KTM-Sportcar selects VI-Automotive to optimize vehicle dynamics and reduce laptime of race cars
Marburg, June 3rd, 2015 – VI-grade, the leading provider of best-in-class products and services to bridge the gap between real world testing and technical simulation, today announced that KTM Sportcar, the Austrian car manufacturer of the X-Bow model, will use VI-Automotive to optimize its road and race cars.
In detail, VI-Automotive will be used on the KTM X-Bow vehicle to carefully analyze vehicle dynamics and to reduce lap time by means of the sophisticated VI-grade driver controller: based on the database of the actual X-Bow, KTM will derive new models to be used either on race tracks or on roads. The software will be used for vehicle dynamics as well as to evaluate the loads on different relevant points of the car as - together with CFD software – to perform vehicle optimization on race tracks.
“We understood right from the beginning that VI-Automotive could have helped us in setting up race cars in the best way” says Juergen Gumpinger, Managing Director, KTM-Sportcar. “To avoid high development and testing costs, we decided to use the software to obtain a robust initial design as well as to achieve a good start setup for the race track. We also particularly appreciated the integration of VI-Automotive into the reliable general-purpose MSC Adams software, as well as the capability of meeting the objectives thanks to the special knowledge in race cars shown by the VI-grade team.”
“We are very excited about the collaboration with KTM Sportcar” says Guido Bairati, Sales Director of VI-grade. “We are looking forward to supporting the success of this well-known company, supporting the team to better understand the physics and the behaviour of their car in different conditions, ultimately enabling them develop even better cars.”
In detail, VI-Automotive will be used on the KTM X-Bow vehicle to carefully analyze vehicle dynamics and to reduce lap time by means of the sophisticated VI-grade driver controller: based on the database of the actual X-Bow, KTM will derive new models to be used either on race tracks or on roads. The software will be used for vehicle dynamics as well as to evaluate the loads on different relevant points of the car as - together with CFD software – to perform vehicle optimization on race tracks.
“We understood right from the beginning that VI-Automotive could have helped us in setting up race cars in the best way” says Juergen Gumpinger, Managing Director, KTM-Sportcar. “To avoid high development and testing costs, we decided to use the software to obtain a robust initial design as well as to achieve a good start setup for the race track. We also particularly appreciated the integration of VI-Automotive into the reliable general-purpose MSC Adams software, as well as the capability of meeting the objectives thanks to the special knowledge in race cars shown by the VI-grade team.”
“We are very excited about the collaboration with KTM Sportcar” says Guido Bairati, Sales Director of VI-grade. “We are looking forward to supporting the success of this well-known company, supporting the team to better understand the physics and the behaviour of their car in different conditions, ultimately enabling them develop even better cars.”
About VI-Automotive
VI-Automotive is a specialized simulation environment that allows engineering teams to analyze a number of design alternatives of a virtual race car and its subsystems on a testrig or on a given race
track. The vehicle is driven on a two or three dimensional track profile by a sophisticated driving program which pushes the car to its limits! A specialized and extremely fast quasi-static lap time prediction program is entirely linked to the model database. Validation is continuously performed in close collaboration with customers, and this helps improving the methods and the accuracy of the program prediction: one example is the validation of a GT car model running on the LeMans track.
track. The vehicle is driven on a two or three dimensional track profile by a sophisticated driving program which pushes the car to its limits! A specialized and extremely fast quasi-static lap time prediction program is entirely linked to the model database. Validation is continuously performed in close collaboration with customers, and this helps improving the methods and the accuracy of the program prediction: one example is the validation of a GT car model running on the LeMans track.
About KTM-Sportcar
Since the business year 2012 Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, KTM AG is an Austrian producer of motorcycles with a rich heritage of more than 50 years of competitive motorsport success, both in professional as well as in amateur racing. Especially in terms of offroad bikes, KTM is a real specialist – and of course world market leader. KTM has its roots in motorsport. Much more than 200 world champion titles, 12 victories at the famous Rally Dakar in a row and numerous national titles are the proof for the companies technical competence. “Ready to Race” – following the company’s philosophy, the experience gained in motorsport is directly transferred into serial production and therefore immediately recognizable for the customer. The company’s sales have grown consistently throughout the last decade in markets across the globe. KTM’s motorcycle models span a number of market segments, including Sportminicycles, Offroad and Street machines. In 2007, it extended its product portfolio with a range of four-wheel off-road All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and in 2009 it introduced the first superbike, the 1190 RC8. Following the successful introduction of street motorcycles and ATVs, the next step in KTM’s expansion was the unveiling of the stunning X-BOW super-sportscar concept at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, followed by the production-ready version in 2008. Only another four months later the serial production started and in August 2008, the first KTM X-BOW was delivered.
English version available here