Mercedes AMG has released an audio recording of the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 unit which will power Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in next year’s F1 championship.
Over a simulated lap of the Monza circuit, they’ve overlaid the sound of their 2014 engine using the team’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator at team HQ in Brackley.
Mercedes say its the most accurate impression so far of how the new Power Units will sound in 2014, with a maximum rev limit of 15,000 rpm and a single turbocharger spinning at speeds of up to 125,000 rpm. They go on to say “Best enjoyed with the sound turned up LOUD and on headphones or speakers for the full effect!”
Their press release says ‘listen to it ROAR’, but I’m afraid it sounds more of a whimper when compared to this year’s normally-aspirated 2.4-litre V8, or better still Honda’s V10 F1 engine which you can listen to in the video below.
The video entitled ‘Sound of Honda -Ayrton Senna 1989’ was recorded during a test session at Suzuka race circuit and presents a spellbinding rendition of Formula One powertrains at their finest.
SEE ALSO: Behind-the-scenes: Making of Sound of Honda – Ayrton Senna 1989. (in Japanese only)
We’re not expecting these new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines to match Honda’s championship-winning V10 (at least not in terms of aural performance), but it’s sad to think how far we’ve moved away from what most people would consider the ideal.
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Have to be realistic about this. F1 is more about cutting edge technology and we have had a turbo era, banned because the cars were too powerful. But now we have to wake up to the fact there is limited oil around and the naturally aspirated engine is a dying breed. Indeed the trend for manufacturers moving to smaller turbocharged engines on their road cars will only accelerate simply because they are cleaner and more energy efficient.
Formula one has to stay relevant even if it is supposed to be the pinnacle of single seaters, it still needs to be able to reflect the modern world of cars and by moving to smaller turbo units eventually I think it will be more easily justifiable.
Once these units have more development time in the next few seasons and their regenerative systems they could indeed benefit road car technology.
I’ll miss the sound of the naturally aspirated V10 and V8s but they are history, just enjoy F1 while we still have some oil left and don’t take it for granted, internal combustion days are numbered after all
I’m afraid you’re deadly right… it’s sad thinking how we’re approaching to the end of an era but hey, us human are masters on turning the biggest loss on the biggest win… Just wait and see.
Fingers crossed. I’d hate to become a boring old fart waxing lyrically about “back in my day..” 🙂
Back in my day we had computer controlled active suspension, traction control, four wheel steering, brake steer etc etc…those were the days 😀
Yeah, back in my day the computing power of an iPad took up a whole room. Maybe those days weren’t as good as I first thought..
Do you remember the fun in balancing a pair of twin Dellorto carburettors? Not.. 🙂
You’re probably right, once the engine makers put a few seasons of development behind them we’ll probably find something to love about these new engines too.
Also I’m well aware that Mercedes’ demo video was recorded in a dyno room, whereas Honda’s was filmed around the acoustic sound stage of Suzuka with professional sound engineers making it sound even more sexy. But still, those V10s.. I’ll miss them.
The only thing with the sound that disappoints me but was inevitable, was that the engines make the driver sound like he is constantly short shifting because of the much lower RPM limit.
We have gotten so used to engines being capable of reaching around 18k RPM for a decade now (and even higher prior to that limit) that it sounds strange as if the engine is cut off just before it gets going.
However I would bet my house if development is allowed to continue for just a couple years, they will produce more power and more torque than the V8s.
With turbocharger technology now totally commonplace on road cars unlike when the last turbo era ended in 88 (its hard to find a new petrol performance car from hot hatches upwards without one, every diesel has one) and regenerative technology sneaking in this move is the right one to make.
I remember the fizz-bang Renault 5 Turbo back in the ’80s which epitomised the hot-hatch of its time with a 6.5 second 0-60mph time (at a time when the Golf GTI that I owned could only manage a little over 8 seconds). That only came about because of Renault’s turbo innovation in F1. Hopefully this new turbo era will spawn something equally mental.. 🙂