MERCEDES-BENZ WORLD BRINGS FORMULA 1 CLOSER TO EVERYONE
On 3 March, Nick Fry, CEO of the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team unveiled the incredible View Suspended II display at Mercedes-Benz World, Surrey. This captivating deconstructed art form of a Formula 1™ car is now available to be seen every day by guests visiting the brand experience centre alongside the Formula 1™ exhibition. The display also adds to the Grand Prix screening events scheduled for 2011.
View Suspended II
The display is a breathtaking work of art and brings a whole new perspective to literally everything that goes into creating a modern day Formula 1™ car. The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS branded car comprises over 3200 precision engineered components that have been meticulously arranged by Dutch artist Paul Veroude. The result is a striking monument to the advanced-technology of Formula 1™ that dramatically deconstructs the racing chassis to reveal its inner-most secrets.
This uniquely impressive work has enabled the chassis’ detailed systems and components to become visible, from the large bodywork items such as the engine cover and floor to the minutiae of the powertrain such as gear ratios and clutch plates. Every piece is suspended individually, hung by wire from a purpose-made frame. The chassis and its associated components were all supplied by the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team, with the engine supplied by Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines.
The structure combines engineering and sculpture. As a picture it would be attractive, but as a physical entity in the form of View Suspended II it displays a Formula 1™ car in the most visually stunning, innovative and exciting way imaginable.
Each of the 3,200 parts on display has been purpose-designed for Formula 1™ racing. Comprising over 90,000 man hours of design time, over 200,000 man hours of manufacturing and utilising carbon fibre, titanium, aluminium and magnesium, a Formula 1™ car weighs little more than 600 kgs. 85% of the volume of the car is made from carbon fibre which accounts for only 30% of the cars mass. The chassis, floor and almost all of the car’s aerodynamic surfaces are manufactured from carbon fibre. Aerodynamics has been big news in Formula 1™ ever since the late 1970s and the concept of ‘ground effect’ – where the entire under-body of the cars acts like an upside down aircraft wing, literally sucking the car into the ground – was developed. Today, ‘ground effect’ is limited through the use of the ‘mandatory’ plank seen suspended towards the bottom of View Suspended II. Yet aerodynamic development remains critically important absorbing around 15% of the team’s car development budget.
Nick Fry, CEO, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS commented: “It is fantastic to see View Suspended II here at Mercedes-Benz World. Formula 1™ is a sport watched by over 580 million people worldwide annually, so to be able to see a racing car in this way is something very special and a unique look at the heart of the sport.”
View Suspended II is an art form, and not intended to be an exact replica of a current MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula 1™ car. The racing car displayed is however entirely representative of modern-day Formula 1™ technology.
Formula1™ Exhibition
You don’t need to be in a pit garage or on the starting grid to get up close to a Formula 1™ racing cars. This exhibition that includes View Suspended II enables guests stand next to a number of race machines, all powered by Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines. The cars on display are the 2010 season MERCEDES GP PETRONAS car driven by Nico Rosberg and former World Champion Michael Schumacher who made his return to the grid after three years, the 2009 Force India driven by Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella, the 2007 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car driven by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso and Mika Hakkinen’s 1999 championship winning Team McLaren Mercedes car.
The exhibition also shows the highly successful Mercedes-Benz FO108W HighPerformanceEngine. The 2.4 litre V8 engine revs at a legislated 18,000rpm with a maximum output of 750PS. In 2009 this engine model achieved 10 race wins across the three teams powered by Mercedes-Benz.
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