FIA technical passport
Due to a lot of questions regarding the technical passport of our BMW i8 XR, we would like to explain the situation as clearly as possible for you.
In 2013, we had the idea of developing an innovative and technically sophisticated racing car. As with the BMW E30 IRL, we deliberately opted for an FIA Group E2-SH passport.
In 2015, the basic details were finalised on the computer and we were able to start clarifying the safety cell. We contacted AMF employees and together we decided on the correct procedure. TÜV-Süd was then commissioned to carry out the complex calculations.
Once the necessary technical report had been drawn up by TÜV-Süd and the safety cell had passed all the tests, we were able to start construction. It was also important for us to use four crash boxes arranged all round, which, although not mandatory, significantly increase safety for the driver. This was followed step by step by the sometimes very complex individual components.
In 2021, the FIA then changed the regulations for safety cells and what should basically be a continuous improvement was ultimately a horror scenario for many. This is because the change to the regulations came into effect “retrospectively” for all vehicles still under construction.
But what does this mean for us? As agreed with the AMF, we had a valid technical report from 2015 and were in the final stages of vehicle construction at the time! It means that we have to go back to the start!
To be more precise, we have to dismantle the vehicle down to the last screw, strip the paint from the cell, remove all gusset plates (according to the 2015 regulations, a leg length of at least 2*D was prescribed), weld on new gusset plates (according to the 2021 regulations, a leg length of at least 3*D is prescribed), apply new coating to the cell and reassemble the entire vehicle.
And what exactly would be the improvement after all this effort? Apart from the fact that retrospective changes to the cell are questionable for several reasons, there is no significant improvement in safety for the driver.
Now that this retrospective rule change does not bring any significant improvement in safety, but the effort is exorbitantly high, the ‘hill climb’ platform has lost our interest.
team-edlinger
