Championship-Winning Formula 1 Cars, British-Built Bicycle Components and a 1,000mph World Landspeed Record Car: We Take a Look Back Over Our Top 5 Engineering Projects Since 2014.
December 2019
As 2019 draws to a close, as pro engineering ltd. celebrates 5 years since its formation back in 2014.
What began as a small side-project, designing lightweight parts for BMW racing cars, has grown into an established advance-engineering design consultancy, with a proven reputation for high-quality and lightweight design.
Since the company’s inception in 2014, as pro engineering ltd. has been involved in successfully delivering over 30 projects, from bicycle components to advanced, lightweight Formula 1 car parts.
Here are our top 5 projects since 2014:
- Mercedes AMG F1 W09 – 2018 Championship-Winning Car
- Toyota TS050 LMP1 – 2018/19 Championship-Winning Car
- Chater-Lea Grand Tour Pedal
- Bloodhound LSR FIA World Landspeed Car
- BMW E82 1M Kumho Race Car
2018 | Mercedes AMG F1 W09 | 2018 Championship-Winning Car
When we started out in 2014, there was no way we could’ve foreseen that 4 years later we would get the opportunity to work with the all-dominating Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team.
It was an honour to get the chance to play a small part in the design of their 2018 W09 F1 car, the car that would ultimately win the 2018 Formula 1 World Constructor’s Championship and secure Lewis Hamilton’s 5th Driver’s title in the process.
Working alongside the best in the industry, as pro engineering ltd. assisted the Mercedes AMG team with the design of lightweight pre-preg carbon fibre composite parts, tooling & fixtures- focusing on the car’s electrical installation and rear wing structure.
The 1.6L v6 turbocharged 1,000Hp car went on to secure 11 Grand Prix race wins, 25 podium finishes and 10 fastest laps throughout the 2018 Formula 1 race season.
2019 | Toyota TS050 LMP1 | 2018/19 Championship-Winning Car
In 2019, as pro engineering ltd. was fortunate to get a second opportunity to work on the design of another world championship-winning race car. This time, working directly with the German-based Toyota Gazoo Racing factory team on their 2018-2019 WEC Le Mans Prototype Hybrid contender.
as pro engineering ltd. was contracted to design and develop ultra-lightweight carbon fibre bodywork for the front-end of the TS050 race car.
Using a conventional nomex sandwich panel construction, combined with extremely lightweight carbon fibre cloths and uni-directional fibres, as pro engineering ltd. delivered a complete package of work from conception through to final design, including all necessary tooling and bonding-jigs.
The 2.4L v6 twin-turbo hybrid electric prototype dominated the 2018/19 race season, winning 7 out of the 8 championship rounds. The season concluded with Toyota’s victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans in June 2019, with Fernando Alonso and his team-mates Buemi & Nakajima behind the wheel.
2019 | The Chater-Lea Grand Tour Pedal
It’s not everyday a client comes along and asks us to design aspirational products of the highest quality possible.
However, Chater-Lea’s vision for re-launching the iconic British brand was clear – to manufacture top-end British cycling components, using the best materials, tolerances and manufacturing processes possible.
Unlike our usual light-weight motorsport projects, as pro engineering ltd. was faced with a new challenge- to realise the Chater-Lea vision, by designing very high-quality cycling components, with a focus on precision, durability and longevity. Fulfilling this design challenge was key to supporting Chater-Lea’s commitment to quality and their lifetime Owner’s Warranty.
Working from an initial design concept, as pro engineering ltd. developed a completely new pedal design ready for manufacturing, using hard, high-strength grades of stainless steel, such as 17-4 PH, commonly found on Formula 1 cars. FEA finite element stress analysis was also used to evaluate the static and fatigue stresses in the pedals, and to reduce the contact wear from the ball bearings.
The project effectively demonstrated how our advanced-engineering expertise can be easily transferred from the world of motorsport, into other industries to design new, high-quality products.
The brand re-launched in 2019 with the Grand Tour pedals retailing at £250.00, selling successfully across the world, in countries as diverse as South Korea, Australia and Switzerland – as well as featuring in many publications like Forbes in America.
For more information on Chater-Lea, please visit their website here.
2017 | Bloodhound LSR FIA World Landspeed Car
Bloodhound LSR is a supersonic car, designed and built in the U.K. to break the FIA World Land Speed Record, and achieve speeds in excess of 1,000 mph.
Led by Richard Noble OBE, this high-profile British engineering project attempts to overcome major technical challenges and inspire a future generation of engineers across the world.
as pro engineering ltd. was delighted to be involved in this highly-ambitious project and supplied the Bloodhound team with a variety of CNC precision-machined parts – including components used in their EJ200 Eurofighter jet engine.
The Bloodhoud LSR team are well on their way to achieving their 1,000mph target, with the team successfully hitting 628mph in South Africa earlier this year.
2014 | BMW E82 1M Kumho Race Car
A throwback to where it all started! We couldn’t compile a list of our most significant projects without including the prolific BMW E82 1M race car.
In 2014, we took on our first project and client, BMW race-prep specialist Gee-Sport, working on this bespoke racing car that was custom-built for the Kumho BMW Championship.
as pro engineering ltd. designed many specialist motorsport parts, from bespoke anti-roll bar systems, to custom lightweight aluminium suspension arms, pedal boxes and LSD transmission components.
Built to a standard that would rival most professional touring car builds, in 2017 Ian Crisp piloted the RWD 350Hp 3.2L straight-6 racer to 2 victories in its maiden season alone.
To date, the car has racked up a further 5 class wins and set numerous lap records in the Kumho BMW Championship.
As we reflect on the past 5 years, we look back at how the consultancy has grown from just one client and one project, to working on some of the most prestigious and challenging engineering projects across the U.K and Europe.
We thank all of those who have helped as pro engineering ltd. along this journey. From our loyal clients, to commercial partners and suppliers, we have valued all of your support in helping us to deliver the projects above.
We now look forward with excitement towards the next 5 years and beyond!
Discover how our advanced-engineering design services & Formula 1 background can help you succeed with your next engineering project at:
