The Staff of Motorsport Marketing
The Staff of Motorsport Marketing Writer
11/21/24 8:55 a.m.

20/20 future vision? Surely the title of this particular story contains some misleading advertising. Am I really suggesting that I or any­ one could have 20/20 vision when it comes to looking into the future of racing? Of course not. 2020 ac­tually refers to the year which we picked as a reference date for this article, which asks the question, …

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Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/21/24 9:08 a.m.

Close enough, right?

J.A. Ackley
J.A. Ackley Senior Editor
11/21/24 10:25 a.m.

Ever think we're living in the future? It's wild. 

BA5
BA5 GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
11/21/24 10:47 a.m.

I have a machine that allows me to travel into the future at the rate of a bout 1 s/s.

J.A. Ackley
J.A. Ackley Senior Editor
11/21/24 11:54 a.m.
BA5 said:

I have a machine that allows me to travel into the future at the rate of a bout 1 s/s.

Hey, if you're atop of a mountain, time does go at a different rate, although albeit ever so slightly ;-)

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/21/24 1:57 p.m.

"Sedans will commonly have 32v V8s"

 

What's a sedan?  Is that Iike a crew cab extra short bed F150?

 

I liked Fred Puhn's visions of the future because of the directions it looked like things were going, like Formula cars would have tiny diameter tires like Tyrell 6-wheel cars for aero reasons laugh

 

"Nothing says 'yesterday' like yesterday's 'tomorrow'"

BillCuttitta
BillCuttitta GRM+ Memberand New Reader
11/21/24 1:58 p.m.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

True. Astronauts orbiting the earth have a slower temporal frame of reference than people on the ground, too, due to their sustained orbital speed. I'm not aware that any have who have stayed on the ISS for significant lengths of time have filed for overtime pay upon their return. 

Bill C

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/21/24 3:27 p.m.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:

"Nothing says 'yesterday' like yesterday's 'tomorrow'"

Exactly why I enjoy stories like this, or those animations from the '50s about the home of the future.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/21/24 7:43 p.m.

Point-by-point evaluation:

Drivers more market-savvy? If having to be a social media star counts as market savvy then yes, otherwise not sure. Yes we have this thing called social media now, a lot of our inventions have not been good ones cheeky

Drivers respect women? Probably more of a mixed bag than was expected on that, again it's not all good in the 2020s...

Lexan canopies? Only in IndyCar, elsewhere we got halo bars instead.

Open-wheel series going to wheel pods/pants? Still not yet but FE and Indycar are inching closer to it.

Hub motors? Not so much on race cars due to unsprung weight, individual wheel-motors attached by axles are fairly common on electrified cars though. They are sometimes used on street cars.

Inflatable driver suits for safety? These were being tested in MotoGP a few years ago, seems they didn't go anywhere though? I haven't heard of anything like that being tried in race cars. Street car interiors are bristling with airbags now though, and soon there may be some on the exterior.

Onboard infrared tire pyrometers? Yes! Even some amateur racers have these now.

More active control technologies? Not for race cars but yes for production cars, even supercars. Especially electric ones with individual wheel motors.

AWD taking over? Not quite there but I think it is slowly happening and will happen more with further electrification. FE cars are AWD now.

New diff technologies? Almost nothing new under the sun there, although electronically-controlled active diffs are getting more popular. Maybe WaveTrac?

Winding and molding race cars? Nope, but CF wheels are being made with a process that's something like that.

Hydroforming? Still just about as niche as it was in '99.

Control arms doubling as springs? Only a few experiments here and there. Banned in F1 IIRC after a team tried this. Also no electrically-adjusted stiffness or shape.

Underbody aero on production street cars? Even grocery-getters have flat-bottom aero and spats now for efficiency, and some production supercars have huge underbody downforce, so yes.

Heavy use of virtual wind tunnels? Yes!

Sucker cars? Still as illegal as they ever were in racing, only a couple of DIY amateur race cars and 1 supercar have tried it since '99.

26"~32" wheels? Not yet but most sports cars are now running 17s-19s, the newest performance cars are running 20s or more and some cars are coming with 22s, so give it time cheeky

Flexible wheels? Still no hint of them on cars, but it's being tried on racing bicycles.

Airless tires? Still no hint of them in racing, but they're being used on some construction vehicles now and being tested for ordinary production cars...but they've been in testing for many years now.

Onboard compound spectral analyzers!? LOLNO! Not even at the pinnacle of F1.

Sequential auto transmissions taking over? Yes!

Throttle on the wheel? Nope, just as niche as it ever was.

Extra brake pedals for "cutting brake" or bias control? Still as niche as it ever was, maybe moreso. Brake-by-wire and regen setups are more common.

Possible need for reduced gears due to increased engine rev range? Yes, but in a way the article has hardly touched so far...

ICEs still in favor? Mostly yes.

Ceramic pistons? No, ceramic-coated at most.

DOHC V8s common in sedans? V8s in general aren't that common and are probably less common than in '99, pushrod V8s are still probably the most common type of V8 in North America, sedans aren't that common anymore, big nope all-around on this one.

Energy crisis? We just call that Tuesday cheeky no OPEC Embargo 2.0 yet though.

Hybrid or alternative energy series gaining momentum? Yes! There's FE, EE, WRC uses hybrids now, most (or all?) Le Mans prototypes are hybrids, all F1s are hybrids, there are even some hydrogen series around for some reason, More correct than ever expected on this one.

Hybrid turbines? Still pretty niche, sadly - they could make a lot of sense as a transitional powertrain option, but aircraft APUs continue to cost aircraft APU money.

Regen braking? Yes! Ubiquitous on every electrified vehicle.

Hydrogen rotary - Never tried apart from one Mazda tech demo, hydrogen continues to offer the best selection of the worst downsides as a fuel for cars.

Flywheel tech - Tried in racing once since '99 but still a pretty dangerous way to store meaningful amounts of energy so it hasn't taken off. Could be promising for fixed energy storage though.

CNG - Kinda, some commercial fleets run on CNG, still pretty niche otherwise though.

Pure electric? Yes! A few new batteries have been invented and FE attracts a good number of fans and is pretty fun to watch.

Portable race tracks with crazy stunt pieces being set up in stadiums? Not really, GRC may have been the closest. Monster truck shows work this way, but have for a long time. Fun fact, monster truck arenas are designed and tested in a simulator before being assembled.

The business of hiring race drivers - Looks like things went closer to scenario #1.

Things completely missed out on:

- The role of sim racing in testing and driver practice/training/recruitment

- Additive manufacturing (a lot of supercars and some race cars have 3D-printed parts)

- The potential for autonomous race cars (being tested right now)

- E85 as a popular choice of race gas

- Automatic safety systems on tracks (just hitting the market now)

- Magnetorheological shocks (got close with the springs though)

- Video and data logging becoming far cheaper to the point that it's easily accessible to amateurs

 

Hooligan61
Hooligan61 New Reader
11/22/24 7:14 a.m.

In response to previous comment, all the top brand motorcycle racing leathers have airbag suits, used in MotoGP, and MotoAmerica. A lot of folks enjoying non-competitive track days use airbag suits or vests worn over their leathers. Rider Magazine now requires their test riders to wear airbags. They are not cheap, but get thrown high side and boy do they help! Full leathers cost ballpark $2k, and vests in the 7-900 range. I'm 63 planning to get on track this coming year, and will invest in a vest! I don't bounce like I used to, these days it'd be snap, crackle and pop..

RaceRed
RaceRed New Reader
11/22/24 11:02 a.m.

It's always enjoyable for me to compare my 1985 Mustang GT H.O. sitting next to my 2017 Mustang GT Premium with Performance package.  The only thing they really share is their name.  But back in 1985 when I purchased it, it was the thing!  Now, not so much, unless one is viewing from a purely nostalgic standpoint.

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