Simulation software provider Exa has unveiled its involvement with Onroak Automotive’s latest project, the all-new Ligier JS P3 prototype.
Unveiled at Le Mans last month, the LMP3 competition car has been designed to introduce teams and drivers to Le Mans-style endurance racing. The JS P3 was designed using Exa’s Powerflow simulation software, which was used to refine the car’s aerodynamics package, maximize cabin comfort as well as the cooling of both the engine and brakes.
Working together with Onroak Automotive from the conception of the Ligier JS P3, Exa’s engineers focused on achieving the ideal front/ rear aerodynamic balance, paying attention to the relationship between downforce and drag. The car’s cabin has been developed to be a ‘fatigue-reducing’ environment, and draws on Exa’s experience working with passenger cars and their associated airflow management.
“Our engineering department worked with Exa’s engineers and their expertise in CFD have helped us reach the levels of performance and efficiency we are targeting,” explained Jacques Nicolet, president of Onroak Automotive. “The Ligier JS P3 is directly inspired by the Ligier JS P2 with superior aerodynamic performance among a range of requirements. Thanks to this experience and knowledge, the two teams have been able to transfer to the Ligier JS P3 the DNA of this LMP2 car, which went through several successive validations between CFD simulations from Exa, wind tunnel tests and correlations on the track. We are confident that our Ligier JS P3 will establish itself as best-in-class among the new LMP3 racers.”
“The simulations and predictions we made at an early stage with Onroak Automotive’s LMP2 race car have proved to be very accurate in relation to the real car on the track,” added Stephane Letot, Exa managing director, Western Europe. “Now, Powerflow has enabled Onroak Automotive and Exa’s engineers to capitalize on that LMP2 work and perform airflow simulations both over the exterior and within the all-new Ligier JS P3’s cabin, engine bay and wheel arches – tests that you simply cannot do within the same cost and time constraints in a wind tunnel. Exa has enjoyed a highly productive relationship with the Onroak Automotive engineering team and thanks to our simulation-driven design, both partners are certain that the new Ligier JS P3 will be a significant challenger for top honors in the new LMP3 race category.”
