My apologies if I don’t have some of the model names down correctly. While Jon was giving his guided tour and giving details of each model, I was shooting the rest of the cars. It was the only way to get some shots without 20 people around each one!
This engine is absolutely a work of art.
Look at the welds on the exhaust headers. They are most perfect-looking TIG welds I’ve ever seen. F1 headers are welded up from individual bends and straight sections. They are usually made of Inconel – a metal that retains it’s strength at high temps. Also used on internal jet engine parts, I believe.
The close shot of the rear of the motor is most amazing. Those levers are used to actuate the variable-height intake trumpets and the throttle butterflies. They are beautifully machined from titanium, with bearings at each pivot point. Jewel-like in appearance, with no visible machining marks. The carbon fiber intake trumpets raise up and down to change the intake resonance, which tunes the “ram air” effect. Up at low rpms, down at high rpms.
At the top of the shot you can see the fuel rail with the injectors. They are above the butterflies, rather than in the head like in a road car.
At the bottom you can see the end of the crank where the clutch attaches. No flywheel is used. Clutches are carbon-carbon, multi-plate (usually 7 or 9) and in this car 4.5 inches in diameter. Current cars are using 4in clutches. To the right is a crank position sensor that reads off the clutch mounting plate.