Re:Porsche shatters the Nürburgring record we thought was un...
by kirse on Wednesday July 04, 2018 @02:34PM
(#17458771)
Easily... as in the tech is already there. 10 years ago BMW estimated a 5:15 was possible [1]. Since then we've had a decade+ of tire, aero, power-unit and transmission development, not to mention a number of 'Ring resurfacing efforts. There was no DRS or KERS back then either.
I don't think it'd cost mid 9-figures to integrate and tweak technology that is already well-understood. But then again it is [M]otorsport, where the [M] stands for Money. Red Bull could likely do it for low 8-figures with Mr. Max in the seat.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nordschleife_lap_times...
Easily? No, I respectfully disagree with your assessment of what is involved. CFD is not even close to being able to accurately predict a race car's handling so therefore it would take testing--a lot of it. In all likelihood it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to design, test and build a GP car that could beat that time. It would require wind tunnel time, new CFD models, new motors and on and on.
So yes, while I agree it is possible with a genius like Vettel or Hamilton, or IMO that would be a perfect mission for Max (who I think is of the caliber of Senna, and as Senna disciple, I don't say that lightly) at the wheel; it could probably happen. Of course, we would also need a designer of the caliber of an Adrian Newey, because no single modern F1 track even approaches The Ring. It would be a massive undertaking.