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Westfield Sportscars is proud to announce that its iRACER - an all electric race car destined to form the basis of the world’s first one make electric race car series – is now undergoing operational trials just eight months after development of the vehicle received the green light.

This rapid development process is in keeping with the high performance delivered by all of the vehicles built by the Kingswinford business and heralds the company’s introduction of several new advanced technologies.

These technologies include: two 40kW YASA motors and a bespoke modular battery pack – which have be tailored specifically to meet the exacting requirements of a lightweight sportscar competing in club motorsport.

The iRACER has been developed by Westfield Sportscars in conjunction with Niche Vehicle Network partners: Potenza Technology, Delta Motorsport, RDM Automotive, and Coventry University following an investment from Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands through its Advantage Niche Vehicle Programme.

Operational trials have thus far been conducted with the motors running at half power – with performance being described as ‘brisk’ – but with power likely to rise to around 120kW (equivalent to 160bhp), delivering 1000Nm of torque (500Nm per wheel) and a kerb weight of just 600kg, iRACER’s full performance potential is yet to be unleashed.

Westfield managing director, Julian Turner said: “Initial results are highly encouraging, and we are on course to meet the ambitious targets, both in terms of weight, performance and commercial pricing, that we have set for ourselves.” 

iRACER’s two 40kW electric YASA motors are sited in place of the differential, removing the requirement for a gearbox and propshaft, and provide direct drive to each of the rear wheels.  The battery pack, incorporating up to 11 48V sealed Lithium Ion Phosphate units, uses an innovative modular design that not only meets stringent safety standards but contributes to handling by lowering the vehicle’s centre of gravity.

Project Manager, Paul Faithfull commented: “We put a lot of effort into the battery pack, which has been designed from the ground up by the project team.  Safety was naturally paramount but we also had to devise a solution that would be compact enough for a Westfield-sized vehicle.

“We have succeeded on all counts through an approach which we believe to be unique. Storing 50 percent of the batteries under the floor of a specially designed chassis has brought the overall Centre of Gravity below that of a Formula 1 car whilst allowing drivers sufficient access to swap out units on race weekends and store the packs in the garage at safe voltages.”

2010 will see iRACER appearing at a number of demonstration events prior to its participation in a one make electric race car series launching in 2011.

More from www.westfield-sportscars.co.uk or 01384 400 077 ENDS.

Auto Speciali and Vindicator Cars – Joint Announcement…………after Keith Kirk’s sad death three years ago, Auto Speciali decided to spend a period of consolidation and also move to smaller premises.

This achieved, they have now appointed John Butler of Vindicator Cars as sales and managing agent effective immediately.

His role is to promote the company, liasing with new and existing clients.

John is looking forward to the challenge of marketing the Auto Speciali vehicles, The Veleno, Venom and of course, AS 427, alongside the existing range of Vindicator Cars.

The Auto Speciali website, www.autospeciali.co.uk is to be updated in due course. Meanwhile, please refer all sales, PR, spares and technical enquires to John Butler on 07703 289 833 or via email to john@vindicator.co.uk - more on the Vindi range from www.vindicator.co.uk ENDS.

Plays Kool Motorsport Ltd………run by Nick Algar and his son, Luke, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2010 and they’ve got several great new and affordable products to help commemorate the milestone.

First up comes the exciting Racelidz range of crash helmets and while a new brand they are manufactured by one of the world’s top maker’s.

They are Snell SA2005-approved, meaning they are compliant for all MSA and FIA sanctioned events and are available in gloss white or gloss black. They come with double ‘D’ securing method with stainless steel ‘D’ rings, ventilation to ensure maximum in-use comfort and feature a fire-retardant liner with KevlarÒ strap.

Three styles are available – Sprinter (£139), Knight (£139) and Open Face (£109) in four sizes (M, L, XL and XXL) with the latter only available in gloss white.

More from www.racelidz.co.uk or 08456 806 812 ENDS.

I’m a big fan of the superb satnav devices…………made by Garmin. I like for their pleasing visuals and user-friendliness, while they are affordable and work well.

The nüvi 1690 is a cracking bit of kit. If you like instant access to information whenever or wherever you are, then this unit could be for you.

With nüLink!™ services you get real-time information on the go. From fuel prices and up-to-the-minute flight arrival and departure times, to Google™ Local search and weather reports, it’s all here. It is even possible to locate friends and navigate to them – without the need to write down addresses or take directions with the Ciao!™ Friend Finder feature. Your friends can also keep in touch via the internet – making it really easy for them to find you and meet up, wherever you are.

The nüvi 1690 has free roaming throughout Europe so is ideal if you’re buying a gift for someone who loves to travel or who may be away this Christmas.

The suggested retail price for the nüvi 1690 is £349.99. Visit www.garmin.co.uk/1690 for more information ENDS.

February 1…………will see Sealey launch their Vehicle Service promotion, featuring over 400 products for the serious technician at great prices, valid until April 30, 2010.

The promotion includes many new products, including the VS2072 Diagnostic Socket Memory Safe, which attaches to a 12volt slave battery and provides power via the EOBD socket to on-board electronics whilst the vehicle’s own battery is disconnected, saving valuable time spent re-programming lost codes. On offer at the special price of £23.44 inc VAT it also comes with a free 6-12V Circuit Tester.

Other new products include the MAC01 12V Mini Air Compressor, with delivery of 25ltr/min, VS1800 20pc Cleaning & Decarbonising Brush Set and VS0342 11mm Ratcheting Flare Nut Spanner, ideal for in-line applications such as brake pipe fittings. The promotion also features a five-page Setting and Locking Tool guide to identify the correct kit depending on make and model of the vehicle.

You can get your hands on a copy of Sealey’s Vehicle Service promotion and their latest catalogue from your local Sealey distributor or by visiting the website www.sealey.co.uk ENDS.

Here’s one for trackday fiends and racers…..MotorSport Vision has carried out a major resurfacing project at Brands Hatch, replacing over half of the Indy circuit to improve the quality of the track surface for competitors, trackday participants and driving experience guests.

A particularly cold winter has led to accelerated degradation in parts of the circuit, and competitive use over many years has created general ‘wear and tear’ on the track surface. Ongoing maintenance work has been carried out on minor local repairs arising in recent times, but the latest project marks a major improvement in the quality of the track surface.

The resurfacing by Buckingham Group Contracting will benefit all the championships and competitors that race at Brands Hatch - as well as the thousands of driving enthusiasts that visit the circuit each year to take part in car and bike trackdays and MSV’s retail and corporate driving experiences - with an even smoother, high quality surface.

The track has been resurfaced from mid-way down Cooper Straight, through McLaren, around Clearways and down the Brabham Straight to the centre of the pit complex using Prixmat surface material, well known for its high performance friction surface qualities.

More than 35 workmen and 15 vehicles worked flat-out over eight days – including laying the final surface in just six hours - to complete the project, which has involved over 1000 tonnes of surface material. To ensure maximum smoothness, the new surface has been laid using a specialist paving technique in order to avoid joins between strips of material.

Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision, said: “This resurfacing project represents a major investment in Brands Hatch. Even in these tough economic times MSV is committed to developing and improving our circuits, and the new surface will benefit all our track users. It will be interesting to see what effect the new surface has on lap times during the year.”

Brands Hatch maintenance staff have also carried out other circuit improvements including the addition of new kerbing at the exit of Druids, raising and re-levelling the area behind the kerb on the exit of Graham Hill Bend, and undertaking drainage works to manage surface water on the entry to Cooper Straight. More from www.motorsportvision.co.uk ENDS.

The latest wire-in ECU from Link is rather clever………..It is capable of running up to eight cylinders with eight peak and hold individually configurable 10 Amp injection drives.

The list of standard features is impressive. The G4 has fully mappable electronic throttle capability, making it compatible with all ‘Fly By Wire’ throttle cars and allowing the mapper to change the ‘feel’ of the throttle pedal to sharpen or diminish response. Safety parameters like oil pressure and water temperature can also be wired into the throttle map to prevent wide open throttle when the engine is cold, safeguarding the life of the engine.

Variable Valve Timing is also easily handled with Quad-VVT controls even catering for cars with two banks of cylinders and all channels have factory style safeguards that allow full fault code ‘flashing’, allowing technicians to interrogate possible engine problems and also shut down and ‘limp home’ mode to prevent any damage in the event of a parameter breach. Timing can easily be configured from in car by the mapper to allow simple and straightforward set-up prior to full dyno runs or road tests.

In fact the G4’s flexibility means it can run practically any internal combustion petrol engine, even two-strokes and cars that fire ‘out of order’.

For more details visit www.link-ecu.co.uk or call 0845 260 5760 ENDS.