Chevrolet Team Continues Development of New Corvette C6.R Race Cars

SEBRING, Fla., Feb. 9, 2012 – This was only a test – but as the final shakedown before the season-opening 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the two-day ALMS Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway was crucial for Corvette Racing. The Chevrolet team continued to develop its new Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars and integrate its new driver lineups. The team also unveiled its 2012 livery that features Jake, the team mascot, in the striking yellow and black graphics.

Corvette Racing participated in the series’ official preseason test with two new chassis, one new driver, and a revised lineup. Twenty-year-old Jordan Taylor of Apopka, Fla., made his public debut as a Corvette Racing driver, sharing the No. 3 Corvette C6.R with co-drivers Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. Tommy Milner settled in with the No. 4 Corvette C6.R that he now shares with teammates Oliver Gavin and Richard Westbrook.

Announced last month as the third driver for the Sebring, Le Mans, and Road Atlanta endurance races, Taylor adapted quickly to both his new race car and new team. “It’s been exciting so far, being teamed with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia for the three long-distance races,” Taylor said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but also a huge opportunity for me to drive with these guys and to learn from them.

“Every time I get out of the car, I compare the data with them to see where I can improve,” Taylor explained. “Yesterday Jan was helping me with Turn 1 and now I’m on pace with the quicker guys. Things are going really well so far!”

The twin Corvette C6.R race cars completed nearly 15 hours of track time without any significant issues. While long runs took priority over fast laps, both Corvettes ran considerably quicker than the 2:01.561 lap time that won the GT pole at Sebring last year. The No. 4 Corvette was clocked at 2:00.700, and the No. 3 Corvette turned a lap in 2:00.799 on the historic 17-turn, 3.7-mile circuit.

“The work that the team has done during the off-season gives me a lot of confidence,” said Milner. “I can really feel the results when I drive the car, and that’s very encouraging. Every test matters and every outing counts because the racing is so competitive in GT. Everyone at Corvette Racing is looking toward our ultimate goals – winning races, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and winning the ALMS GT championship. Testing here in Sebring with our competitors has given us a benchmark to see how our work has paid off.”

Milner’s co-driver, Oliver Gavin, agreed: “The new car is very good, and the wider track has helped with the balance,” the Briton said. “I would almost say that this GT Corvette C6.R handles like the GT1 Corvettes we raced several years ago. It’s simply amazing how the technology, the aerodynamic development, and all of the work done by Corvette Racing’s engineers and crew have taken us a step forward for 2012.”

Richard Westbrook, third driver for the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, is looking forward to the start of his second season with Corvette Racing at the Sebring enduro. “Everyone has been very determined this winter, and so far, so good,” Westbrook said. “The car feels great. It’s not just aero, the engines, or one single thing – the Corvette team has taken 50 small items and improved them across the board. As we know, everyone in this class improves every year, so it’s going to be tough as ever, but we feel we’re in good shape.”

Jan Magnussen is equally confident in his return to the No. 3 Corvette C6.R that propelled him to an ALMS championship in 2008. “I’m very positive with everything that we’ve tried,” declared the Dane. “We’ve gone in a new direction with this car, and when we try something new, we then find another 100 things we want to try! I think this test has been super-productive, and the new car is responding well to the changes we’re making. It’s always difficult at the Winter Test because the track will be quite different during the Sebring 12-hour race – but I think we are in quite good shape.”

Antonio Garcia moves from his role as third driver to a full-season seat in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. He shared his teammates’ optimism after the Sebring test. “We have put all our effort into making this car as fast as possible,” Garcia noted. “There have been big changes overall to the bodywork, so there was a lot of work to be done by the engineers and the crew in the shop. We have certainly improved since last year – the question is, how much have the others improved as well? We won’t know that until the race, so we just need to focus on our program. I think we will have a very competitive car to fight for victory in the 60th running of the Sebring 12-hour race.

Corvette Racing’s next event is the season-opening 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 17.

Is it a foregone conclusion that professional race car drivers love to taunt death? Not necessarily. It’s really about pushing limits and finding the edge without careening over. Few have the judgment and skills to not only survive a life racing, but to excel at it.

Andy Pilgrim is one. An accomplished racer in many disciplines, Pilgrim started racing on motorcycles in the 1980s an then came to the U.S. to find career opportunities that weren’t available in his native U.K. He has always been passionate about bikes; for example, he has kept a race program from a local track—Mallory Park—near Nottingham U.K since he was two years old. Growing up Pilgrim was the kid that was doing stunts on his tricycle, bicycle, or moped. He was also the one who didn’t need to follow the crowd when they chose to do something stupid, and he’s always sworn off alcohol and drugs. In his words, “Because I was a risk taker, when it came to anything with faster than feet mobility, I also realized early that altered states were not a good idea.“

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Industry Team Offers MAV-L for Special Applications Beyond SOCOM

Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Pratt Miller Engineering team celebrated the debut of the MAV-L at AUSA 2012, the team’s entry into the GMV 1.1 pursuit. MAV-L is a modular vehicle, built to transports up to seven operators and easily reconfigured to fit specific missions.

Despite its spacious size it can be air transportable internally in MH/CH-47 Chinook helicopters, thanks to height compression technique reducing the vehicle’s height to fit the Chinook’s cabin.

Motor racing specialist company Pratt Miller Engineering is signed on the unique design, brought from idea to fully functional prototype in few months. A respected industry leader in the defense, automotive, motorsports and powersports industries, Pratt Miller is renown for their innovative, high-performance engineering and manufacturing solutions.

“Our clean-sheet approach and purpose-built solution applies innovation from across our industry team. We deliver an affordable solution that meets the warfighter’s mission requirements and a great new capability,” said Tom Vice, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Technical Services. “We’re fully committed to providing the Special Operations Command with the most modular and agile vehicle capable of top performance in any operational environment.” While MAV-L was designed to meet SOCOM GMV 1.1 requirements, the team considered it has applications beyond SOCOM. For example, such vehicles could be suitable for US Army and Marine Corps recon teams, forced entry teams operated by the Air Force, or for international customers. designing the vehicle for maximum adaptation and ample growth.

BAE Systems provides the experience of military vehicle manufacturing, and sustainment for the program. If MAV-L is selected, it will be produced at the company’s Sealy, Texas, facility where MRAPs and tactical trucks where produced in recent years.

“The capabilities of our partners combined with Northrop Grumman’s decades of experience integrating C4ISR systems into land forces sustainment and military platforms, ensure that our customers receive a vehicle as capable and flexible as their mission requirements,” said Frank Sturek, deputy director of land forces sustainment and MAV-L program manager, Northrop Grumman.

Another GMV 1.1 candidate is unveiled at AUSA 2012

Fanfare and ceremony accompanied the opening of this week’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., as an industry team led by Northrop Grumman used the AUSA gathering to unveil their candidate solution for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) 1.1 program.

The ceremony marked the sixth company or team to acknowledge submitting a vehicle test sample as part of their GMV 1.1 proposal. Other companies that have acknowledged GMV 1.1 candidates include AM General, Navistar, Oshkosh, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS)/Flyer, and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) [Force Protection].

The Northrop Grumman-led entry, dubbed Medium Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L), was developed in conjunction with team members BAE Systems and Pratt Miller Engineering.

MAV-L 3 SG

Northrop Grumman’s MAV-L, unveiled at AUSA 2012, displayed some obvious racing bloodlines as well as its ability to be configured for various loads and weaponry. Photo by Scott R. Gourley

“Today marks a unique time for the future of ground combat vehicle technology as we unveil the [Medium] Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L) for the U.S. Special Forces GMV 1.1 competition,” said Tom Vice, president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services. “Our MAV-L solution is the result of first understanding the need; the technical requirements; affordability requirements; production requirements; as well as operation and support requirements. From there we started with a clean sheet approach and designed, produced, and rigorously tested our solution … I think you will see that this solution meets all the requirements: mission, tactical, affordability, production, demand in terms of schedule, and of course all the operation support requirements.”

“In teaming with BAE [Systems] and Pratt Miller, this team combines the most innovative companies from defense and the commercial racing industries to create this purpose-designed vehicle that meets the warfighters’ needs, both in effectiveness and new capabilities. And in partnering with BAE and Pratt Miller we found the perfect complement to Northrop Grumman’s innovation and our ground vehicle sustainment programs that we have been producing for quite some time,” he said.

“This process began and ended with the warfighter in mind,” he added. “And all three companies have tirelessly dedicated themselves to producing this clean sheet approach that meets the demands of our U.S. Special Forces.”

Outlining the need for the new vehicle, Frank Sturek, a land forces modernization campaign manager for Northrop Grumman, noted that the current USSOCOM Ground Mobility Vehicle “does not meet the long range surveillance and airfield seizure mission requirements.”

In addition to internal transport by MH/CH-47 helicopter, Sturek added that “USSOCOM wanted a vehicle with high off road mobility and quick dash speed that leveraged technologies from the off road racing and high performance racing communities” as well as the ability to configure the vehicle load to meet their own requirements.

“They told us that they need a vehicle where a couple operators can get in there – with a lot of stuff.’ And the vehicle needs to be able to do that for the long range surveillance mission. And they also need the same vehicle to be able to transport a lot of dudes with not a lot of stuff for an airfield seizure mission.”

In addition to the GMV 1.1 program, Sturek said that the MAV-L industry team sees the potential product market expanding to include forced entry equipment sets for the U.S. Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, Marine Corps forced entry equipment requirements, Army and Marine Corps reconnaissance elements, and several international special operations markets.

How Simulation Propelled Pratt Miller into New Markets

Pratt Miller | Based on an interview with Jesper Slättengren

Pratt Miller learned how to develop vehicles under tight deadlines and get them right the first time as a highly successful designer and builder of race cars. In 2005, the company created an Engineering Services Division to bring the same skills to industrial customers. The company found a niche developing showcase vehicles, fully engineered working prototypes, for defense contractors, under deadlines as short as a few months. Vehicle dynamics simulation using MSC Software’s Adams software plays a key role by making it possible to evaluate and optimize the performance of critical vehicle subsystems long before prototypes and even detailed CAD models of the vehicle are available. Recently, the company created a prototype of a new wheeled military vehicle in only 12 weeks. The ability to develop showcase vehicles so quickly has helped the Engineering Services Division increase its revenues by a factor of 100 and its engineering staff by 122 people in just 7 years.

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Who says car racing isn’t a battle?

Northrop Grumman has unveiled its proposal for the U.S. Special Forces’ next combat car, the Medium Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L.)

One of several entries being evaluated for the U.S. Special Operations Command Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 competition, the truck was co-developed with BAE Systems and Pratt Miller engineering, the same outfit behind the 2012 American Le Mans Series GT championship-winning Corvette Racing team.

The vehicle was designed from the ground up to meet the goals of the competition, which is looking to find a fast, relatively lightweight 4×4 that can be transported inside of a Chinook helicopter or C-130 airplane, operate in a variety of theaters and support the “peculiar modifications” required by special ops teams from each branch of the military. Approximately 1,300 of the winning vehicles will be purchased by the Pentagon through 2020 starting next year at fully equipped price of under $350,000 per unit.

The MAV-L is powered by a 4.4-liter CAT four-cylinder diesel engine with 220 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. The six-passenger truck features a protective tubular roll cage that can accommodate a variety of equipment and armament configurations, including a gun turret. Top speed of the 7,400-pound vehicle is 80 mph on pavement and 60 mph on rough roads, its weight minimized through the use of carbon fiber bodywork. Along with the open top version show, it’s been engineered with several fully-enclosed armored solutions in mind.

Northrup Grumman tapped Pratt Miller to build the prototype that was submitted to the Pentagon for a full gauntlet of tests by its evaluation team.

Five other proposals for the GMV are vying for the contract, including another radical, purpose-built vehicle from General Dynamics Land Systems and a more conventional pickup truck from Navistar featuring ballistic protection from Indigen Armor.

A winner is expected to be announced by the end of this year.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/22/northrop-grumman-unveils-proposal-for-next-us-special-ops-vehicle/#ixzz2A8DqTjX9

New Crossed Flags logo illustrates the character of the all-new, “C7” Corvette

BRASELTON, Ga. – Chevrolet today confirmed the seventh-generation Corvette will debut on Sunday evening, Jan. 13, 2013, in Detroit. To start the countdown to 1.1.13, Chevrolet is showing the new Crossed Flags logo for the new 2014 Corvette.

“The all-new seventh-generation Corvette deserved an all-new emblem,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. “The new Crossed Flags design reflects the character of the next Corvette. The flags are much more modern, more technical, and more detailed than before – underscoring the comprehensive redesign of the entire car.”

The new Crossed Flags logo was unveiled at Road Atlanta, where Corvette Racing celebrated a sweep of the 2012 production-based American Le Mans Series GT championships.

Chevrolet secured the manufacturer championship, Corvette Racing secured the team championship, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner captured the drivers championship, with four wins in the nine races preceding Petit Le Mans, the 2012 ALMS season finale.

These championships make Corvette Racing the most successful team in ALMS history, with a total of 77 class wins, eight driver championships, and nine manufacturer and team championships. The team has also taken seven class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and an overall win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Corvette Racing will campaign the C6.R for the 2013 ALMS season. The C7.R is expected to make its racing debut in 2014.

“Winning the ALMS championships with the Corvette C6.R against prestigious competitors from Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW is the perfect send-off for the sixth-generation Corvette,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer.

“The seventh-generation Corvette will build on that success,” Juechter continued. “With the new Corvette, we set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and driver engagement that is second to none. The result is a truly all-new Corvette. There are only two carryover parts from the C6 used in the C7 – the cabin air filter and the rear latch for the removable roof panel.”

The Crossed Flags logo has been a hallmark of the Corvette since its 1953 introduction. It has always incorporated a pair of flags, one a racing checkered flag and other featuring the Chevrolet “bowtie” emblem and a French fleur-de-lis. The design has evolved over the years, and has been featured on more than 1.5 million Corvettes built between 1953 and today.

For the seventh-generation Corvette, the Crossed Flags design is a more technical, more angular, and more swept appearance – in proportion that symbolizes the new car. It is also a more detailed representation, showing greater depth, color and attention to detail.

More than 100 variations were considered before the final design was selected.

The new Crossed Flags design will be featured on the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which will debut for credentialed media on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, in Detroit. Chevrolet will offer a limited number of tickets for Corvette enthusiasts, with proceeds benefiting the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Ky. Interested parties can contact Roc Linkov (roc@corvettemuseum.com) for more details.

Over coming weeks, more information and video content about the seventh-generation Corvette will be unlocked on www.one13thirteen.com. Enthusiasts can join the conversation about the next-generation Corvette, as well as keep track of new announcements on Facebook (facebook.com/corvette) and Twitter @Chevrolet(#Corvette). Fans that follow the #one13thirteen hashtag on Twitter can look forward to exclusive updates.

FAST FACT: The first Corvette debuted as a concept car on Jan. 17, 1953, at the GM Motorama in New York City. That car originally featured an emblem with a checkered flag crossed with an American flag. Because use of the American flag was prohibited as part of a commercial property, the logo was changed to the fleur-de-lis/bowtie when the Corvette went into production in June 1953.