MAHLE is expanding its cooperation with Scuderia Ferrari to include the development and supply of crucial engine components.
“We consider MAHLE an important partner in the ongoing development of our powertrains,” said James Allison, technical director at Scuderia Ferrari. “We appreciate not only their high level of technological expertise, but also their exceptional reliability.”
The scope of the cooperation includes the optimization of the crank mechanism and the development of high-performance materials.
“Our company’s commitment to motorsport has a decades-long tradition,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO and chairman of the MAHLE management board. “Many developments have contributed to series vehicle engines being more powerful and at the same time more economical.”
For this project, MAHLE is developing and manufacturing high-strength forged pistons and optimizing their aluminum alloys and protective reinforcements, for example. Added to the list are friction-optimized piston rings and piston pins made of extremely resilient steel, as well as cylinder coatings in the engine housing that reduce friction and are resistant to wear.
“The new generation of hybridized, turbocharged V-6 engines presents very specific challenges,” according to Fred Türk, vice president of MAHLE Motorsports.
The development activities for Ferrari also include innovative combustion processes. For the first time, MAHLE is using a patented solution that leads to a significant increase in efficiency, according to the company.
The new lean-burn combustion process, called MAHLE Jet Ignition, achieves this with a high-energy jet ignition system. Higher power output is generated for motorsports applications, however, MAHLE says it also will develop the process for series vehicles, since the technology allows for efficiency levels to be achieved that are otherwise found only in diesel engines.
This example demonstrates how motorsport continues to be a technology driver, MAHLE says. “The extreme requirements in these vehicles are the starting point for many innovative solutions that also are used in series production at a later stage,” said Türk.
