Ilmor

Ilmor is a 1984 English- Brixworth established supplier of various motorsport series engine and boat engines. The Company's business consists of the name parts of the company's founders, the Grisons Mario Castille and England's Paul Morgan, both were former Cosworth employees.

History

After the founding of the company by Mario Illien, Paul Morgan and Roger Penske in 1984 fast initial success in the IRL were recorded. The first Indy 500 victory followed in 1988, after which began the Ilmor entered Formula 1 prepare. After initial attempts in 1990, began in 1993 working with Mercedes -Benz. The double world champion title in 1998/99 for Mercedes was experienced by Mika Hakkinen with the V10 engine from Ilmor.

1998 Advanced Ilmor its business initially a project for the production of parts for Roger Penske's NASCAR team, followed by two more successful projects for Triumph Motorcycles, Harley -Davidson, as well as a number of other customers. As of 2001, the GM IRL engine was developed for the new 2003s Regulations, which developed a partnership with Honda. From the development and production of these engines, the Special Projects Group, which formed a separate business unit developed.

End of 2002, DaimlerChrysler decided the phased acquisition of Ilmor after Daimler -Benz in 1994 already took over 25 percent. After completion of this acquisition, and Neufirmierung the Formula 1 department as Mercedes -Benz High Performance Engines, in June 2005, DaimlerChrysler sold the Special Projects Group and the Ilmor - naming rights to Roger Penske and Mario Illien. Penske and Castille founded from a new Ilmor Engineering Limited. In addition to MotoGP engines Ilmor developed since then continue to Indy engines for Honda and Nascar engines for Penske Racing.

Champ Car

With financial backing from Roger Penske, a U.S. businessman and team owner, in 1984, Ilmors first engine, the 265A, better known as the Chevrolet Indy V8 ( nomenclature according to the according to the rules permitted 2,65 l capacity ). This engine and its advancements B, C and D won after some initial problems 98 races in the American Champ Car series between 1988 and 1994, including six Indianapolis 500 race and six victories of the employed under the name Ilmor - Indy IC108.

Standout here was 1994, the 500I or 265E -called engine, which was used under the brand name of Mercedes -Benz in the 500 miles of Indianapolis. Specifically for this race was created in just ten weeks ( concept on paper to test run ) an engine that could have more displacement and boost pressure due to its conceptual disadvantages in that the competitors more recent design. The conceptual drawbacks were that the valves were not allowed to be driven via overhead camshafts, but on the bottom camshafts, tappets, pushrods and rocker arms, which at the time of Regulations emergence represented a disadvantage with respect to achievable maximum speed and hence the possible engine performance. For this reason, the so-called bumper engines instead 2,65 l 3,43 l capacity and a boost pressure of 1.86 bar bar were allowed instead of 1.52. In the course of technical development but the disadvantages could be compensated so that you could now drive a cheaper excepted by the regulations assembly according to current knowledge to excel. This culminated in an engine, which delivered a power of 1024 hp (instead of 780 hp) and a torque of 755 Nm (instead of 495 Nm).

The three Penske -Mercedes driver Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy qualified with an average speed of 228.011 mph, 227.303 mph and 222.71 mph and had by his own admission gentle braking curves for the first time on the oval course. The engine came after the race his last trip to the museum, since the motor sports authority closed the gap Regulations for obvious reasons.

Since 2004, only vehicles featuring the Ilmor V8 engine ( Honda produces ) the 500 miles of Indianapolis.

Formula 1

By the late 1980s there was due to the Indy successes considerations for activities in Formula 1, including negotiations with GM, which, however, could not decide for a brand to their name should bear the engines.

So you paid from 1990 to F1 racing team Leyton House (later March ) first with engines of type 2175A under his own name, and only 1992 the Tyrrell team.

The Ilmor engines were not yet to the fittest at this time. For example, in 1993 the Renault engine had developed 696 hp from 760 hp Williams estimated during the Ilmor engine according to own data. After all, it was so better positioned than those teams, constituted the engines from Ford -Cosworth or the company Judd or hard.

Nevertheless Ilmor Formula 1 engines were always to be found in the engine dimensions and weight in the tip box, if not the measure of all things.

In 1993, the cooperation with Mercedes -Benz in Formula 1 began under the name " Concept by Mercedes -Benz ", which was emblazoned on the Sauber race car. During this season came with the financial support of the clean development 2175B used. Only in 1994 Mercedes -Benz known then by the reluctance of the previous year restored to its Formula 1 involvement: the Sauber race cars carried the Mercedes -Benz lettering of the engine supplier, Ilmor engines, however, provided. In addition, the 2175A engine experienced a renaissance in the Pacific - Ilmor.

Since 1995, Mercedes -Benz holds a 40 % stake in Ilmor engine and official supplier of the McLaren.

Since then, in the 2001 season, the material beryllium was banned for the production of F1 engines, there was some great difficulty, to build on the performance and reliability of other motor manufacturers by Mercedes ( or Ilmor ). This has often been attributed to the increased use of this lightweight metal at Ilmor, the Mario Illien once admitted in an interview.

It was only in the 2005 season could be, apart from the still weak reliability, again develop an engine that was on the performance of one of the best engines in the field. The engineer Enrico Benzing was determined using a diagnostic program that the Mercedes engine in the last race of the season made ​​2005 917 hp.

After the death of co-founder Paul Morgan on 12 May 2001, his widow sold in 2002, ten per cent of its stake in Mercedes -Benz before the vehicle manufacturer in 2005 also acquired the remaining shares of Liz Morgan, Mario Castille and Roger Penske. At the same time Mercedes -Benz sold in turn the company's shares that are not engaged in the manufacture of Formula 1 engines - as well as the Ilmor name rights - Mario Castille and Roger Penske. Castille and Penske then founded the new company Ilmor Engineering Ltd.. , Mercedes- Ilmor was renamed Mercedes -Benz High Performance Engines.

MotoGP

As of 2006, Mario Illien tinkered with engines for motorcycle sport and entered under the team name Ilmor SRT X ³ from 2007 with a developed with Eskil Suter machine and Andrew Pitt and Jeremy McWilliams as a rider in the MotoGP class. Had the 800 cc four -cylinder V- engine made ​​its debut in the X ³ motorcycle called on 14 October 2006 Garry McCoy at the penultimate round of the MotoGP 2006 Estoril. This project has been discontinued.