If you read a mission statement on an organisation’s website and it includes the following:
- Break Stefan Bellof’s Nürburgring Nordschleife record of 6 min 11,13 min
- Compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans
you’d be well justified for thinking it was copied from the official page of a top-flight F1 team or mainstream manufacturer. In this case you would, however, be wrong. It is the mission set out by a set of students from Technical University of Eindhoven and the Fontys University of Applied Sciences, both in Holland.
The radical racecar you are looking at is the InMotion IM01 and it is with this machine that the students plan to achieve their lofty goals. It is powered by four electric motors, one per wheel, powered by a battery pack that is charged by a rotary motor.
As you could have guessed the images are computer renderings. These images show the extensive use of aerodynamics, which includes using the hot air emitted by the cooling system, in much the same way as Formula One cars did with the now banned blown diffusers, essentially turning the entire body into a wing.
The IM01 will need all the (aero) grip it can muster if it plans to beat the outright lap record set by Bellof in the all-conquering Porsche 956. The record time was set in 1983 during qualifying for the 1 000 km sportscar race.
Garage 56 at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans is a showcase of future technologies, because the car entered in this “class” doesn’t have to conform to any of the rules set out by the race’s governing body.
As yet there is no timetable for the ‘Ring record attempt or the proposed entry at Le Mans. We wish them luck.
