Does anyone know?

 

no power!

 

Since v10's came into being in F-1 thet have generally ranged in V-angle between 70 and 90 degrees. This year Renault has "pushed the boudaries" with a new to F-1 angle of somewhere up to 111 degrees. (I say up to, cause there is still conjecture over how wide it actually is. Such is the security that the engine is covered at all times, even in the garages! With the teams' own secuirty guards!)

The wide angle offers packaging benefits to the chassis desinger by placing more of the mass lower in the car. Imagine a "flat" engine design al-la VW beetle (or WRX) and you can see how more weight is relatively lower in the car than say our S2000's inline design which places a lot of mass ie head, exhaust, etc up high.

The current push the envelope thinking is that to "elvolve" beyond the current packaging limitations the designers will chase wider and wider engine V-angles in the pusuit of ever lower cg's until the exhaust could end up "on top" and in the middle of the V (where the carby sits on an old chevy V-8) with the inlet under the V (where the exhaust currently sits, if you follow me...)

enjoy the GP today - JPM to win!!

later

This is the opposite to all current layouts but interestingly enough is what Honda used in the '60's with their 1.5lt v-12's. That is why you see those old Honda F-1's with what appear to be giant masses of exhuast pipes out the back top of the rear. You are actually seeing all the "headers" and pipes, so to speak.