Spyker: Automotive Legends; Formula One Infants
March 13, 2007 by Jeremy McMullenIn 1903, while the Wright Brothers were grabbing most of the attention with their rickety innovation that would change the world, another brother combination unveiled some innovations of their own that are also still in use today. Brothers Jacobus & Hendrik-Jan Spiker unveiled a car design chocked-full of innovations never before seen. The car boasted a, then powerful, 60hp six-cylinder engine design. This was the first six-cylinder engine car produced. Their design also included such innovations as four-wheel drive and four-wheel disc brakes. Spyker proved from the very beginning it was accustomed to innovation, and thus, have a rich history in car manufacturing. However, while Spyker may have been the source of many of the technological innovations Formula One either currently uses or has experimented with in the past, the automobile company is virtually a newborn babe when it comes to Formula One. Spyker first entered Formula One racing the last three races last year after purchasing Midland-F1. And though Spyker began its racing career with its MF1 chassis it was, well and truly, only a Midland M16 design. Interestingly, the M16 chassis design was only a slightly refined Jordan EJ15B design, for Midland purchased and took over the team from Jordan when the team ran into financial difficulty. Unfortunately, Midland-F1 never got to design an all new car before it needed to sell to Spyker. One of the biggest killers of success for new teams coming into Formula One is a lack of continuity and time. A team needs to establish itself in order to collect data and precious experience. Though the MF1 had many inadequacies and was painfully slow, relatively speaking, those last few races afforded Spyker some much needed experience. The chassis served as a full-scale test-bed whereby the team would be able to make some important improvements for the coming 2007 season. And while many doubt the team will be fighting for points, this season can, nonetheless, be a successful year, poising Spyker for a strong future. All that starts for the team, they believe, with their new F8-VII. The F8-VII represents many things. The bright orange permeating the car represents the 'Dutch' roots of the team. The chassis itself represents Spyker's 'first' chassis design for F1, but it also represents the team's commitment to long-term success. The F8-VII also physically represents the major changes that took place within the team at the end of last season to poise the team for a strong showing this season. No longer merely a refinement of a previous design, the new F8-VII portrays a team serious about maturing and not being a waddling back-marker. The team's major step forward in the technical department came with the hiring of Mike Gascoyne after his falling out with Toyota Racing. With the team now being able to establish some stability it was believed that Designer James Key would finally feel free to design a contender that would break away from the box-like design of the team's EJ15B and MF1 predecessors. And sure enough, with the usual ceremony of pulling off the veil from the car during the team's launch at Silverstone there were many pleased eyes. The beauty of the MF1(M16) chassis was definitely in the eye of the beholder. But now, though resources were limited, Spyker has taken advantage of the aerodynamic innovations of other teams and incorporated them into a rather aesthetically pleasing package that will hopefully run as good as it looks. Beginning with the obvious changes first, the new F8-VII employs a platypus-like front nose that is similar to that employed by Red Bull on their new RB3 chassis. The difference between the two designs rests merely in the fact that the Spyker's nose stands taller than that of the RB3. Of course, this is only a development on the nose style seen on the McLaren last season and at other times. With the taller nose design the sweep of the nose downward is less drastic than that of the MF1. This is also advantageous, it is believed, to allow more air through to the splitter under the driver's legs. Also highly refined on the F8-VII are the radiator inlets. Last year's contender merely looked like it had some rounded-off squares cut out of the square-like sidepods. This year's design, however, has a much greater undercut, following in line with the designs of many other teams trying to maximize cooling while also directing airflow around the car and through the 'Coke-bottle' design.
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Though internal, the change from Toyota to Ferrari engines has had an impact on the overall design of the car at the rear. The exhaust chimneys on the MF1 exited the bodywork much further out than that on the new F8-VII and further forward toward the cockpit. This year's design has allowed for a tighter rear-end, and therefore, better airflow control. The large louvers are gone and instead are replaced by fewer and thinner shark-gill louvers. To further aid in cooling, however, the chimneys have been redesigned and more tightly packaged together with the T-wing. Of course the chimney design will probably change as the season moves on after the first truly 'hot climate' races of the year. The F8-VII design retains the single deck rear flick design but it has been refined with a steeper angle to help direct air past the rear wheel. With this design change, the channel is deeper to help control the flow of air around the rear of the car and through the rear wing. The design changes that are not so easily noticed include an updated twin-keel design incorporated into a smaller barge-board. Also, the F8-VII has been designed with larger barge-boards in an effort to direct air to the radiators and around the car in a more efficient manner. Further changes to help with the direction of airflow include turning vane design changes and an altered sidepod 'flick'. The F8-VII's suspension has been reworked and represents a step forward for the team in design. Changes have been made to the internals of the F8-VII, as well, as compared to its predecessors. The gearbox has been updated and is an incredible advance over the gearboxes on last year's cars but still is not the equal of those used by other teams. Those designs remaining, or at least similar to that of the MF1, include the tri-deck, half-cascading front wing design. The nose flaps also have been retained at least for right now. Also, the F8-VII retains the airbox wing and twin-pillar support design for the rear wing utilized in the MF1 design. While the base for the design was drawn from the MF1, the F8-VII represents a whole new class of challenger. And with the addition of Mike Gascoyne, the team should take more steps forward in design and performance when it introduces its B spec version of the chassis toward the middle-to-late part of the season. It remains to be seen, but Spyker could very well grow into a competent and competitive young team. And should the team continue to take the right steps, Spyker could mature into another Williams—a smaller independent team able to compete and beat its larger and older brothers.
