A Report from the Manufacturing Site
Jul 22, 2010
A Report from the Vehicle Manufacturing Site & Renewed Appearance Symbolizing
Update from the Vehicle Manufacturing Site
HINO TEAM SUGAWARA is currently completing vehicle developments for Rally Mongolia, which we recognize as virtual Dakar Rally, scheduled to be held from the 8th to the 17th of August. The team will test the vehicle in this rally after such improvement was made to the vehicle as "enhanced engine output and cooling performance," "changes in brake characteristics," and "lighter weight," which was identified as necessary improvement during the race in 2010. Here's a report from the members in charge of vehicle development (Kiminori Orikasa, General Manager, Technical Management Division and Koichi Suzuki, Engine Engineering Division).
People tend to think that rally vehicles are completely different from production vehicles. Unlikely, in fact, we are just focusing specifically on developing the rally vehicles for the drivers as the one and only customers to drive as quickly and safely as possible under severe road conditions -- pursuing and reflecting the latest high-level technologies to push production vehicles to their limits and enhance basic vehicle performance; "to drive, stop, and corner."
This time, we have decided to focus particularly on the characteristics to "drive" and "stop" after carefully listening to the drivers' requests. First of all, for the "drivability" we exhaustively pursued the goal of improving engine output and cooling performance in the Engine Engineering Division, Power Train Evaluation & Engineering Division, and Vehicle Evaluation & Engineering Division - We achieved to enhance both output and cooling performance by about 10%, substantially improving the vehicle speed driven at maximum water temperature limit by 20km/h.
Secondly, with regard to "stopping" the vehicle, we were able to realize smooth braking characteristics operated by drum brakes as the vehicle sinks and settles firmly with disc brakes, by further tuning the brake valves and related parts in the Chassis Component & System Engineering Division and Vehicle Evaluation & Engineering Division.
Furthermore, TEAM SUGAWARA, which has a wealth of racing experiences and know-how, has been playing a central role in achieving lighter weight by changing the rear body material to carbon fiber - the lighter weight contributes to enhancing overall performance and thereby improving competitive capability.
We are also planning to collect data related to engine, powertrain, and suspension by using various onboard measuring devices, even during the rally; in order to track vehicle conditions in service and provide the necessary feedback for future vehicle development.
As you can see from these developments, we will intensively challenge the Dakar Rally 2011 by using vehicles with enhanced overall fighting capability, to fully exhibit the comprehensive abilities of TEAM SUGAWARA, related manufacturers, and the Hino Group.
Photo: The material of the rear body was changed from aluminum to carbon fiber to reduce its weight. Reduction by gram is pursued also by careful remolding and changes of the framework placement.
New Appearance Symbolizing the 20th Consecutive Challenge
It was back in 1991 when Hino first entered the Dakar Rally. Since then it has continuously challenged the world's most grueling rally. Hino will experience its 20th consecutive entry year in the Dakar Rally 2011. New vehicle's appearance is symbolizing the commemorative rally year to commence a new history.
The concept was developed by the Design Division and Hino Paris Dakar Secretariat (Corporate Planning Division). We will appeal the existence of "HINO" in the global arena.
The Design Concept
Photo: The vehicle will compete in Rally Mongolia (from 8th to 17th August). Many labels of the supporting companies will appear on the rear body in the Dakar Rally 2011.
