V6 Engine - Racing Use

Racing Use

The V6 engine was introduced into racing by Lancia in the early 1950s. After good results with privately entered Aurelia saloons Lancia set a works competition department in 1951. Four B20 Coupes were entered in the '51 Mille Miglia and the one driven by Giovanni Bracco and Umberto Maglioli caused quite a stir by finishing second overally after the 4.1-litre Ferrari driven by Villoresi and Cassani, a car which had three times more power than the Lancia. After that encouraging start Lancia decided to carry on with the endurance racing program, first with specially prepared Aurelias (called Da Corsa) and then with specially built prototypes. A D24 with a 3,102 cc (189 cu in) V6 making 230 PS (170 kW) won the 1953 Carrera Panamericana with Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel.

After that came the Ferrari Dino V6. Alfredo Ferrari (nicknamed Dino), son of Enzo Ferrari, suggested to him the development of a 1.5 L DOHC V6 engine for Formula Two at the end of 1955. The Dino V6 underwent several evolutions, including an increased engine displacement to 2,417 cc (147 cu in), for use in the Ferrari 246 Formula One car in 1958.

The use of a wide 120° bank angle is appealing for racing engine designers as it permits a low center of gravity. This design is even considered superior to the flat-6 in that it leaves more space under the engine for exhaust pipes; thus the crankshaft can be placed lower in the car. The Ferrari 156 built for new Formula One 1.5 L regulations used a Dino V6 engine with this configuration.

The Dino V6 engine saw a new evolution in 1966 when it was adapted to road use and produced by a Ferrari-Fiat joint-venture for the Fiat Dino and Dino 206 GT (this car was made by Ferrari but sold under the brand Dino). This new version was redesigned by Aurelio Lampredi initially as a 65° 2.0 L (120 cu in) V6 with an aluminum block but was replaced in 1969 by a 2.4 L (150 cu in) cast-iron block version (the Dino car was renamed the 246GT).

The Fiat Dino and Dino 246GT were phased out in 1974, but 500 engines among the last built were delivered to Lancia, who was like Ferrari already under the control of Fiat. Lancia used them for the Lancia Stratos which would become one of the most successful rally cars of the decade.

The Alfa Romeo V6 was designed in the 1970s by Giuseppe Busso, the first car to use them being the Alfa Romeo 6. The over-square V6, with aluminium alloy block and heads, has seen continuous use in road vehicles, from the Alfetta GTV6 onwards. The 164 introduced a 3.0 L (180 cu in) V6, a 2.0 V6 turbocharged in 1991 and in 1992, a 3.0 L DOHC 24-valve version. The Alfa 156 introduced a 2.5 L DOHC 24-valve version in 1997. The engine capacity was later increased to 3.2 L (200 cu in), where it found application in the 156 GTA, 147 GTA, 166, GT, GTV and Spider 916. Production was discontinued in 2005.

A notable racing use of the V6 engine was the Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI, designed for the 1993 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft season and equipped with a 2.5 L (150 cu in) engine making a peak power of 490 PS (360 kW; 480 hp) at 11,900 rpm.

Another influential V6 design was the Renault-Gordini CH1 V6, designed by François Castaing and Jean-Pierre Boudy, and introduced in 1973 in the Alpine-Renault A440. The CH1 was a 90° cast-iron-block V6, similar to the mass-produced PRV engine in those two respects but otherwise dissimilar. It has been suggested that marketing purposes made the Renault-Gordini V6 adopt those characteristics of the PRV in the hope of associating the two in the public's mind.

Despite such considerations, this engine won the European 2 L prototype championship in 1974 and several European Formula Two titles. This engine was further developed in a turbocharged 2 L version that competed in Sports car and finally won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 with a Renault-Alpine A 442 chassis.

The capacity of this engine was reduced to 1.5 L to power the Formula One Renault RS01. Despite frequent breakdowns that resulted in the nickname of the 'Little Yellow Teapot', the 1.5 L finally saw good results in 1979.

Ferrari followed Renault in the turbo revolution by introducing a turbocharged derivative of the Dino design (a 1.5 L 120° V6) with the Ferrari 126. However, the 120° design was not considered optimum for the wing cars of the era and later engines used V angles of 90° or less.

Both Renault and Ferrari failed in their attempt to win the Drivers' Championship with V6 Turbo engines. The first turbocharged engine to win the championship was the Straight-4 BMW.

They were followed by a new generation of Formula One engines, the most successful of these being the TAG V6 (designed by Porsche) and the Honda V6. This new generation of engines were characterized by odd V angles (around 80°). The choice of these angles was mainly driven by aerodynamic consideration. Despite their unbalanced designs these engines were both quickly reliable and competitive; this is generally viewed as a consequence of the quick progress of CAD techniques in that era.

In 1989 Shelby tried to bring back the Can-Am series, using the Chrysler 3.3 L (201 cu in) V6 (not yet offered to the general public) as the powerplant in a special racing configuration making 255 hp (190 kW). This was the same year that the Viper concept was shown to the public.

Originally the plan was to produce two versions of this race car, a 255 hp (190 kW) version and a 500 hp (370 kW) model, the 255 hp (190 kW) version being the entry circuit. The cars were designed to be a cheap way for more people to enter auto racing. Since all the cars were identical, the winners were to be the people with the best talent, not the team with the biggest pockets. The engines had Shelby seals on them and could only be repaired by Shelby's shop, ensuring that all the engines are mechanically identical.

Only 100 of these 3.3s were ever built. Of these 100, 76 were put into Shelby Can-Am cars (the only 76 that were ever sold). No significant amount of spare parts were produced, and the unsold engines were used for parts/spares. The Shelby specific parts, such as the upper intake manifold, were never made available to the general public. According to a small article in the USA Today (in 1989), these cars were making 250 hp (190 kW) (stock versions introduced in 1990 produced 150 hp or 110 kW) and hitting 160 mph (260 km/h) on the track. The engine itself was not that far from a standard-production 3.3. The Shelby engine is only making about 50 hp (37 kW) more than the newest 3.3 factory engines from Chrysler. The Can-Am engine has a special Shelby Dodge upper intake manifold, a special Shelby Dodge throttle body, and a special version of the Mopar 3.3 PCM (which had this engine redlining at 6800 rpm).

Nissan also has a quite successful history of using V6's for racing in both IMSA and the JGTC. Development of their V6s for sports cars began in the early 1980s with the VG engine initially used in the Z31 300ZX. The engine began life as a SOHC, turbocharged 3.0L power plant with electronic fuel injection, delivering 230 PS (169 kW). The VG30ET was later revised into the VG30DETT for the Z32 300ZX in 1989. The VG30DETT sported both an additional turbocharger and an extra pair of camshafts, making the engine a genuine DOHC twin-turbo V6 producing 300 PS (221 kW). Nissan used both of these engines in its IMSA racing program throughout the 1980s and 1990s each producing well over 800 hp (600 kW). In the Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, or JGTC, Nissan opted for a turbocharged version of its VQ30 making upwards of 500 hp (370 kW) to compete in the GT500 class.