BMW Sauber F1 Team Car - engine

The transmission of the BMW Sauber F1.07 was entirely developed and built at Anton-Ditt-Bogen in Munich. The demands on a high performance racing transmission, such as one used in Formula One, are huge: the transmission needs to display maximum rigidity, yet at the same time be lightweight, have a low centre of gravity, be compact and boast extremely short shift times.
The BMW Sauber F1.07 is fitted with a 7-speed gearbox. The main and auxiliary drive shafts are arranged longitudinally to the direction of travel. The driver can shift up a gear without breaking off tractive power to the rear axle. In a conventional Formula One transmission, engaging the clutch results in the flow of tractive power being interrupted for approximately 50 milliseconds during the shift process. In other words, during this time the car is deprived of propulsion and just rolls.
This is true in particular at high speeds against high wind resistance. In practical terms, the car is braked by around 1g during this suspension of tractive power. In a road car, this would come across as powerful braking. This interruption of tractive power every time the driver shifts up a gear adds up to a significant loss of time or a deficit of several hundred metres by the end of the race. The new quick shift gearbox (QSG) fitted in the BMW Sauber F1.07, however, totally eliminates this break in tractive power.
One of the electronics and transmission innovations from Formula One to have proved its mettle in the BMW M3, M5 and M6 is the "Sequential M Gearbox - SMG with DRIVELOGIC". The SMG drive concept delivers F1 transmission technology for everyday use. The driver changes gear electrically via paddles behind the steering wheel. As in Formula One, an electrohydraulic system replaces the mechanical clutch and shift process, and SMG users can similarly keep their foot on the accelerator while changing gear.

With the backing of the electronics experts at the BMW Research and Innovation Center (FIZ), BMW also had the confidence to develop its own F1 engine management system for its GP comeback in 2000. Turning to established motor sport specialists might have been the easier option, but such a move would have done little to augment the knowledge base in Munich. Engineers normally devoted to developing the electronics for the M models also created the engine management system for the F1 engines.
The expertise they gained in the process filters back into series production. Top-of-the-range BMW cars, such as the 7 Series and M models, have long featured two types of microprocessor which BMW has used and tested in Formula One. Added to which, data storage technology which had first proved itself in F1 was used to hone internet access and the navigation system for the BMW 7 Series.
F1 technology is also used in monitoring systems for a variety of vehicle functions - another area which is gaining in importance in road car development. Early warning systems and automated electronic intervention technology can play an important role in enhancing safety and guarding against damage.
The demands on the engine management system of a high-revving Formula One engine, which also has to run smoothly at low engine speeds, are immense. The ignition timing and fuel supply have to be perfectly coordinated millisecond by millisecond in order to achieve optimum efficiency - maximum output combined with low fuel consumption. Optimising fuel economy can enable both better lap times and greater flexibility in race strategy.
A new central control unit for the engine, transmission and chassis replaces the previous engine electronics. The new development has been christened RCC, standing for Race Car Controller.

BMW's chief reason for returning to GP racing in 2000 was the creation of synergies between F1 and series production. The development of the Formula One powertrain and electronics has been integrated with impressive effectiveness at the Munich plant. The BMW Research and Innovation Centre (FIZ), a type of automotive think tank, plays a key role in this process. The F1 factory was built less than a kilometre away from the centre and the two facilities are interconnected.
BMW has made the vision of a seamless process chain a reality, following the development from concept to construction, casting, component production, assembly and testing all the way to race action on the track - and all under its own roof. Transportation of parts - and the quality problems this can cause - is no longer an issue, and the expertise acquired remains within the company, where it benefits the development of production cars.
The casting quality of the engine block, cylinder head and gearbox plays a crucial role in determining their performance and durability. Advanced casting techniques, coupled with high-precision process management, enable lightweight components with impressive rigidity. To ensure that production models benefit from these developments, BMW has its own foundry in Landshut. In 2001, this was joined by a dedicated F1 casting facility.
Despite the introduction of even more stringent regulations into GP racing, the materials used in today's F1 cars still have to be as lightweight as possible and as durable as necessary. The materials research section at the FIZ provides crucial input for the development of BMW's F1 engines and transmissions, with aviation and aerospace technology frequently serving as a basis. Some highly promising developments, which as yet remain too expensive for use in production models, have already found their way into BMW's F1 project. This opportunity to introduce fresh technological blood helps the engineers to continue developing innovations for series production.
In Formula One, moving forward and addressing problems demands fast reaction times, while the number of design modifications made during a single season has been as high as for the entire BMW range of series-produced engines. The team is therefore constantly on the lookout for ways of shortening its processes. Here the BMW Formula One engineers can turn to the Rapid Prototyping/Tooling Technology department of the FIZ. Once the necessary parts have been designed - using a CAD system - computer-controlled machines use laser beams or three-dimensional pressure technology to create scale models made out of resin, plastic powder, acrylic, wax or metal. That enables installation and interactions to be simulated without delay, allowing any necessary modifications to be carried out before the final manufacturing process gets underway.

Type: normally aspirated V8
Bank angle: 90 degrees
Displacement: 2,400 cc
Valves: four per cylinder
Valve train: pneumatic
Engine block: aluminium
Cylinder head: aluminium
Crankshaft: steel
Oil system: dry sump lubrication
Engine management: BMW
Spark plugs: NGK
Pistons: aluminium
Connecting rods: titanium
Dimensions:
length: 518 mm
width: 555 mm
height: 595 mm (overall)
Weight: 95 kg