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London, UK-based Peer Group is offering for sale a state-of-the-art 50% scale moving plane closed-loop wind tunnel operated and developed by the famous race car manufacturer Lola Cars and engineered by Canadian specialists Aiolos Engineering.
The Lola Tunnel has achieved great success in both global motorsport and with automotive OEMs seeking to optimize vehicle performance. It has a great reputation for delivering excellent test results, which many other tunnels failed to achieve.
Lola’s original tunnel design goals were focused on achieving class-leading turbulent intensity levels to deliver the superior airflow quality it recognized was essential to design winning race cars. Additionally, it focused on achieving the excellent rolling road interaction necessary to achieve superior test results.
In early 2024, the tunnel was taken to a new performance level with a major systems upgrade to meet the very latest testing needs. Advanced Cosworth Diablo software was combined with system hardware upgrades throughout the tunnel architecture to provide for pre-programmed automated testing with constant model motion interfacing with the very latest advances in sensor technologies. Dynamic loads continue to be measured by an Aerotech six-component balance, as used by many top tunnels worldwide.
Howard Dawson, MD of Peer Group, the tunnel’s owner, said, “Peer Group was a sister company of Lola Cars International and had owned the tunnel since its inception. The late Martin Birrane, long-term owner of Lola and Peer Group, had fully recognized that gaining a competitive advantage in motorsport required superior aerodynamic performance, which would need easy access to a high-performance moving plane wind tunnel. Lola commissioned such a tunnel and then went on to win many famous motor races and race championships worldwide. Peer Group no longer have a need for the Lola Tunnel. Whether it carves out a new role in motorsport or helps an automotive OEM achieve new levels of aerodynamic performance will depend on the buyer, but there is no doubt about the quality and value the Lola Tunnel can bring.”
David McRobert, who is helping Peer Group with the sale process, said, “One major advantage of the Lola Tunnel is likely to be its modular steel construction. We’d ideally like to sell the wind tunnel facility complete, but we recognize that potential buyers may well only be interested in purchasing the tunnel alone, to then relocate elsewhere in the world. Thankfully moving the tunnel is not a major challenge as specialist companies such as Aiolos Engineering have significant experience relocating wind tunnels and they can also adapt the tunnel’s design to meet a buyer’s specific testing needs.”
Dawson added, “In this new era of electric propulsion, optimizing aerodynamic efficiency has become an increasingly important goal for vehicle designers as they strive for improved vehicle performance and efficiency. While CFD has added significantly to the initial vehicle aerodynamic design processes, for companies wishing to improve on their baseline CFD modeling by adding top level aerodynamic testing to their capabilities, the Lola Tunnel represents great value. A new-build wind tunnel of a similar spec would probably cost 15 to 20 times our £2.5m (currently circa US$3.25m) asking price for the complete Lola test facility. Given the Lola Tunnel brings proven performance, it truly is a high-quality, low-risk and low-cost option.”
Specifications
– Test section: 2.7m wide x 2.47m high.
– Rolling road (yawable): 2.0m wide x 4.0m long.
– Maximum wind speed: 233km/h; and maximum rolling road speed: 290km/m.
– Aerotech six-component overhead balance with model attitude control in pitch, heave, roll, yaw and wheel steering.
– Air temperature automatically controlled to 20°C.
– Turbulent intensity less than 0.08%.
– Control software is Cosworth Diablo (with EtherCat interface).
Further tunnel information, including a specification overview, can be accessed via the following link: online.flippingbook.com/view/1018257096/ or by contacting David McRobert direct at d.mcrobert@flyfive.co.uk.
