DELTAWING ANNOUNCES GT RACE CAR CONCEPT
Sebring, Fla., March 20, 2015 – DeltaWing Technology Group, Inc. today revealed an exciting evolution of the DeltaWing Racing Cars program with its announcement that it will begin development of a DeltaWing® GT race car concept.It will be designed to demonstrate that with far less horsepower than many of today’s best sports cars, a two-seat performance car based on the DeltaWing® architecture would deliver the same performance, yet with previously unimagined fuel economy and efficiency. Expected to appear in 2015, this new DeltaWing Racing Cars project is a major step toward a street-legal two-seat DeltaWing® sports car.
“This is an important point in the DeltaWing® project’s next phase,” said Don Panoz, DeltaWing Technology Group chairman and CEO. “We’ve been very busy leading up to this launch announcement, and we’ll remain quite busy coordinating the race car project’s many details.”
Brian Willis, DeltaWing Technologies’ newly appointed vice president, Engineering and Design, will lead this project. He also will lead a simultaneous and related project – development of two- and four-seat DeltaWing® road car prototypes for further development and real-world testing.
Willis is no stranger to Panoz and racing. His 27-year career includes stints as senior designer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., director of engineering for Élan Technologies’ motorsports division, chief engineer for Panoz Motorsports, and technical director for Audi Sport Japan, winners of the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Team Goh Audi R8. Most recently, he was director of technical services for Multimatic Inc. in Canada.
This announcement does not impact the Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars team or its racing efforts with the DWC13 Coupe, which competes in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
The DeltaWing® project’s roots are in racing, but the program has remained focused on its ‘raceway to driveway’ mission and has proven the architecture’s performance, efficiency and green technology through the original DeltaWing® Roadster and the Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars DWC13 Coupe. The coupe competes with about half the weight and aerodynamic drag, half the horsepower, and half the fuel consumption while delivering the same performance.
The DeltaWing® design in the prototype roadster and coupe features a very narrow front track and conventional rear wheelbase. The result is a significant reduction in overall mass and weight coupled with an aerodynamic efficiency gain. The rear-engine layout and narrow track design provides a 30 percent/70 percent front-to-rear weight distribution, which allows engineers to use much smaller steering, braking, suspension, and other components up front to reduce overall mass and weight. Less mass and weight means less horsepower is needed to propel the vehicle, which in turn decreases fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Other benefits include reduced front tire and brake wear and less rolling resistance.
DELTAWING SHARES NEW ROAD CAR MPG FIGURES AND ANNOUNCES PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
Sebring, Fla., March 20, 2015 – DeltaWing Technology Group, Inc. today released the results of an independent engineering analysis of a four-passenger road car concept based on the patented DeltaWing® narrow front track vehicle architecture that showed it would achieve an unadjusted EPA fuel economy rating of nearly 74 mpg Highway and over 57 mpg combined rating. If it was available today, those figures would not only make it America’s most fuel efficient internal combustion engine vehicle, it would meet the 2025 CAFE standard today.
Indeed, those ratings based on an internal combustion, 1.4-liter gasoline engine would make the DeltaWing® four-passenger model even more fuel efficient than all of today’s available hybrids.
Through a board-level relationship with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), DeltaWing Technology Group recently commissioned Meszler Engineering Services to model fuel economy performance of a four-cylinder, 138-horsepower DeltaWing® four passenger automobile. Meszler’s proprietary computing model calculated from all available data points including weight, power, drag coefficient, frontal area, rolling resistance, and many more.
The efficiency and performance of the DeltaWing® vehicle architecture can be defined as a “green technology multi-tool.” The architecture can accept virtually any current or future transverse engine powertrain and deliver significant fuel savings and green benefits when compared to traditional vehicle designs. The DeltaWing® platform also can be fitted with all-electric or hybrid powertrains; today’s smaller and lighter high-efficiency gas, diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) engines; and even tomorrow’s hydrogen fuel cells. As a result, it can:
- Reduce EV range anxiety and help put more EVs on the road, further reducing emissions and helping improve air quality
- Further extend a diesel-powered vehicle’s already impressive range
- Reduce emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles by up to 42 percent
- And even extend the range of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles
“I’m very pleased to see how this objective testing validates and even exceeds our initial estimates,” said Don Panoz, DeltaWing Technology Group chairman and CEO. “This key milestone allows us to immediately move forward with our plans to build prototype two- and four-seat DeltaWing® vehicles and begin real-world testing.”
Brian Willis, DeltaWing Technologies’ newly appointed vice president, Engineering and Design, will lead the development of two- and four-seat DeltaWing® road car prototypes, as well as the testing program.
Willis is no stranger to Panoz and racing. His 27-year career includes stints as senior designer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., director of engineering for Élan Technologies’ motorsports division, chief engineer for Panoz Motorsports, and technical director for Audi Sport Japan, winners of the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Team Goh Audi R8. Most recently, he was director of technical services for Multimatic Inc. in Canada.
PANOZ ANNOUNCES DELTAWING TECHNOLOGY GROUP
Sebring, Fla., March 20, 2015 – Don Panoz, the founder of DeltaWing Technologies Inc. and other technology and transportation companies, today announced the restructuring of related and cross-functional Panoz companies under DeltaWing Technology Group, Inc. This new structure strategically aligns affected companies in logical and efficient divisions of expertise and responsibilities and positions the group as a transportation technologies solutions leader catering to multiple industries.
The new organization also supports anticipated growth related to several important green technology and luxury transportation projects currently underway. This includes developing street-legal cars featuring the innovative and efficient DeltaWing® vehicle architecture, creating electric vehicles and car-sharing programs to help reduce urban congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, growing the Panoz brand of exclusive made-in-the-USA performance sports cars, and engineering transportation, aerospace and aviation technology solutions. Panoz is chairman and CEO of DeltaWing Technology Group.
There are four divisions in the new structure: manufacturing, luxury automotive, electric and alternative-fuel transportation, and green automotive technology. The affiliated Panoz companies will be structured under DeltaWing Technology Group as follows:
Manufacturing
- DeltaWing Manufacturing Co. is a diversified manufacturing and technology company that provides design, engineering, advanced composites manufacturing, metal fabrication, production, and engine design and development services to the automotive, aviation, aerospace, SATCOM and defense industries.
- DeltaWing Consortium is an association of technology companies that work with Panoz technology and transportation companies to apply the latest, most advanced technologies and materials during the product design and engineering stages. DeltaWing Consortium companies bring together best-in-class industry leaders to collaborate on groundbreaking solutions. This environment encourages innovation at a rapid pace.
Luxury Automotive
- Panoz recently celebrated its silver anniversary as America’s most exclusive custom sports car brand. The Braselton, Ga. company has extensive experience conceptualizing, designing, and manufacturing unique and exclusive performance machines. Panoz was the first U.S. auto manufacturer to use super formed aluminum panels for its bodies and created America’s first Aluminum Intensive Vehicle (AIV), the Panoz AIV Roadster. The Panoz Museum is the company’s newest addition and showcases Panoz sports car and racing history and accomplishments. The 10,000-sq.-ft. exhibition is home to the 1997 Le Mans GTR 1, the 1998 Q9 hybrid Le Mans prototype, and the 2000 LMP1 Roadster S that won the 1000km of Nürburgring.
Electric and Alternative-Fuel Transportation
- DHX Electric Machines Inc. is an Atlanta-based developer and manufacturer of innovative small, very lightweight and ultra-high torque electric motors using proprietary and patented direct-winding heat exchange (DWHX ™) cooling technology. These motors can be used in a variety of EV transportation platforms from scooters to automobiles, as well as many industrial applications. The DeltaWing Technology Group has an exclusive licensing agreement with DHX Electric Machines Inc. to use this technology in various transportation applications.
Green Automotive Technology
- DeltaWing Technologies Inc. is a technology company creating tomorrow’s sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation solutions. Its goal is to partner with like-minded companies to develop DeltaWing® road cars and help the world’s automakers meet more stringent requirements such as the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standard of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. The company has started developing DeltaWing® two-seat GT sports car and four-seat sedan prototypes, but styling remains open to give automakers branding flexibility. The DeltaWing® platform can be fitted with all-electric or hybrid powertrains; today’s smaller and lighter high-efficiency gas, diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) engines; and even tomorrow’s hydrogen fuel cells. As a result, it can:
- Reduce EV range anxiety and help put more EVs on the road, further reducing emissions and helping improve air quality
- Further extend a diesel-powered vehicle’s already impressive range
- Reduce emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles by up to 42 percent
- And even extend the range of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles.
- DeltaWing Racing Cars is changing the face of motorsports through the Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars DWC13 Coupe. It competes in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with about half the weight and aerodynamic drag, half the horsepower, and half the fuel consumption while delivering the same performance.
DeltaWing Technology Group recently announced new independent fuel economy figures that would make the DeltaWing® four-passenger road car – if built today – America’s most fuel-efficient internal combustion engine vehicle. An independent engineering firm calculated a proposed DeltaWing® car with a major domestic automaker’s four-cylinder, 1.4-liter turbocharged engine and six-speed automatic transmission would deliver 73.7 mpg highway, 49.5 mpg city, and 58.1 mpg combined. This is an impressive 42 percent improvement over the figures the firm calculated for the automaker’s passenger car featuring this engine and transmission.
If on the road today, the DeltaWing® car would surpass the future Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025.
With this news DeltaWing Technology Group announced it is developing DeltaWing® prototypes, as well as an evolution of the DeltaWing Racing Cars program. It will build DeltaWing GT race car concept based on the DeltaWing street-legal car platform and expected to appear in 2015. The Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars DWC13 Coupe continues to race in the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.