Lets play a game

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 10/17/2017 at 14:34 • Filed to: None

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Who can tell me what this car is and why it is special? No reverse google searching. Bonus points for any one who can tell me what the first project with the same goal as this car was. Double bonus points if you can tell me about this car’s American raced companion who pulled out before the race.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 14:35

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It’s one of those neato invisible cars?

I do believe kinja, has kinja’d you

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 14:36

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Way to go kinja. Here’s your reference image:

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 10/17/2017 at 14:38

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Nibbler is at it again. Picture in comments.

Nibby > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 14:47

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it goes vroom vroom

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 14:49

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I thimk it’s an Oreca but I don’t know much else.

RallyWrench > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 14:56

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It’s an ORECA 01, but that’s all I know. Are the controls special? Not running the Judd engine? No idea. The 1/43 I have of one doesn’t have the cooling inlets on top, ahead of the rear wheels.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > RallyWrench 10/17/2017 at 15:03

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Tis an Oreca. The special is under the hood.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 15:08

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Oreca chassis. Lacking the intakes above the driver’s head, so I’ll guess it’s a hybrid or possibly full electric. Was this supposed to compete with the Drayson B12?  

jvirgs drives a Subaru > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 15:11

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It was an early hybrid

RallyWrench > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 15:12

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Hybrid?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > jvirgs drives a Subaru 10/17/2017 at 15:21

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Twas a hybrid. The first hybrid to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to be exact. It competed in 2011, a full year before Audi and Toyota brought their hybrids.

bhtooefr > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 10/17/2017 at 15:30

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I had to reverse image search it, and I should’ve known it.

I’ll go for all of the bonus points, though, with the 1998 Panoz Esperante Q9 Hybrid (which failed to pre-qualify for the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to having too much battery), and the 2009 Zytek Q10 Hybrid (although I thought it was just an ALMS entry, didn’t think they even tried for ILMC/LM24? Guess that’s how early they pulled out then.)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 10/17/2017 at 15:34

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Close. It was the first hybrid to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2011. It actually predates the B12 by one year (the car that became the B12 actually competed at Le Mans in 2010 with a Judd V10 and coincidentally had a ton of issues during the race). It is inefficient to add an airbox above the cockpit when you are required to have 2 separate roll structures for driver and “passenger” so the majorety of open top LMP cars of the 2000's have their intake in the passenger’s head rest (with others intaking in the sidepods). Here you can see the intake on a traditional gas Oreca 01:

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > bhtooefr 10/17/2017 at 15:50

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The Q9 (nicknamed Sparky by Don Panoz) was the first Hybrid and ran a couple of ALMS races in 98. The Zytek (GZ09s, Q10 was the name of the hybrid system, an evolution of the system in the Panoz Q9) was run by Corsa Motorsport in ALMS in 2009. The car was then run by MIK corse in the 2011 1000km of Spa and was part of the pre test for the 24 hours of Le Mans. They weren’t able to pass the FIAs “drive the length of the pit lane on electric power after completing 1 lap (of the Bugatti circuit, not the full length Le Sarthe)“ test and they reclassified as a non hybrid and disabled the hybrid system before eventually pulling out of the race. They then ran the 6 hours of Imola (I believe with the hybrid system disabled) and then the car was destroyed in a fire at the 6 Hours of Silverstone.