Ecoboost-Powered Radical Revealed
Turbocharged Ford engine will power new Radical SR3 SL
Radical is set to reveal the latest version of its hardcore track car/road-legal racer - the SR3 SL - at the Autosport show in January.
According to Radical, the SL will be the company's most advanced sports car ever, and will be powered by a version of Ford's new 2.0-litre, Euro5-compliant Ecoboost engine.
This brand-new turbocharged unit features Twin-Independent Variable Cam Timing and state-of-the-art, high-pressure Direct Injection, and transmits its power to the road via a six-speed sequential gearbox. Radical has also tweaked the motor to provide it with 300bhp as standard.
And if the paddle-shift gearchange, fly-by-wire throttle, and 675kg kerb weight isn't extreme enough for you, Radical will offer a Race Pack, which includes options such as engine calibration map selection (giving 'road, 'wet' and 'racetrack' maps), an FIA-approved fuel cell, a bi-plane rear wing and racing tyre options.
As well as the SR3 SL, Radical will also reveal the SR8 RX with a new 2.7-litre RPX V8 at the Autosport show from 13-16 January.
From what I've heard, this new EcoBoost engine is really really good. High power very easily with no need for expensive rebuilds and very linear non turbo like power delivery due to a small trick turbo that works very well at low RPM. Don't be too worried that it may feel wooly. I blieve it's really really good.
The other thing to factor in is that a modern N/A 2 litre will give you 220-250bhp without the added weight of a turbo, plumbing, IC, etc., which is also generally mass quite high in the car.
Anyway, it's a matter of opinion - I prefer N/A cars on track for the way they deliver their power. I just don't like the elasticity that a turbo introduces - and my current drive is an Evo RS so I'm not totally anti FI.
The other thing to factor in is that a modern N/A 2 litre will give you 220-250bhp without the added weight of a turbo, plumbing, IC, etc., which is also generally mass quite high in the car.
Anyway, it's a matter of opinion - I prefer N/A cars on track for the way they deliver their power. I just don't like the elasticity that a turbo introduces - and my current drive is an Evo RS so I'm not totally anti FI.
Also, I don't know much about the technicalities of engines, but I'm a bit confused how an engine is "eco" because it's got a turbo, if it's always going to run flat out with the turbo on full song? Doesn't the turbo effectively just increase the capacity by forcing more air in per unit time, and an equivalent amount of fuel is required to maintain the fuel/air ratio? I suppose the frictional losses are a bit less?!
Nice to see Radical trying a less stressed engine though, and perhaps one that will require fewer engine rebuilds to race. Comparisons with Sports 2000 cars are inevitable of course...
The other thing to factor in is that a modern N/A 2 litre will give you 220-250bhp without the added weight of a turbo, plumbing, IC, etc., which is also generally mass quite high in the car.
Anyway, it's a matter of opinion - I prefer N/A cars on track for the way they deliver their power. I just don't like the elasticity that a turbo introduces - and my current drive is an Evo RS so I'm not totally anti FI.
The other thing to factor in is that a modern N/A 2 litre will give you 220-250bhp without the added weight of a turbo, plumbing, IC, etc., which is also generally mass quite high in the car.
Anyway, it's a matter of opinion - I prefer N/A cars on track for the way they deliver their power. I just don't like the elasticity that a turbo introduces - and my current drive is an Evo RS so I'm not totally anti FI.
In answer to the other bit of your question, you're right in what the turbo is doing, but when you're off-boost you're flowing a disproportionately small mass of air hence need much less fuel to keep ticking over. So you can have a car with a lot of power that's relatively economical when pottering about.
It's not necessarily quite that simple, but something like that anyway...
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