We haven’t talked about Danish super-carmaker Zenvo in a while, at least since it appeared at Top Marques Monaco back in 2014. Zenvo has been bopping along and now has a stable of three cars—well, three versions of one car: TS1, TSR and TSR-S. Earlier this month the TSR was caught at speed at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands by YouTuber Gumba—and what the hell is going on with that wing?!
The Zenvo TSR (more track-focused than the TS1) weighs in at just under 3,500 pounds and houses a 5.8-liter flat-plane crank V8 with two centrifugal superchargers delivering an insane 1,104 hp and 840 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed gearbox with dog gears and a limited-slip differential. A “dogbox” doesn’t feature a synchronizing mechanism, so shifts are harder and faster. They’re usually used in race applications, which makes sense here in the TSR. Top speed is a claimed 202 mph; the sprint to 60 mph takes 3 seconds flat.
It features a double-wishbone suspension at all four corners with three-way adjustable shocks, adjustable antiroll bars and an electrohydraulic lift system that can move the nose up about 2 inches. Carbon-ceramic discs slow things down in the front and rear.
So, the wing. In theory, around, say, a right-hand corner, the right rear tire loses all its weight as the car leans left, and therefore its grip. If you’ve ever seen a Volkswagen GTI at the track, that tire will actually get airborne around a turn. Fun to watch, but not great for keeping speed (or grip). This system, like Lamborghini’s ALA, puts more downforce on the rear inside tire around a corner—by the look of it, a lot more. But that’s not the end of the story.
The problem with putting a ton of force on the right rear is that the left front, the one that’s taking the lion’s share of the cornering force, loses grip. Imagine how a skateboard reacts, notes Road & Track.
“My initial response would be to just get better tires and find somebody crazy enough that can actually use the 1,200 hp,” Indy 500-winning race engineer Eric Bretzman told R&T. “There would have to be a lot of wind tunnel and tire data to say that the wing is working throughout that range and is complementary at the right places. Maybe just increasing angle of attack for brake zones and traction and decrease it on the straights would be the best use.”
Brad Goldberg, who worked on the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team, says almost the same thing.
“The angle of attack must be different for any kind of wing position. Maybe they have figured that out, but that would be countless hours of work in wind tunnels. I’m curious how they balance the car as it would seem to me it would almost understeer off the road in every high-speed corner.”
The true test would be to get one with an active spoiler and race it against one with a … lazy spoiler. Lamborghini’s ALA system doesn’t just work on the spoiler, it also moves around splitters and vents in the front of the car for balance. Still, I can’t be sure until I drive it. Zenvo, call me!
But seriously, we’ve emailed the company to see if it has answers for the engineers.
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