920E steps up development
920Engineering will expand its product development programme for high-performance road vehicles following a successful debut season on the Formula One track.
The Warwickshire-based firm is the first new braking system supplier to enter into the F1 supply chain in almost 10 years. 920E, known as an automotive tier 1 supplier, has been strengthening its engineering resource and is embarking on a multi-million-pound investment programme as part of its technology-led strategy which includes products for motorsport, performance road cars, military and autonomous vehicles.
Its entry into Formula One, supplying Force India, has coincided with the team’s most successful season ever, achieving 187 points in the Constructors Championship. Following the final Grand Prix of the 2017 season at Abu Dhabi, 920E announced that it was already developing new high-performance products for road cars, electric vehicles and autonomous platforms based on its expanding involvement in world motorsport’s top tier.
The Liberty-owned business will expand its design and development programmes further when it opens its new Centre of Automotive Excellence at Leamington Spa, in a year’s time. Outline planning permission for the leading-edge centre has just been granted by the local council.
Managing director of Liberty Vehicle Technologies, Anthony Blackwell, said, ‘We warmly congratulate Force India on their consistent and best-ever performance this season. It is a great honour to have been part of the package that has supported this success and a pleasure to work with them.
‘With the combined mechanical design and manufacturing capability of 920E and the control electronics and mechatronic capabilities of our Shiftec team, we are working on multiple technologies that have proven themselves on-track and have applications across braking and steering systems for the coming generation of electric, hybrid and low-emissions, high- efficiency vehicles.’
He confirmed that the 920E team, led by the well-known motorsport industry chief engineer Jon Tait, is already working on next season’s Formula One products.
‘Operating in Formula One is very much a collaborative process, working with the F1 team to optimise an inevitable balance between aerodynamics, stiffness and thermal management. We were also able to bring a commercial approach to the operation which achieved the right result in double quick time and kept costs down.’
He said experience in top motorsport was invaluable as an ‘excellent proving ground’ for technology that could then be transferred to road cars.
