Ferrari Returns To The Top Of Sports Car Racing With The Hybrid 499P Hypercar – Forbes

Ferrari is returning to the top category of professional sports car racing for the first time in a … [+] half-century with the 499P, which will contest the new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) category of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) World Endurance Championship in 2023.
Ferrari is returning to the top category of professional sports car racing for the first time in a half-century with the gas-electric hybrid 499P, which will contest the new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) category of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) World Endurance Championship in 2023.
The 499P will debut at the 1000 Miles of Sebring on March 17, 2023. In tribute to the Ferrari 312 PB … [+] that Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti drove to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1972, the 499P will wear a similar livery of yellow stripes over red.Note the double-decker rear wings. Upper wing is enormous, with flaps to help trim airflow. Note the depth and length of the diffuser at the very rear of the car. Also, the dorsal spine.
Hypercars retain the best qualities of the outgoing gas-electric hybrid Le Mans Prototype 1 cars (LMP1) while the FIA has taken measures to dramatically lower costs and equalize competition by imposing strict and measurable limits on horsepower and development budgets. Ferrari will not be alone, as several manufacturers plan a return to Le Mans and international sports car racing with Hypercars in 2023.
The 312 PBs that inspired the 499P’s debut livery. Sebring in 1972. Jackie Ickx 1st and Clay … [+] Regazzoni at Sebring 12 Hours Ferrari 312PBs. (Photo by: GP Library/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Because the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO, the regional organization that manages the Le Mans 24 Hour race) have harmonized regulations with those of the American organization IMSA (International Motor Sports Association, which is owned by NASCAR), the 499P will debut here in North America at the 1000 Miles of Sebring on March 17, 2023. In tribute to the Ferrari 312 PB that Jackie Ickx and Mario Andretti drove to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1972, the 499P will wear a similar livery of yellow stripes over red.
Ferrari has focused on Formula One racing for the past half-century, though with increasingly … [+] serious forays into GT racing over the last two decades.Tires are supplied to all teams by Michelin, eliminating the exorbitant cost of tire development “wars.” The hypercar class is an effort to deliver exciting racing while containing costs.
The return of European sports-prototype cars to America heralds a return to the golden era of the American Le Mans Series (1999-2013), which saw the exotic European prototype sports cars competing on North American tracks.
The carbon-fiber monocoque chassis is purpose-built for 499P. Suspension is double wishbone with … [+] pushrods. Electronics are evolved out of Ferrari’s years in the GT categories at Le Mans. This view shows the rear diffuser well, and the light bar of the lower rear wing. An evolution of the company’s GT3 twin-turbo V6 sits under the rear bodywork.
It’s important to note that the fortunes of sports car racing typically run on a decade-long boom-and-bust cycle, golden eras often followed by several years of dull racing due to limited participation by major manufacturers. Hypercars and Ferrari’s star power should bring a new golden era.
The office. Hypercar regulations enhance driver safety with a more upright seating position to … [+] reduce the chance of spinal injuries. Leg padding is also mandatory to lessen the chance of injury to the lower extremities. Imagine the driver changes, clambering over the wide sidepods and through the flap-like door, like climbing into a tiny racing airplane.
Evolved out of the architecture of the twin-turbo V6 engine fitted to the Ferrari 296 GT3 race car and more distantly related to the 296 road car engine, the 499P’s version is load-bearing, meaning it is a stressed structural component in the overall architecture. This differs from the GT3 competition cars, where the engine is mounted onto the car’s rear sub-chassis. In short, it means the engine’s fundamental piece, the cast block, is very robust.
Upper and lower rear wings, and the diffuser. This also shows the flow of the cockpit bubble into … [+] the engine cover, and the exhaust ports in the bodywork.
The electric motor is mounted out front and equipped with a differential, carefully metering power to each front wheel. The 900 Volt battery pack is recharged during deceleration and braking, “regen” or recuperative braking just like on roadgoing hybrids. It’s important to note that the Energy Recovery System (ERS) was developed specifically for 499P, though Ferrari knows much about recuperative braking from its Formula One hybrid powertrains, and the roadgoing Stradale.
The Sports and GT racing division of Ferrari developed the car, but the body design was massaged by … [+] Ferrari design boss Flavio Manzoni to ensure a clear Ferrari identity and relation to production car. Note the dorsal fin.Regulations allow the electric motor mounted up front to deliver torque to the front wheels at higher speeds.
Following Hypercar rules meant to equalize performance, tighten competition, and place more emphasis on the driver’s ability, the electric front axle only delivers torque to the front wheels at higher speeds. It will have less impact when accelerating out of low-speed tight corners.
Built on an all-new carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, Ferrari 499P bodywork was refined with the … [+] support of the Ferrari Styling Centre under the direction of Flavio Manzoni. Note the subtle references to the styling traits first introduced on the Ferrari Daytona SP3.
The FIA and ACO have capped maximum power at 500 kW (about 670 horsepower), and the Hypercars must weigh a minimum 1030 kilograms (about 2270 pounds, comparable to top-level Le Mans prototypes of the past 20+ years).
The 24 Hours of Le Mans; Le Mans, June 25-26, 1949. Luigi Chinetti guides his Ferrari 166MM through … [+] Tertre Rouge on the way to a very important win. (Photo by Klemantaski Collection/Getty Images)
Ferrari sports cars achieved nine overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The brand’s sports car glory days ran from the 166MM “barchetta” winning the first post-war Le Mans 24 Hour in 1949, with victories throughout the 1950s and into the mid 1960s. By the early 1970s, the Scuderia chose to focus on Formula One.
Ferrari 499Ps will be managed on-track by Maranello technicians and engineers working in collaboration of AF Corse, a longstanding partnership that began in the 2006 FIA GT series with the F430 GT2 that secured Team, Driver, and Constructor titles in its debut season. Ferrari has placed program management with Attività Sportive GT, under the direction of Antonello Coletta. Ferdinando Cannizzo leads engineering and development of Ferrari’s sports and GT racing cars. Architecture of 499P was guided by the racers at Maranello, but Flavio Manzoni, who leads design of Ferrari road cars, was involved, too, ensuring that this race weapon reflects current design themes of Ferrari production cars. Ferrari has not yet released the names of drivers.
The last Ferrari to claim an outright victory at Le Mans. Jochen Rindt, Ferrari 250LM, 24 Hours of … [+] Le Mans, Le Mans, 20 June 1965. (Photo by Bernard Cahier/Getty Images)

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