Table of Contents

1 The Development of the Sports Car.- Motor sport.- The sports car.- The history of the sports car.- The first sports car.- The fabulous years.- Historic sports cars.- The future of the sports car.- 2 The Engine: Combustion.- Cylinder head history.- Combustion chamber research.- Volumetric efficiency.- Knock.- Limiting compression ratio.- Types of combustion chamber.- 3 The Engine: Induction and Exhaust.- The induction system.- The 4-cylinder in-line engine.- The 6-cylinder in-line engine.- The V-8 engine.- Ramming induction pipes.- Ramming pipe theory.- Forward-ram intakes.- Cold-air intakes.- The exhaust system.- The silencer.- Ramming exhaust pipes.- Branched exhaust pipes.- 4 The Engine: Valve Gear.- Push-rod valve operation.- Double overhead valve operation.- Single overhead camshaft head.- The four-valve head.- Desmodromic operation.- 5 The Engine: Fuel Metering.- The carburettor.- The S.U. principle.- The H.I.F. model.- Fuel injection.- Lucas electronic fuel injection.- Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical system.- 6 The Engine: Miscellaneous Components.- The crankcase.- The crankshaft.- Crankshaft bearings: bearing pressures: bearing materials.- General lubrication.- Pistons.- Cooling: air cooling: water cooling.- The ignition system: sparking plugs: the conventional coil ignition: new ignition developments.- 7 Road-Holding.- Tyres: the grip on the road: the tyre footprint.- Cornering power.- Tyre construction.- Aquaplaning.- Cornering behaviour: oversteer and understeer: rear wheel drive: front wheel drive: braking.- The mid-engined sports car.- Factors leading to understeer.- 8 The Suspension.- Springs.- Pitching.- Independent suspension.- Shimmy and tramp.- Representative designs: Jaguar, Porsche, Datsun, Aston Martin.- The suspension damper: double-tube damper: single tube damper.- 9 The Chassis, Frame and Body.- Materials.- Torsional stiffness.- The tubular frame.- Unitary body-chassis construction.- The backbone chassis.- The shape of the body: drag coefficients, lift at high speed, the air dam, directional stability at high speed.- 10 The Transmission.- Torque multiplication.- The gear ratios.- The overdrive.- Synchromesh.- The automatic transmission.- The clutch.- The final drive.- Universal joints.- The limited slip differential.- 11 The Brakes.- The grip on the road.- Braking forces.- Weight transference under braking.- Brake fade.- Disc brakes: disc brakes for the high-speed sports car, pad materials.- 12 Performance.- Standards of performance.- The meaning of power.- Acceleration: acceleration times for 0-60 m.p.h., the concept of effective mass.- Maximum speed.- 13 The Sports Car in the Future.- The Engine: promising alternatives, the gas turbine, rotating combustion engines, the Diesel engine, the Stirling engine, the steam engine.- Petrol engine developments: stratified charge: turbocharging: air fuel ratio control.- The transmission.- Tyres and suspension: no-roll suspension.- Braking.- The long-life car.- 14 Design Studies.- The Jaguar.- The Lotus.- The Mercedes.- The Porsche.