GC KOMPETITION
In 2017 Prodrive was approached by five time world free-ride ski champion turned rally driver, Guerlain Chicherit, to develop a new rallycross car and run it for his new team in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. From a clean sheet of paper, Prodrive used its three decades of motorsport engineering experience and ingenuity to create the most technologically advanced rallycross car ever created.
MOST ADVANCED WRX CAR EVER CREATED
The Megane RX is the first fully bespoke World Rallycross Car. Existing cars have all been developed out of rally cars to some extent. As a result Prodrive was able to optimise every aspect from the suspension configuration to the engine layout, brakes and wheel design to suit the particular performance envelope of an RX car.
BESPOKE ENGINE
Having looked at all the options available and their impact on the overall car package, Prodrive decided that the best solution would be to design and develop a bespoke two litre turbo engine for the Megane RX. We wanted the engine to be longitudinally mounted, in this way, it created space in the engine bay for inboard brakes - a feature not found on any other current race, rally or road car
UNIQUE APPROACH
Rallycross is very 'grip limited'. As a result one of the key targets was to minimise the unsprung mass (wheel/brake/suspension assembly). To do this we gave the car inboard brakes fixed to the beginning of the four drive shafts, rather than the usual position on the wheel hub. This not only removed this unsprung mass, but also enabled a bespoke lightweight wheel to be designed as it no longer needed to accommodate the brake disc and caliper.
MANAGING THE TEAM
Prodrive not only developed the car, but also runs the team in the championship. At each event our team of engineers and technicians prepare the cars, optimise the performance and work with the drivers to plan the strategy for each race.
