Lawrence Butcher looks at the development of the Mercedes-AMG One road-legal hybrid hypercar

One interesting point is that during the development of AMG One’s powertrain, there was minimal influence from the F1 side of HPP, despite the ongoing development of the racing PU. The ICE and associated systems were effectively frozen at the 2015 specification and later developments were not incorporated.

However, there was one key exception: the MGU-H. During the 2016 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton suffered MGU-H failures at the Chinese and Russian grands prix. Those failures were traced to a turn-to-turn short, believed to be from a production difficulty in the winding process. “We had fundamentally made it very, very hard to make right,” says Allsopp. “We were too aggressive on the engineering and on how the coils were wound and interacting, so it was not a sufficiently robust, repeatable process.”

Using HPP’s comprehensive fault-management process, a thorough fault analysis followed each race failure, which extended to examining the behavior of everything associated with the motor, including the silicon carbide switches in the power electronics, their switching frequency and the potential effect of that on the coil insulation under extended running. Fundamental design changes were made for the 2017 season. When Allsopp took over the AMG One program, he was determined that the 275 production cars would carry the post-2016 design, not the unit that had failed in race conditions.

The battery pack has the same cell chemistry and design used in Formula 1, configured as the equivalent of four F1 battery modules in parallel. One significant difference from race use is that the AMG One must balance each of its cells on board.

In F1, the battery is removed from the car after each race and the voltage of each cell is checked and aligned. Clearly this is not practical for a road car, so the BMS needed its own balancing capability.

Bringing all the powertrain elements together from a software perspective, with full compliance to the required ASIL standards, was an undertaking in itself. “Looking at the complexity of the software, it was an area we underestimated,” says Allsopp. “We have the benefit in racing that the software is very open and we can architect solutions very quickly. With production controllers, it is not that simple.”

AMG One ended up running a blend of bespoke software solutions developed by HPP (and its partners) and standard road-car elements. Development engineer Adam Munday explains, “We did use some Bosch solutions where we maybe didn’t have the expertise – things like lambda sensor dew-point calculation and a lot of the OBD functions. They are areas where we are not experts, but for someone working on other road-car programs it’s a matter of adapting proven functions with some hardware-specific adjustments.”

The software integration required huge effort and coordination between the various parties within Mercedes, but the result was all of the control units working together harmoniously, tied in with a UI that would be familiar to any Mercedes road-car driver, and a powertrain operating to its full potential, reliably.

Hybrid development

The reliability requirements for the AMG One were rigorous: 5,000km between services and 50,000km between major powertrain services and refreshes. To put this in perspective, the 2015 PU had a total service life of around 5,000km.

Achieving these targets, not just for the powertrain but for the vehicle as a whole, required a blending of motorsport and production-car development approaches. In the motorsport world – particularly in F1, where track running is tightly limited – great reliance is placed on test-bench development, far more so than with road cars. For the AMG One, this entailed two dedicated test cells at Brixworth: one for calibration development, the other capable of full powertrain running, “Dyno seven was dedicated for AMG One use,” says Munday. “For durability running, it was especially useful to run the full car powertrain as a whole.”

Once an initial specification had been derived from the F1 PU, the team worked through multiple iterations, some more significant than others, to prove out each batch of changes. These test iterations “followed our F1 naming convention, starting with B1, 1.1, etc; we ended up at B2.3,” explains Munday.

Allsopp says of the project progression, “Dyno running moved to 24/7. In F1, we track our long-run progress against time. We have a well-defined profile and drive its delivery hour by hour, day by day, relentlessly. All I did was take the same engineering approaches we used in F1, clarified the mission and shared my honest assessment that in reality we were a long way off track versus where we need to be. We then built an aggressive plan and worked tirelessly as a team to get our heads above water.”

This intensive cycle of iteration and running ultimately led to a roadworthy powertrain, though there were nuances in the process, again highlighting how the high-pressure environment of F1 drives creative and concurrent thinking. “We created several phases, because there were some changes we could implement more quickly than others – for example, those related to the NVH and emissions challenges – so we packaged them in phases to prove out the durability of those changes in a controlled manner,” says Allsopp.

Importantly, a second dyno was available in parallel to focus purely on combustion development. This ability to run combustion and durability programs simultaneously was essential to the compressed timeline. However, what the dyno or simulation could not replicate exactly were the many edge cases that the car would be subjected to in customer hands.

Once mule cars became available, an intensive program of track and road testing began. This encompassed running across a range of conditions, from the European Alps to Portugal and Spain, enabling refinement of the powertrain calibration under real-world conditions. The track-testing element also flagged up potential reliability issues. For example, a weakness was found in the quill shaft connecting the front motors to the front-axle gearbox. Pushed to the limit on track, specifically when running over curbs, it produced oscillating loads that were not captured in any of the previous simulation models.

Elements such as cold-start performance, handling variations in fuel quality, and the full span of duty cycles from slow urban driving to sustained full-performance operation were all worked through, with the findings fed back to the test-bench work at Brixworth.

It was during this phase that the teams at HPP and AMG took their collaboration to a new level, blending elements of the race team’s approach with testing with road-car practice. The contrasts are worth noting. For all its heat of competition, F1 is a relatively controlled environment; the teams know where the cars will run and how the drivers are likely to drive them. The range of unknowns of road-car use were something of an alien environment. “There was quite a difference in expectation of what was done where,” says Allsopp, “and it was a really good conversation with AMG. We were challenging each other about what needed to be done, and actually the middle ground ended up being the right place.”

Bringing AMG One into reality was a protracted process. There’s was a reason no one had successfully tried to run an F1 powertrain on the road before: it’s unbelievably challenging. The first customer deliveries were not made until the end of 2022, which one might think would lead to dissatisfaction. But AMG did something unusual: it took its customers along for the ride. Rather than being shielded from the challenges of the project, customers were brought in early and given full visibility of the development process; they felt invested in it. “They became part of the journey and, later in the program, had great transparency of why there were delays and what we were doing about them. It gave them a unique experience,” says Allsopp.

It’s unlikely anyone is going to try anything similar to the AMG One any time soon; there are few manufacturers that could even contemplate such an undertaking. It was only by blending the huge resources of a company the size of Mercedes with the laser-focused mindset and almost unmatched engineering expertise of HPP in Brixworth that AMG One could become reality.

Related news, Mercedes-AMG One breaks its own lap record at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife

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Lawrence Butcher looks at the development of the Mercedes-AMG One road-legal hybrid hypercar

Until recently, no one had ever successfully built a road car around an F1 engine. There have been close tries, and engines from race cars have ended up fitted to road cars in modified form. Porsche’s Carrera GT took the base engine from the company’s RS Spyder LMP. Going the other way, BMW’s 1980s M12 F1 engine used a road-car block. But taking an unadulterated F1 engine and putting it in a road car had never been done, until Mercedes decided to do the unthinkable. The result? The AMG One.

The genesis of AMG One began in Mercedes’s dominant 2014 and 2015 Formula 1 seasons. The 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged hybrid power unit (PU) that powered Lewis Hamilton to consecutive Drivers’ World Championships was, by any measure, a generational piece of engineering. To celebrate and capitalize on this success, Mercedes and AMG began exploring the concept of a road-legal hypercar using the W06’s powertrain. The main questions: Was it even feasible and, if it were, how much of the F1 PU could survive the transition to the road intact?

Toward the end of 2015, a small group at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth, UK – specifically what is now called the Advanced Technology group – began concept work, sketching out what changes would theoretically be required before the program formally launched in 2017.

Mercedes-AMG’s plan was to produce 275 cars, the highlight of which would be an essentially unmodified F1 PU: the 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 ICE, the MGU-H harvesting energy from the turbocharger, and the MGU-K recovering energy under braking from the rear axle, plus an additional pair of electric motors driving the front axle. The combined system would output over 1,000hp. Getting that package through European road-car homologation was far from easy and pushed even the team at HPP – a group well used to achieving the impossible – to the limit.

Powertrain preservation

Adam Allsopp, currently director of Advanced Technology at Mercedes AMG HPP, was deeply involved in the powertrain development. When the project began, he was engineering director on the Formula 1 program, but in 2018 he became increasingly engaged with the road car before becoming sole program lead in 2019. According to Allsopp, there was an almost single-minded pursuit of keeping the powertrain “pure” and only departing from the racing design where absolutely necessary.

“Wherever we were faced with difficult challenges, if the solution was going to move us away from what the regulation specified for that engine, that troubled me because it felt like we would be watering it down,” he recalls.

Changes to the fundamental ICE architecture were to be avoided wherever possible – a tall order, given that the F1 ICE was entirely optimized to produce maximum power and efficiency within the fuel-flow-limited constraints of the F1 regulations. From the oversquare bore to stroke ratio, injector position, spark plug location, intake port geometry and cam profile, everything was developed for top-end performance and efficiency. But AMG One would be a road car; it needed low-speed manners and, importantly, noise and emissions compliance.

The Advanced Technology team at HPP took the approach of augmentation rather than alteration. Where the F1 architecture created a problem, the team sought solutions that worked around the core design. “It was about protecting those attributes and then trying to work out how you enhance rather than remove,” says Allsopp.

The eventual addition of port fuel injection alongside the existing direct injection system is a prime example of that approach in action. Rather than revising the combustion chamber, port injection (coupled with some subtle changes to the intake port geometry) improved fuel atomization and mixture preparation at low speeds, and aided stabilization of combustion at idle and light load without touching the high-speed combustion strategy.

Also supporting low-speed running was a redesigned throttle, in which the original barrel throttles were replaced with more traditional butterflies. “At high speed, it’s still got the same combustion philosophy,” Allsopp says. The idea of implementing variable valve timing (banned in F1) was floated to reduce low-speed emissions. However, although this would undoubtedly have helped, it was rejected to protect the DNA of the ICE.

Another tool that could be called upon to help with low-speed emissions compliance was the MGU-K, used to load the engine at low RPM. By harvesting energy from the ICE and directing it into the battery at light throttle, the team could maintain engine load at a point where combustion quality was acceptable. A quirk of this approach is that AMG One will not run its combustion engine if the battery is full, because the MGU-K loading strategy requires somewhere for that harvested energy to go. “It sounds a bit weird and a little bit counterintuitive,” acknowledges Allsopp, “but really it was about using the tools at our disposal to work out how this over-constrained problem could be solved.”

Cold-start emissions were also addressed, partly through catalyst preheating using the car’s high-voltage electrical system, a solution made practical by the available battery capacity. What couldn’t be tackled at source was handled through exhaust aftertreatment.

Electrical hurdles

The purity of purpose applied to the ICE was carried over to the electric machines. Initially, the race- specification MGU-H and MGU-K were simply swapped into the production PU, with two MGU-Ks deployed on the front axle. However, the reality of producing a relatively large run of these motors and ensuring they were fit for road use presented a few challenges.

The rear-mounted MGU-K was kept exactly as on the race car, directly driving the crank. At the front, a pair of MGUs was packaged with reduction gears to create what is referred to as the MGU-Fs. The electric machines run at very high speed: 35,000rpm for the rear and around 50,000rpm at the front. The motors are oil cooled, with two separate cooling circuits; the rotor is cooled using engine oil (and gearbox oil at the front), and the stator by a second loop that also incorporates the inverters.

It was in the motors that one of the project’s biggest hurdles emerged: NVH. Jack Mowat-Maconochie, now head of supply chain for the Advanced Technology group, observes, “In 2018 we started the drive-by noise testing. We knew the engine to be loud, but the electric machines were incredibly loud as well.” So loud, in fact, that they would never pass muster for road use. A solution was needed, but the source of the noise needed to be pinpointed first.

It was established that there were two key culprits: the gears in the front-axle fixed-ratio gearbox, and the electrical characteristics of the electric motors. The first was relatively straightforward to overcome, with detail work on the micro- and macro-geometry of the gears bringing the noise within tolerable margins. A similar process had to be undertaken on the ICE, which features a gear-driven camtrain positioned directly behind the driver, and initially proved a little too aurally aggressive.

The electrical element of the noise problem proved more troublesome and required an almost total rework of the motor architecture. “I was fiercely against changing the motor,” says Allsopp, who felt that doing so would detract from the overall ethos of the car. But the decision was effectively made for the team: “It was actually some of the NVH experts from AMG who said, ‘Look, here’s the data. You might not want to do this, but you will not sell this car with this motor.’ It’s quite hard to argue with that.”

Again, the easy option would have been to move away from the constraints originally set by the regulations, transition to a larger-diameter motor, reduce the RPM and cut the power. Instead, HPP set about reengineering the motor to fulfill the same brief as the original, but in an NVH-compliant way.

The result was an electrical redesign within the same packaging space, moving from a six-slot to a 24-slot architecture, as well as changes such as replacing Litz wire with more conventional windings. Coupled with revised magnet selection, a revised casing and the gear improvements, the result was a system that retained the spirit of the F1 units while meeting the stringent road-car legality requirements.

The new electrical design was also transferred to the rear MGU-K. “They’re identical,” says mechanical engineer Mark Digby. “They use the same rotor, stator and winding setup. They’re just packaged in different external housings to connect to the engine block and front gearbox respectively.” The choice to maintain commonality front and rear was a pragmatic one. “It was done to try to maximize commonality, so we are not making lots of different types of rotors and stators, given we had to produce more than 900 of them,” notes Digby.

From an F1 perspective, a run of this volume counts as mass production and required HPP to find a more efficient manufacturing process than the painstaking, largely manual approach used on F1 PUs. To this end, the engine maker developed automated in-house production capability for the rotors and stators, enabling repeatable production of motors regardless of the quantity required. “We were hand-winding them initially, and that was just not sustainable,” recalls Digby.

Continued in part 2 … 

Related news, Mercedes-AMG One breaks its own lap record at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife

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Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has announced that it has started “the next chapter in the evolution of the Peugeot 9X8”, as it targets approval for the new vehicle for the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Drawing on the experience gained in the car’s debut in the Hypercar category, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies is working on a series of technical evolutions aimed at enhancing performance, efficiency and competitiveness and said that this latest step marks an important milestone in the ongoing development of the Peugeot 9X8.

“Since its debut, the Peugeot 9X8 has been a platform in constant evolution. Competing at the highest level of endurance racing means continuously learning, adapting and progressing,” said Emmanuel Esnault, team principal, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies.

“The intensity of competition at a world championship level reinforces our determination to keep evolving. Our objective is clear: to position the 9X8 consistently among the top contenders.

“As we look ahead to 2027, the team is taking the next step in its development, focused on a revised approach to performance, efficiency and design. This work is a key milestone in preparing the next chapter of the Peugeot 9X8 story and perpetuating the legacy of Peugeot in endurance racing.”

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Nissan has announced a multi-year agreement to supply its Formula E GEN4 powertrain to Andretti Formula E from Season 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship onward.

Formula E is a key pillar of Nissan’s global electrification strategy, making success in the championship an important part of the company’s long-term ambitions. As one of Formula E’s longest-standing competitors, Andretti Formula E has consistently competed at the front of the field, securing the 2023 FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship with Jake Dennis.

Beyond supplying powertrains, Nissan and Andretti Formula E will work closely throughout the GEN4 era, combining technical expertise, engineering knowledge and sporting experience. With four Nissan-powered cars competing in the series, the organizations say the collaboration will create valuable opportunities for technical exchange and continuous development, helping them both maximize performance in one of world motorsport’s most competitive championships.

Guillaume Cartier, chief performance officer at Nissan Motor, said, “Formula E continues to play an important role within Nissan’s global electrification strategy. Our collaboration with Andretti Formula E and TWG Motorsports supports our goals in the sport and strengthens our commitment to the championship. We look forward to leveraging each other’s expertise to achieve success on and off the track, demonstrating our leadership in our respective industries and generating excitement to audiences around the world.”

The collaboration also benefits from the expertise of two FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Champions. Reigning title holder Oliver Rowland and Andretti Formula E’s Jake Dennis will both contribute their experience and technical feedback as the partnership develops through the GEN4 era.

Roger Griffiths, team principal at Andretti Formula E, added, “With a motorsports legacy lasting over 80 years and multiple wins and championships across a diverse range of categories including the current Formula E World Drivers’ Championship, Nissan has more than proven its pedigree at the highest echelons of the sport. As an early pioneer of electric vehicles, Nissan has developed vast knowledge in this category and, through its time in Formula E, has shown how immensely competitive it can be. It’s these characteristics that align so well with the approach of Andretti Formula E and why we are extremely proud to be aligned with the Japanese manufacturer entering the highly anticipated GEN4 era in Formula E.

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of the Nissan Formula E Team, concluded, “We’re delighted to welcome Andretti Formula E as our customer team for the GEN4 era. Formula E is an increasingly competitive championship, and having a strong partner is an important part of maximizing both performance and technical development. Andretti is one of the most successful names in motorsport, including Formula E, where it has established itself as one of the leading teams in the sport, consistently competing at the front and securing a Drivers’ World Championship. We look forward to working closely together and building a strong partnership.”

In related news, Molicel unveils high-power PX battery cell for next-generation hybrids

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Donkervoort has begun taking orders for a right-hand-drive (RHD) version of the P24 RS. This is the first time the Dutch company has engineered a right-hand-drive car, which opens up new markets in the UK, Asia, Oceania and Africa, after its expansion into the Middle East and USA.

The RHD engineering is the latest development of the P24 RS, which boasts a PTC variable-output engine and Ex-Core carbon-fiber front subframe. The 600hp P24 RS is now available in RHD markets, including the UK (via Premier GT), Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

“We are excited that we can finally show car lovers in RHD markets what Europe, the Middle East and North America have understood for a long time – that Donkervoorts prioritize driver engagement over everything else, making every drive an unforgettable event,” said managing director Denis Donkervoort.

“RHD was an opportunity that came with the P24 RS’s all-new PTC (Power To Choose) engine, and our own research and continuous phone calls and demands from potential customers demonstrated a clear demand for it.

“The Donkervoort philosophy is about putting the driver at the center of everything the car does; from extreme light-weight technology to forgiving suspension setups to the Power To Choose engine and adjustable traction control and suspension setups.”

The P24 RS weighs 780kg dry, using specialized construction to meet safety and emissions requirements. Its PTC engine produces up to 800Nm of torque and can switch between 400hp, 500hp and 600hp outputs.

The car accelerates from 0-200km/h in 7.4 seconds and has a top speed beyond 300km/h, with lateral cornering acceleration of more than 2.3g. It uses a hybrid chassis of welded tubes reinforced with Ex-Core carbon-fiber inserts and measures 4,000mm long with a 2,420mm wheelbase.

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The University of Warwick has been named Motorsport Valley’s first STEM Racing Centre of Excellence in a new partnership with STEM Racing, Maaden and Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.

Opening in the upcoming academic year, the Centre of Excellence will serve as an open-access engineering hub, providing neighboring schools and students with opportunities to develop practical skills in computer-aided design, CNC machining and aerodynamic testing using industry-standard equipment. Supported by the University of Warwick’s engineering expertise, students will receive hands-on guidance and mentoring, building the confidence and skills needed for future careers in engineering.

The South East Midlands is home to what’s commonly called Motorsport Valley, where seven of Formula 1’s current 11 teams are based. With growing demand for engineering and technical skills in the region, the center will support the future talent pipeline by encouraging more young people into motorsport, engineering and advanced manufacturing careers.

Powered by Maaden, the center will form part of the company’s multi-year youth development program with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. Through STEM Racing, students will gain hands-on engineering experience and mentorship.

Anabelle Denford, partnerships director at STEM Racing, commented, “Twenty-six years ago, we founded STEM Racing to make engineering exciting, accessible and rooted in real-world experience by challenging young people to design, manufacture and race their own miniature F1 car.

“Today, we’re taking that vision even further, bringing together Maaden, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team and the University of Warwick to connect young people with world-class industry, elite motorsport and leading engineering education.

“The Centre of Excellence will give students the facilities, expertise and hands-on experience to build confidence, develop practical engineering skills and explore where those skills could take them. We’re giving young people the confidence to believe they belong in engineering and the opportunity to take that first step.”

Stuart Croft, vice chancellor and president at the University of Warwick, said, “This ambitious partnership showcases the University of Warwick’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers and technicians.

“Through this Centre of Excellence, we are strengthening pathways into STEM careers and equipping young people with the skills, confidence and hands-on experience they need to shape the future of engineering.

“The University has a rich history of engineering expertise, which we are proud to pass onto the next generation.”

Related news, ORECA selects Siemens’ Simcenter to support motorsport development programs

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The final model in the supercar lineage that began with the 720S (2017) and continued through the 765LT and 750S, the 788HS is the third McLaren to carry the High Sport designation, following the 2012 MP4-12C HS and 2016 MSO HS.

The 788HS uses a 788ps (777bhp) 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and has a 1,265kg dry weight, to deliver a power-to-weight ratio of 623ps per metric ton —the highest in the 720S/750S/765LT series. The car features a bespoke aerodynamic package and updated exterior design and personalization options offered through McLaren Special Operations (MSO).

“The new McLaren 788HS has been designed and engineered with a singular focus; to deliver a visceral experience and captivating drive through its precise balance of performance, sound, dynamism and individuality,” said Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, chief commercial officer, McLaren Automotive.

“It represents the ultimate expression of our supercar series that began with the 720S and becomes only the third McLaren to wear our HS designation – a fitting finale for a much loved and critically acclaimed car.”

Assertive design 

The McLaren 788HS features what the company says is the most advanced aerodynamic package ever applied to the platform, increasing downforce by 10% over the 765LT, with “uncompromized vehicle dynamics and balance”.

The aerodynamic concept centers on an S-Duct hood, a raised active rear spoiler and an intricate Formula 1-inspired rear diffuser. Working in combination with a bespoke front splitter, these elements enhance stability, performance and driver confidence. The louvred under-wing panel further supports powertrain cooling and aerodynamic efficiency.

The driver-centric cabin layout includes a lightweight carbon-fiber center console that signifies the level of focus applied to every aspect of 788HS. The cabin also features bespoke HS branding with a unique perforation pattern for the upholstery and a dedication plaque.

Track precision meets on-road engagement

The heart of the 788HS is McLaren’s M840T 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, which revs to 8,500rpm and develops peak power at 7,500rpm. With 800Nm of torque, it delivers immediate response and sustained acceleration – from 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds and 0-200km/h in 7.0 seconds, and to a top speed of 330km/h (205mph). A unique engine mount calibration for 788HS delivers heightened engagement and connection between powertrain and driver without compromising long-distance usability.

The Proactive Chassis Control III linked-hydraulic suspension system with bespoke suspension tuning delivers even higher levels of dynamic performance. The 788HS also features a 5mm lower front ride height than the 750S, for a more dynamic and engaging driving experience.

Braking performance is enhanced through carbon ceramic discs derived from the McLaren Senna, with black six-piston forged aluminum monoblock front calipers and integrated cooling for sustained high-performance use. The 788HS also introduces the first center-lock wheel mechanism ever fitted to this supercar series, in combination with a new Super Lightweight Forged Alloy wheel.

The 788HS uses a quad-exit titanium exhaust system, which McLaren says increases exhaust intensity across the rev range, along with induction and exhaust sound symposer technology designed to enhance the V8’s engine note inside the cabin.

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Dynisma has signed a technical partnership agreement with Dallara in a multi-million pound deal covering multiple DMG‑360XY driver-in-the-loop (DIL) motion simulator systems.

The agreement reflects the growing role of high-fidelity simulation in motorsport engineering, as testing restrictions, cost pressures and program complexity increase across the industry.

Dynisma CEO Graeme Cook said, “Dallara’s engineering philosophy places huge value on understanding vehicle behavior and driver perception, and we are proud to support that approach as technical partner. The DMG‑360XY platform is designed to be trusted as a primary engineering tool, and this multi-simulator agreement reflects a shared commitment to realism, correlation and long-term technical excellence.”

As part of the partnership, Dallara will deploy two DMG-360XY simulators across its European and US operations. The first system is scheduled for installation at Dallara’s global headquarters in Varano de’ Melegari, Italy, during Q4 2026, with a second simulator planned for delivery to its Indianapolis facility in Q1 2027.

The DMG 360XY is Dynisma’s most advanced motion system, used by Formula 1, GT and endurance racing organizations. It combines ultra-low latency (under 5ms) with high-bandwidth response exceeding 100Hz, unlimited 360° yaw rotation and 5m of XY travel, delivering sustained motion cues without washouts or motion recentering.

By adopting identical simulator platforms across its Italian and US engineering facilities, Dallara will establish a consistent simulation environment supporting correlation, collaborative development and repeatable results across vehicle programs, driver work and longer-term research.

Andrea Pontremoli, CEO and general manager, Dallara, said, “High fidelity simulation is a strategic asset for our group. Establishing identical, top-of-the-range motion platforms in Italy and the USA supports continuity across our engineering programs and strengthens confidence in how virtual development informs real-world performance.”

Luca Bergianti, director of vehicle dynamics and performance at Dallara, said, “At Dallara, virtual development is becoming central to how we engineer our vehicles. The vehicle model now acts as the key integrator of all disciplines, allowing us to validate technical choices in a virtual environment before producing physical components.

“Advanced simulators embed virtual tools into the engineering process, helping us improve performance, uncover opportunities and anticipate issues early on. Dallara’s choice of Dynisma as a partner reflects this shared vision, as we push high-fidelity simulation, realism and development efficiency to the next level.”

As well as supporting internal development, the simulator platforms will form part of Dallara’s wider engineering infrastructure, covering long-term vehicle development, research and selected collaborative programmes.

Related news, ORECA selects Siemens’ Simcenter to support motorsport development programs

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ORECA Group has selected Siemens’ Simcenter software to support advanced computational fluid dynamics and composite structural optimization for its high-performance racing vehicle development programs.

The company has adopted the Siemens’ Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and Simcenter Optistruct, part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, to support its high-performance motorsport programs, including its Le Mans 24 Hours hypercar program with Ford Motor Company.

ORECA is using the STAR-CCM+ software for CFD workflows and multi-physics simulations combining aerodynamic, thermal and brake-related effects, alongside Optistruct for optimizing carbon fiber composite layups to balance stiffness and weight in performance-critical components. The tools form part of ORECA’s broader adoption of simulation technology across its motorsport development programs.

“ORECA was looking for a simulation environment that could support accelerated and more streamlined workflows from design through simulation while enabling new types of multiphysics analysis,” said Jean-Philippe Pelaprat, head of aerodynamics at ORECA Group. “Siemens’ simulation software gives our engineering teams the flexibility to run more advanced simulations and optimize composite structures in a highly demanding motorsport environment.”

“Our collaboration with ORECA shows how Siemens Xcelerator empowers engineering organizations to push the limits of performance through simulation-driven engineering,” said Sam Mahalingam, executive vice-president of simulation, HPC and AI, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “By bringing advanced CFD and composite optimization together within a digital twin environment, we’re giving customers the tools to explore bold new design approaches and drive innovation in some of the most demanding, competitive engineering programs in the world.”

Related news, Goodyear extends European Le Mans Series supply deal through 2029

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UK-based motion simulator technology company Dynisma has been selected by the Cadillac Formula 1 Team to supply its DMG-360XY driving simulator, as part of the team’s continued investment in the infrastructure required to be competitive in motorsport.

Nick Chester, chief technical officer, Cadillac Formula 1 Team, said, “Selecting the right simulator platform is a key decision for any Formula 1 team. Dynisma’s technology gives us the level of fidelity, responsiveness and correlation we were looking for as we continue to build our technical capability. The addition of the DMG-360XY is an important step as we establish the tools and systems needed to support our engineering work and driver program over the coming seasons.”

The simulator will support a range of applications including vehicle development, driver preparation and setup work across the Formula 1 calendar.

Dynisma Motion Generators (DMGs) are engineered to deliver a highly accurate, high-fidelity motion response through ultra-low latency and high bandwidth, enabling the levels of realism and correlation required for modern driver-in-the-loop simulation. The DMG-360XY system builds on this foundation with large excursion capability of up to 5m of XY travel and unlimited yaw, providing an advanced platform for replicating complex vehicle dynamics and driver feedback.

The simulator will be installed at the Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s growing US base in Indianapolis, Indiana. The addition of the DMG-360XY, combined with the latest LED wall visualization technology, represents a further investment from the team in technical capability as Formula 1 continues through a new regulatory era in 2026, bringing fundamental changes to car behavior, power unit characteristics and aerodynamic performance.

Ash Warne, founder and CTO of Dynisma, said, “Dynisma is proud to support the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as they continue to build their technical capability in Formula 1. In modern motorsport, simulation plays a central role in connecting driver feedback with engineering development, and ensuring strong correlation between virtual tools, wind tunnel and track testing. The DMG-360XY is engineered to deliver a highly repeatable, high-fidelity environment, supporting informed decision-making across both long-term car development and race-by-race setup preparation.”

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