Jewels of technology

Why we do this

The first time I stood on a pitwall working in F1 was in pre-season testing for the 1997 season. I still remember clearly as yesterday the sights and sound of the first F1 car that passed me. It was on the old pitwall of the Silverstone circuit just before the very fast entry into Copse corner. The car was a bright blue Prost and the speed and sound were phenomenal.

This memory has stuck with me ever since. Many other great memories joined this one, such as a win in Monaco GP with BMW Williams, Sebastian Vettel and Torro Rosso’s first ever win in Monza and world championships with Ferrari.

To me the 3.0 Liter V10 engined F1 cars and the 2.4 liter V8 engined cars that followed them, are the pinnacle of F1 design. Extremely light and nimble cars with the most powerful normally aspirated engines ever built are a totally mesmerising experience. We started Parabolica with the mission to keep these cars on track, to preserve the legacy of these technical masterpieces and to tell their story, for their owners and for all the fans of one of the most exciting periods in F1 history.

The 3.0 Liter V10 F1 engines

The 3.0 liter V10 F1 engine is the pinnacle of naturally aspirated engine design. The era started in 1995 when the FIA limited the displacement to 3.0 liters. Arguably it reached the highpoint in 2002 and 2003, when there were still no severe mileage and weight limitations on the engine design.

The best of the bread such as the phenomenal BMW P82/P83/P84 units reached power output in excess of 940 PK, weighed only around 90 kg and revved up to a staggering 19300 RPM in qualy and some laps in race trim.

From 2004 onwards the engine life had to cover 1 race weekend, which was extended to two race weekends in 2005. The mad and wonderful days of maximum power at minimum weight lasting only for a qualifying session or 1 grand prix distance were over and would never come back. But these jewels of technology still exist. It is our mission to keep them on track for their owners and fans to enjoy.

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