- Innovative New Race Car Created for LM P3 Category Le Mans Style Endurance Racing
- Exa PowerFLOW Simulation-Driven Design Optimizes Aerodynamics and Cooling
- Race Car Design Process Much Faster Than is Possible With Wind Tunnel Testing
- Unique 'Cool Cabin' Design Will Reduce Race Fatigue for Drivers
BURLINGTON, Mass., June 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exa® Corporation (Nasdaq:EXA), the leading innovator of simulation software for product design and engineering, and its customer in France, Onroak Automotive, unveiled an all-new LMP3 sports prototype racing car today (Thursday) at Le Mans.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=33693.
Called Ligier JS P3, the new LIGIER has been conceived to compete in the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's new Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) category which gives teams and drivers a new entry point into Le Mans-style endurance racing. The Ligier JS P3 was designed using Exa's PowerFLOW® simulation software to optimize its aerodynamics, as well as maximize cabin comfort and cool both the engine and brakes with new levels of efficiency.
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 with the optimal relationship between downforce and drag, contributing to develop a fatigue-reducing cabin environment, and keeping three crucial race-winning elements cool – the driver, engine and brakes. Simulation-driven design allowed Onroak Automotive and Exa to quickly assess a variety of engineering solutions to design challenges in a much shorter timeframe than would have been possible with a traditional wind tunnel-dependent design process.
Exa's experience working with passenger cars and airflow management within their interiors enabled it to create a cooler cabin for the Ligier JS P3. In addition, the car's drivers will also be able to wear an all-new innovative 'cool suit' developed by Stand 21 to help keep them comfortable.
"Our engineering department worked with Exa's engineers and their expertise in CFD (computational fluid dynamics) have helped us reach the levels of performance and efficiency we are targeting with the use of this simulation-driven design technology. The Ligier JS P3 is directly inspired by the Ligier JS P2 – the LM P2 model on which both Exa and Onroak Automotive previously worked together – 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 LM P2 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 LM P3 racers." commented Jacques Nicolet, President of Onroak Automotive.
Exa's PowerFLOW software – already used by almost all of the major passenger-car manufacturers around the world – as well as the company's previous experience gathered with the Ligier JS P2, were key to Onroak Automotive achieving significant advances with its Ligier JS P3 racer. The collaboration also removed the need for costly and time consuming wind tunnel and track testing development work. The Ligier JS P3 is the latest example of PowerFLOW being used in the design and development of a race car.
Speaking at the Ligier JS P3 unveiling, Stephane Letot, Exa Managing Director Western Europe, stated: "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. 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."
About Exa Corporation
Exa (Nasdaq:EXA) (www.exa.com) Corporation's visualization and simulation software helps designers and engineers produce better vehicles and equipment. As a design evolves, Exa accurately predicts the performance of that design while providing actionable insight to optimize the performance of the product. With Exa, the need for costly physical prototypes and expensive late-stage changes is reduced. Now, designers and engineers are freed from the risk of producing compromised products that do not meet market and regulatory requirements. Some of the most successful product companies in the world use Exa, including BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kenworth, MAN, Nissan, Peterbilt, Renault, Scania, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Trucks.
Founded in 1991, the company is headquartered at 55 Network Drive, Burlington, MA, USA 01803. Tel: 1.781.564.0200; Fax: 1.781.564.0299; Email: info@exa.com; URL: www.exa.com; (Nasdaq:EXA)
Exa and PowerFLOW are registered trademarks and ExaCLOUD is a trademark of Exa Corporation.
