Mercedes Unveils New CART Engine

6 January 1998

MONTVALE, N.J. 1998 is "The Year of the V8" for Mercedes-Benz in America in light of newly unveiled eight-cylinder production models such as the CLK430, ML430, C43 and E430. In keeping with its more than 100 years of racing heritage, however, the three-pointed star also has a new competition V8 the Mercedes-Benz IC108E CART engine to show the world at the North American International Automobile Show, in Detroit's Cobo Hall, Jan. 5.

Al Unser Jr. Using Mercedes Power Plant Again In '98
"Because the new Mercedes-Benz IC108E Indy car engine shares many of the same qualities that our new passenger car engines have it's smaller and lighter with improved power and fuel economy we chose to introduce it alongside the new eight-cylinder passenger vehicles," said Hal Whiteford, vice president, operations, Mercedes-Benz of North America. "Although the technology is different, the spirit is the same."

The successor to the highly successful IC108D, with which Mercedes captured the 1997 CART Manufacturer's Championship on the strength of nine wins in 17 races, the IC108E is a "clean sheet of paper" design. The all-new 2.65-liter turbocharged V8 would fit into a box almost one-third smaller than its predecessor. Thanks largely to lessons learned with Mercedes' winning Formula One engine program, it is some four inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than the champion IC108D.

"The goal in designing the E' was to make it as small as physically possible given the 2.65-liter, eight-cylinder format mandated by CART rules, and in so doing, make the engine as light as possible by minimizing the number of parts," explained Paul Ray, vice president, Ilmor Engineering, the race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz. "In order to accomplish the downsizing, it was necessary to package components much more densely and in much closer proximity to one another than we ever had before."

Design of the all-new Mercedes-Benz CART engine commenced in October, 1996, and after an initial start-up on Aug. 8, 1997, the IC108E underwent extensive dynamometer power and durability testing. The powerplant enjoyed a successful first on-track run with Marlboro Team Penske and driver Al Unser Jr. Dec. 8 at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix.

"We met in fact surpassed our goals, reducing the engine's height, width, length and weight significantly," continued Ray. "And the chassis manufacturers, in turn, took advantage of the size reduction to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the upper bodywork and maximize air flow to the rear wing, increasing downforce and stability."

For 1998, Mercedes-Benz will supply engines for CART's FedEx Championship Series to five teams with eight drivers including: Marlboro Team Penske with Unser and Andre Ribeiro, PacWest Racing with Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin, Player's/Forsythe Racing with Greg Moore and Patrick Carpentier, Hogan Racing with J.J. Lehto and Bettenhausen Racing/Team Alumax (driver to be announced).

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