At Speed Motorsports continues its development of the upcoming Volvo S60R race car for the SPEED World Challenge GT series. Bob Miller, team owner and one of the drivers has agreed to provide Speed Arena with "up to the minute" information for our readers on a regular basis. This is the first of many columns that Bob has generously agreed to share with us, providing "the scoop" on the Volvo program.
6/10/04
First of all, thanks so much to all of our Volvo fans who have approached me to say, "I'm so excited that Volvo is doing this!!" I can't tell you the number of folks who have just sauntered up to support us in the past several months. Keep it coming, we love to hear it!
So, how is the program progressing you ask? Well, here's some info right from the horse's mouth:
Our program was started when we received our STREET Cars on December 8, 2003... literally, street cars. As in they DROVE to our shop! These were not stripped cars, they were red S60Rs with leather, A/C, a couple of tickets in the glove compartments from wacky auto journalists, and floor mats. So, when you look at our cars at the upcoming races, keep that in mind. My crew has done an incredible job literally creating these race machines from the ground up.
Has the process taken longer than expected?
Early on, we were told by some of the Volvo engineers that one of our potential problem areas was going to be an item called a transfer case. Now, I'm not an engineer, but I have come to realize in racing that anything with more than 1 syllable can lead to trouble. And lead there it did! The transfer case, referred to by it’s manufacturer’s name i.e. the Haldex system, is an electro-hydraulic component inside the transmission which allows power transfer from an essentially front-wheel-drive system to the S60R's all-wheel-drive stature. That component is mated perfectly to S60R's 300 hp street engine, but our Cosworth engine is putting out a bit more power than its street brother and the rules of our series dictate that there can be no electronically controlled differential used in the series. We decided that we would follow the rules (no comments on the Cadillac efforts here...) and attempt to rectify the situation by "beefing up" the stock components.
Meanwhile, the cars were being stripped, cages installed, the engines were under development, new Ohlins shocks were being designed, Motec electronics coordinated, carbon doors/trunks/fenders/bumpers were being molded, new suspension designed, and about 1,000 other things...
So, back to that transfer case. By mid-February, we had received proposals from most of the premier race transmission suppliers in the world saying they did NOT have a solution that would fit in the original space. Given the fact that the engine was an in-line 5 and was transversely mounted, there was nothing that existed that could fit in the area allotted and be capable of withstanding our power output.
Ok, so that was not the best of days. Here we had come so far only to be stopped by some multiple syllable word! The team and Volvo had decided up-front that we were going to stay true to the S60R's design and that the race car would be an all-wheel-drive machine, just like the street car.
So, we simply decided not to be stopped by this problem and forged forward. Internally, and working in concert with Xtrac and Volvo, the team has solved the transfer case issue, but it has taken more development time than anticipated. However, all of the needed "bits" are on their way and will arrive shortly. This is why we have been delayed in reaching the racetracks of North America.
When will we see the Volvo team?
One of my strategic goals for the program is to make sure that when the Volvos appear, they are as well-prepared, and well-designed as possible. Thus, we have attempted to anticipate as much as possible in our production process. We use redundant systems where necessary, items are the best quality available, and safety is never sacrificed. Even
after all of this up-front effort, there will still be continuous "testing" that will go on during the course of this year and into the future at tracks, at race events, and at the shop. Volvo understands that this year is essentially a "development year" and that some of that
development will be in front of the fans. Given the enthusiasm of our fan base, I'm sure that you'd rather see us at the track than behind closed doors for the next year until everything is flawless.
So...WHEN will we be on track? We are planning to debut at Sears Point on July 16-18. Unless completely unforeseen technical issues are discovered, the team should field 2 cars for that event with the other 2 coming sometime later in the season.
I don't want to give you all of the story now, so stay tuned for additional updates in the next weeks or so...
*SpeedArena
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