The British company is continuing its collaboration with Japanese design company AIM to produce the new AIM-Judd 5.5-litre normally-aspirated V10, which builds on the success of its previous sportscar designs.

The powerplant exploits changes to the rules for 2018 devised to allow normally-aspirated engines to be competitive with turbocharged units under the fuel-flow regulations introduced for the 2014 season.

This has been done to boost the pool of engines available to privateers with non-hybrid machinery, who have been guaranteed lap-time parity with factory hybrid P1s.

The engine is built around a new 72-degree cylinder block billed as "significantly lighter" than previous Judd sportscar engines and incorporates new combustion chamber and piston designs.

It will also have a revised cooling system and an updated engine management system with an electronic throttle and fuel-flow management software.

Exploiting non-turbo benefits

Engine Developments believes that the new engine can "deliver extremely competitive lap times without the problems of throttle response, complexity and reliability associated with turbocharged engines", according to a statement.

"The expected technical regulations in LMP1 will guarantee parity of performance between various engine types used through a rigorous homologation procedure," the statement continued.

"We therefore believe the V10 platform should be the natural choice for any LMP1 team that is serious about having a trouble-free run in the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours."

The engine will be available to teams on a lease-only basis in time for the beginning of the 2018/19 WEC 'superseason'.

Prototype history

Engine Developments has a long history in sportscar racing with the Judd V10 developed out of its early-1990s Formula 1 unit.

Its four-litre Judd GV4 engine won the Daytona 24 Hours in the back of a Doran Dallara SP1 in 2002 and its successor, the five-litre GV5, notched up podium finishes at Le Mans with Pescarolo Sport in 2005 and 2006.

The company subsequently joined up with AIM to produce a wide-angle version of the enlarged 5.5-litre GV5, which was run by the Creation Autosportif LMP1 squad in 2008-09.

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