structures not homologated? Even if not, the competition would have a major redesign and have to resubmit their tubs for crash testing. The impact structure typically runs over the top of the side pods. Somehow McLaren have either moved it, or have designed an s-shaped one. Clever indeed.

I'm really liking this concept. The main complaint of the old KERS McLaren was the lack of a coke-bottle shape due to the packaging. This allows them to get the airflow to the rear without sacrificing the positioning of the batteries.

I think this thing's gonna fly.

[Hangaku]

McLarens MP4-26 looks very complex, overweight and radical... some may argue that its too radical.

RedBull proved in 2010 that simplicity is key, and fear that McLaren seem to design their cars on a laptop without actually thinking things through.

This car could be a rocket, or slow as a coach but the F-Duct screwed McLaren's 2010 campaign and fear that the radical design of the 2011 challenger may distract them from developing mid-season.

On a plus note it is good to see McLaren going off on a tangent and not copying other ideas and instead coming up with their own.

IMO, fair play to them for trying to break the mould and making something that looks a lot different to everyone else. At least they are showing radical thinking, which makes the team a lot more endearing to me, than a lot of the other teams.

Out of interest, why do some people express this "fear that the radical design of the 2011 challenger may distract them from developing mid-season."? What dictates that? Do you think they really go so deep into design implementation without thinking about the season ahead? McLaren aren't where they are today, by being so short sighted

[Doktorot]

The sidepod has a Monza shape, right?

[luca]

McLaren: New car secrets still hidden

McLaren says the biggest secrets of its new MP4-26 have remained hidden for now - after it went to extreme lengths not to give away too much about its 2011 challenger at its launch on Friday.

[...]

However, to ensure that it did not reveal the internal designs of the car, McLaren fitted the car with fake internals, including a plastic engine and exhaust, so that there was no chance of anyone catching a glimpse of secret innovations.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said that the car would be developed aggressively before the start of the season - and confirmed that the team gave little away about its design in Berlin, beyond its U-shaped sidepods.

Be warned, you haven't seen it all," he said during a media conference. "I think there are some really interesting bits on the car that you can see. But there are some bits we have hidden from you and our competition.

[...]

Continue here: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89292

Also: McLaren not ruling out forward exhausts

[Pup]

I think it's funny that the moment Ferrari switches to the McLaren style front suspension, McLaren switch back.

[Tamburello]

Please excuse if this is a stupid suggestion but isn't the exhaust in the slot at the back of the engine cover?

[luca]

McLaren have two exhaust solutions ready to run in testing and two more in development. They have not decided which to use yet none are FEE

Source: http://twitter.com/RacecarEngineer/stat ... 1168526336