World’s First Major Touring Car Championship Goes Hybrid

Powering innovation

World’s first major touring
car championship
goes hybrid The solution

Power delivery network challenges

Compact and lightweight

Reliable

Fast transient response

Innovating 60 years of tradition

The annual British Touring Car Championship attracts the world's highest performance vehicles and drivers. In 2022, for the first time, a new hybrid engine developed by Cosworth Electronics will be added to the cars and used as a “tactical boost” by the drivers when rapid acceleration is required. The new hybrid engine features an innovative, ultra-lightweight, 48V lithium-ion-based battery pack and intelligent power management system designed by Delta Motorsport, who were subcontracted by Cosworth Electronics.

Why Vicor

High-power density

Modular

Reliable

Delivering 48V of compact power

The new 48V lithium-ion-based battery pack has an innovative intelligent power management and a high-power-density DC-DC converter and regulation system. The battery pack powers the inverter-motor combination and also accepts regenerated power from it, while the high-power-density converter solution powers all the car’s electrical circuits and devices. The level of power density and power management achieved by this architecture allows the alternator system to be removed, further improving weight, performance and reliability.

The solution

The DC-DC converter power system uses four Vicor DCM3623 isolated, regulated DC-DC converter ChiP power modules to deliver a regulated 13.8V output from the battery pack with current levels up to 85 amps. Due to their low profile and small footprint, they are mounted in direct thermal contact with the micro-bore cooling plates that extend between the battery cells. This allows a reduced footprint without sacrificing power. Vicor modular power components excelled during initial battery pack tests, with no de-rating necessary and no voltage sags. Delta also uses the Vicor PI3105, a small 60W isolated converter for an uninterruptable power supply (UPS), which supplies power to the battery pack electronics in order to maintain the safety systems when isolated from the vehicle power supply.

Learn more about the modular approach power