Valmet RaceAbout 2005

[McLareN]

(from Valmet Automotive Press Release) The number of specialty car models and derivatives on the worldwide car markets is increasing. Cars are made for even more narrowly limited target groups, and therefore the number of small series cars is increasing.

Deviation of the body architecture of the main stream models is typical for these vehicles. Advanced light-weight materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber are often utilized. The yearly production volumes start from some thousands of units. The big challenge for the OEMs is to serve well the customers looking for individuality, without disturbing the efficiency of higher volume production.

Valmet Automotive has excellent operational readiness to serve the OEMs on this growing market segment. Also with smaller volumes the OEM customer can profit from the volume production benefits, like cost efficiency and constant high quality.

The RaceAbout 2005 sports car is presented on the Valmet Automotive stand at the Geneva Motor Show as an example of what a modern small series sports car could be. It is a sporty roadster with an all- aluminum monocoque, honeycomb floor pan, stainless steel sub-frames and ultra-light carbon fiber panels. The light-weight body structure was a distinctive target in the engineering of the car.

The RaceAbout 2005 was designed and assembled by Finnish automotive engineering and design students at the Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Valmet Automotive has been a major partner in the project.

Valmet Automotive continuously cooperates with research and educational institutes. This lays ground for future innovations and promotes the development of local automotive industry knowledge. At the same time it ensures the availability of well-skilled engineering workforce also in the future.

[McLareN]

Valmet Raceabout #2:

[Fumacher]

lol...the front looks like a scared fish or so..:P
tnkx 4 the pics!

[Revo]

Hyvä Suomi !
<Go Finland!>

What a lovely looking concept. Thumbs up!

[dydzi]

they're making porsches boxster too, right?
they made quite a good looking car, audi a4 c+c as well

[Matra et Alpine]

they're making porsches boxster too, right?
they made quite a good looking car, audi a4 c+c as well

yeah, they used to make Saabs.

See http://www.valmet-automotive.com/index2.html if interested.

I agree the a4 cc was a nice concept/prototype, shaem it didnt' coem to anything.

Their prototyping heritage is at http://www.valmet-automotive.com/concept_cars.htm

[Manik]

Wow the front looks pretty good and the side looks amazing! I don't know about the rear though it just looks plain weird. Certainly a cool car for Finland!

[Pando]

(from raceabout.fi)

Technical Data

Weight 795 kg
Length 3,850 mm
Width 1,730 mm
Height 1,060 mm
Wheelbase 2,375 mm
Track 1,435 mm
Ground clearance 100 mm
Max. Power 200 kW / 5200 rpm (-05 spec.)
Max. Torque 420 Nm / 3600 rpm (-05 spec.)
Top speed 235 km/h (limited)
Acceleration 0-100 km/h < 5 s


Technical Features

LAYOUT Two seater, mid-engined roadster

CHASSIS Riveted aluminium monocoque. Over 2000 aircraft-type rivets. Lightweight and high torsional stiffness. Stainless steel subframes. High-strength steel roll-over structures

BODY Body panels are detachable and are made of carbon composite material. Very lightweight, appr. 30 kg. Manufactured using different techniques. Pilkington Lamino heated windshield

INTERIOR Carbon composite panels. Leather upholstery. Sparco sport seats. 4-point racing safety belts. Aluminium housings

SUSPENSION Double wishbones in the front and rear. Custom-made Koni shock absorbers, adjustable bump and rebound. Blade-type adjustable balance bar in the front. Possible to adjust roll, pitch and yaw centers

ENGINE Saab turbocharged, all-aluminum straight four. Engine displacement 1,998 dm3. Custom-made Intercooler. Free flow air filter. Kemira Metalkat twin-catalyst exhaust system and one silencer

POWERTRAIN 5-speed manual gearbox, Torsen-type differential lock

BRAKES Ventilated 295mm AP-racing brakes. Four-piston aluminium calibers. Adjustable brake balance

FUEL SYSTEM Aluminium tank, located inside monocoque, behind seats. Tank volume 42 liters. Collector tank to ensure fuel delivery in transient states. Collector tank volume 1 liters.

WHEELS Kosei K1 Racing 17" x 7"

TYRES Nokian Tyres Z / Front: 205/50-17 / Rear: 225/45-17

RoadSnoop© tyre pressure -monitoring system



Design

The design of the RaceAbout 2005 aims to communicate with its surroundings telling a story about feelings, actions, passion and pride that are connected in the process of building this sports car.

The design is strongly based on the actual purpose of the car, and therefore, following function and usability: everything extra has been left out and both the exterior and the interior have been carried out considering the aerodynamics and the driver's needs.

The realization of this design principle makes the RaceAbout05 an honest product; it doesn't try to be anything else that it actually is, a working race car for both street and track use.

One of the objectives in the RaceAbout sports car design has been to create timeless design that endures time and changes. The round and curvy surfaces in the front end are subtly changing into more edgy and cut-like forms when moving towards the rear end. These fine changes emphasize the modern design and at the same time give a touch of the classical and function-based sports car design.
Exterior

• General design themes, a wedge-like, forward leaning, wide in proportion to height, are expressing the characteristics and resources of the vehicle.

• The form follows the structure of the chassis: the shoulder line is low and the fenders are raised.

• The design of the body is underlining the car's two characters: track and street, the dynamic and tense forms in the front end are transforming to aggressive and angular towards the rear end.

• The forward leaning shutlines are telling the facts of the car's brutal potential and are overflowing with exploding kinetic energy even if the car is standing still.

• The body's strong openings are expressing the layered structure: Under is the light aluminium and on top is the durable carbon fibre which together forms a functional and rigid whole.
Interior

• Lucidity and functionality are also continued in the design of the interior and in the material choices.

• In the cockpit only the essential has been covered with panels and the most of the aluminium monocoque has been left open. The form and the structure of the interior panels are carrying out the theme of lightness and functionality.

• The racing seats and the panels are all upholstered with leather.

• The cockpit is a tool between the driver and the chassis.

• The meter display has been laid out in terms of ergonomics and usability for the driver.

• Interior panels are all detachable to ease possible service or changing them to different color and material.

• Just like the whole design process also the interior design as been very thorough. All the parts and components have been manufactured and produced for the need of the project.



Chassis Development

Handling has always been one of the most important features. Rear or middle engine cars with most of the weight on the rear axle, are more demanding for the driver near the critical speed. A lost of grip happens suddenly and momentum of inertia can be a big surprise for the driver. Usually these types of vehicles are understeer cars, because of the easier transient state handling properties for non-experienced drivers. But at the same time you will lose one of the most enjoyable part of mid-engine cars, the fast and accurate steering response.

RaceAbout is a car with two different characters. The first one is for normal city and public road use. In this setup spring rates and damping coefficients are lower, and wheel camber angles are closer to zero. Ground clearance needs to be bigger and brake balance is less aggressive. This setup is also used for beginners due to its understeer and more forgiving behavior. The other setup is for track use only. Suspension is stiffer and wheel angles are more tilted for maximum lateral traction. The rest of the set up mostly depends on the driver.

In the RaceAbout project we started suspension design with different simulations and calculations to achieve certain basic level and behavior. The first test drives were mostly new vehicle shakedowns to check every system and to find out something about reliability. When everything was working without problems, we could start the racetrack tests to continue suspension development work. Some improvements were done to steering geometry, rear roll-steer behavior, and rear suspension frame. The rest of the modifications were normal set up procedures such as spring rates, pitch and roll center location, ride height etc.

In 2002 we got a chance to use very advanced analysis software, and as a result, some improvements could be made to rear end behavior near the critical limit. Increased suspension a-member stiffness was a significant factor for cornering stability.

After the racetrack behavior was at the desired level, it was simpler to find the softer behavior for road use. However, the fact that RaceAbout is not a smooth road car has to be kept in mind. It is a pure driver's car where the driver takes the control and the car gives the response.

RaceAbout is equipped with an integrated data logging system, which monitors all the important data needed for the chassis set-up. The data is collected in the Motec electrical meter unit for further analysis. Data logging helps you to analyze your own driving and gives you concrete information on the effects of different set up parameters.

[Pando]

Could the thread title possible be changed since this isn't officially a Valmet car, but a RaceAbout. Valmet is just one of the partners.

[Pando]

Here's a short video:

http://www.raceabout.fi/video_2/raceabout.mov

[RacingManiac]

this car is in LFS...