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Originally posted by medic451:
30 minutes of amazing tech- but no engine start or test drive????!!!!

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Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
30 minutes of amazing tech- but no engine start or test drive????!!!!

Did you actually watch the video? While you were awake? I ran it at 2x speed, but I managed to catch that it wasn’t even a prototype, more of a technology mockup. You can play with some stuff, but you can’t drive it because there’s no engine in it.

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At McLaren, the number 1 is a symbol for cutting-edge technology. In the F1, that meant an innovative carbon fiber body shell (which necessitated gold leaf heat insulation for protection). Meanwhile, the P1 was the automaker's first hybrid, boasting a plug-in powertrain that gave it staggering acceleration and powertrain flexibility. Those cars have a new kid sibling in the W1, which brings new advances in active aerodynamics to the table, as well as a bizarre engine/transmission/hybrid layout that allows it to drive in two gears at once. Yes, really.

According to Motor1, which got the details direct from McLaren powertrain chief Richard Jackson, the hybrid powertrain uses a novel layout that breaks from company tradition. For example, in the P1, the electric motor was cast into the engine block, and both fed grunt to the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. In today's Artura, the motor slots in between the engine and transmission, with a clutch pack that disengages it from the internal combustion bits for fully electric motoring if desired. However, on the W1, the electric motor resides on one of the eight-speed DCT's output shafts, in line between the gearbox and the wheels.

At first blush, the system sounds somewhat low-tech, like a mild-hybrid setup that adds torque assist to an already-spinning driveshaft via the traction motor. But in practice and combined with the DCT, it's remarkably complex and novel. Since a dual-clutch gearbox has two output shafts – one for odd gears and one for even – the e-motor only operates through the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth ratios. That means that while accelerating, the internal-combustion engine could be sending power to the rear wheels in an odd-numbered gear while the electric motor adds torque through an even one.

Calibrating the system must have been a Herculean task because of the several different ratio combinations and choices on offer. For example, if the engine is operating in an even gear, then the e-motor selects the same ratio to match it. But when the engine upshifts to, say, fifth gear, the e-motor can either remain in fourth for more seamless acceleration or upshift to sixth for quieter operation and greater efficiency. Jackson said that teaching the software all the right answers for those combos was a huge challenge.

And it's because the motor is mounted aft of the transmission in the power flow chart that it can do those things. In a DCT, the clutch for one gearset disengages at the same time that the other engages, but since the e-motor is mounted to the output shaft, it can continue to add its motive force to the equation. And as on the earlier P1, the engine can power down completely and turn the W1 into a silent electric vehicle, perfect for stealthy early-morning escapes from the neighborhood or urban low-emissions zones. And lest we forget, McLaren claims the W1 will be a bona fide successor to the F1 and P1 thanks to its wild simulated-longtail articulating spoiler and outrageous 1,258-horsepower powertrain.