SUPERCOMPUTERS AND 3D
PRINTING ARE SECRETS TO ALL-NEW MUSTANG SHELBY GT500 HIGH PERFORMANCE
DEARBORN, Mich., March 13, 2019 – When the 2020 Shelby GT500 goes
on sale later this year, it will be the quickest-accelerating, most
aerodynamically advanced street-legal Mustang ever, thanks to virtual
testing in supercomputers and 3D printing.
Borrowing best practices from more than a century of racing, Ford
Performance designers, powertrain and aerodynamics engineers functioned as
a virtual racing team to test hundreds of designs both digitally and
physically. They used state-of-the-art digital and additive manufacturing
prototyping tools as part of a mission to make the ultimate, most advanced
performance street-legal Mustang of all time.
“We created and studied designs among the engineering teams and proved out
different strategies long before we built our first prototype cars,” said
Matt Titus, Ford Performance vehicle engineer. “Not only did this improve
the effectiveness of the designs, it dramatically reduced the time it took
to develop the GT500 – and the costs associated with that.”
Every millimeter counts for the Mustang Shelby GT500 to deliver on
downforce, braking and cooling targets. The team leveraged Ford’s vast
resources of advanced design simulation tools, including the Ford
Performance technical center in Concord, North Carolina, and rapid 3D
prototyping systems at its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford,
Michigan. To physically validate the improving designs, Ford’s wind
tunnels in Michigan and Windshear rolling wind tunnel in Concord were also
used.
Real-world testing still matters, so the Shelby GT500 team ran extended
high-speed tests on some of the most notable racetracks across the United
States – including Virginia International Raceway, NOLA Motorsports Park
and GingerMan Raceway – to refine the aerodynamic designs and help the
all-new Shelby GT500 deliver the fastest track times ever in a production
Mustang along with improved driver control for greater confidence behind
the wheel.
Delivering more than 700 horsepower using 93-octane fuel, maximizing
cooling at the front is critical to the Shelby GT500’s vigorous track
performance, and where the team focused much of its efforts. At wide-open
throttle, the cooling system needs to extract up to 230 kilowatts of heat
energy, enough to heat a dozen homes. The massive front brakes reject
another 100 kilowatts of heat at maximum braking, so the team utilized
advanced 3D airflow modeling to maximize overall cooling while working to
minimize impact on front-end lift and drag.
More than 500 3D cooling and aerodynamic designs were analyzed to maximize
aero performance and cooling, with more advanced design models driven on
full chassis simulators at the Ford technical center with professional
racing drivers. Key modeling simulations included cooling systems, front
fascia and splitter designs, along with brake ducting, rear spoiler
designs and a large 6.03 square-foot louvered hood vent.
Speeding development time, the most promising designs were printed in a
matter of days, not months, allowing the team to increase the fidelity of
performance and aerodynamic refinement. For example, more than 10 front
splitter wickers were printed and tested, some with minute modifications
to perfect their design, with multiple versions of parts simultaneously
sent out for track evaluation.
The team achieved maximum rear downforce of 550 pounds at 180 mph,
leveraging the Mustang GT4 race-proven rear track wing to deliver the most
downforce ever on a street-legal Mustang with available Carbon Fiber Track
Package. An innovative new rear spoiler design, standard on the base 2020
Shelby GT500 and known by the aero team as “the swing” – a hybrid between
a spoiler and a wing – is a result of the advanced simulations and
prototyping process. With available Handling Package and Gurney flap
installed, the swing works to deliver 379 pounds of rear downforce at 180
mph.
Keeping cool and precise on the track
High-performance cooling targets also factor into the design and virtual
testing to help ensure consistent heat management and power delivery over
extended sessions at the track. This includes a new performance fascia
design that doubles the front opening volume and increases cooling pack
airflow through six heat exchangers at top speed by 50 percent versus the
existing Mustang GT350 design.
A removable rain tray further aids cooling and works to reduce underhood
air pressure at high speeds, while a Shelby-specific rear diffuser helps
channel under-car airflow.
A new dual-side thermostat routes coolant to a new auxiliary radiator, and
a 600-watt brushless electric fan motor and performance aero fan shroud
with 16 speed flaps improves cooling pack airflow while mitigating drag
and front-end lift. Two new race-style oil and transmission coolers
further improve powertrain cooling.
“This all-new aero design merges state-of-the-art design and materials
technology with the craftsmanship of Ford racing expertise to create the
most aero-capable Mustang ever,” said Steve Thompson, Ford Performance
vehicle dynamics engineer. “It’s powerful, balanced and consistent – even
over extended track runs – which works to deliver more fun and greater
confidence for drivers.”
The 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 goes on sale this fall.
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