Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company based at Repton, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson and Brian Mason as Zytek Engineering in 1981.
Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company based at Repton, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson and Brian Mason as Zytek Engineering in 1981.
In 1981 Gibson and Mason founded the Zytek Group with two main divisions: Zytek Automotive, based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, based at Repton, Derbyshire.
In 2000, Motorola procured 19% of the Zytek Automotive and in 2006 this passed to Continental AG, a German engineering company, who purchased all of Motorola's automotive divisions & subsequently started raising their stock-holding of Zytek Automotive to 50%. Since 2014, Zytek Automotive has been part of Continental AG after they purchased the whole business. [1] [2] [3]
Zytek Engineering, the other part of the Zytek Group, remained under Gibson's leadership and was renamed Gibson Technology on 1 October 2014. [4] [5] [6]
Zytek Motorsport is the brand name used for the Zytek Groups motorsport product range and applications.
In 1987, Zytek bought the British Alan Smith Racing outfit in order to expand its motorsports involvement. The team initially supported the Jordan Grand Prix team in Formula 3000 before the team eventually chose to concentrate on engine development.
Zytek would return to running a motorsports team in 2004 when the company entered the Le Mans Endurance Series with their first sports car, the Zytek 04S, which was able to finish second in the team championship in 2005 due to two overall victories. Zytek Engineering continues to campaign in the Le Mans Series as well as in the American Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2002, Zytek bought some of the remains of the defunct Reynard Motorsport from International Racing Management (IRM). These assets included the rights to the Reynard 02S Le Mans Prototype, of which only one had been completed since the company's demise. Zytek already supplied an engine to the existing chassis, and would therefore built further copies under the name Zytek 04S, offering both the chassis and engine as a complete package.
Due to changes in the prototype regulations in 2006, Zytek upgraded one of their existing 04S chassis while building a third all-new car, named the 06S. Further regulation changes in 2007 required the team to build an entirely new car, the Zytek-07s, which campaigned in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes of the Le Mans Series.
Zytek's GZ09S proved an immediate success in 2009, taking the LMP2 Le Mans Series Team Championship with Quifel-ASM and the Driver's Championship with Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla.
In 2009 Zytek Engineering became the first manufacturer to score a podium with a hybrid LMP. The car, run by Corsa Motorsports, finished on the podium on its debut at Lime Rock. The Zytek Q10 Hybrid is a non-invasive parallel hybrid system, consisting of a motor-generator, battery and inverter. Its purpose is to recover energy normally wasted during deceleration and subsequently use this energy to assist the internal combustion engine during acceleration.
The Z11SN has also won the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 2011 and 2014, and the Le Mans Series in 2011, in the hands of Greaves Motorsport (2011) and Team Jota (2014). [7] [8]
In 2017 the rebranded company became the supplier of a 4.2-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 engine, producing approximately 600 hp, for the LMP2 Class for the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Two of the many LMP2 cars powered by Gibson engines finished on the overall podium, and one had led the race overall for some time until a recovering factory Porsche reclaimed the lead.
In 2018, Gibson's new LMP1 engine, the 4.5 litre naturally aspirated GL458, was installed into Rebellion Racing's pair of Rebellion R13s and DragonSpeeds BR Engineering BR1. The engine brought Rebellion's R13s to a 3-4 finish (1-2 among privateer teams) at Le Mans, behind the Toyota TS050 Hybrids. In February 2019, ByKolles Racing announced that they would be switching to the Gibson GL458, dropping the Nissan Nismo VRX30A 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6, for their CLM P1/01.
Zytek Automotive is a specialist powertrain and vehicle engineering enterprise, which has been part of Continental AG, a German engineering company, since 2014. [1] [2] It designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars and commercial vehicles.
Gordon Murray Design and Zytek Automotive developed an all-electric three-seater city car, the T.27, made possible through a £4.5 million (US$7.2 million in June 2010) investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board. [9] [10]
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car. As of 2023, there are two classes within Le Mans Prototypes, designated LMP2 and LMP3.
The Reynard 02S was a Le Mans Prototype race car built by Reynard Motorsport in 2002. Intended to replace the failed Reynard 2KQ prototype, the 02S would end up becoming the final new design from Reynard as the company went bankrupt prior to the project's completion.
OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class.
Nicholas Leventis is a retired British racing driver and founder of Strakka Racing. One of his most memorable successes was winning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category with Danny Watts and Jonny Kane, breaking five records in the process.
Reynard Motorsport was the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and CART.
The Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S was a LMP1-class Le Mans Prototype race car, built by Zytek Engineering following their partial merger with Ginetta. It was an evolutionary update of the Zytek 07S, with the bodywork altered for the 2009 LMP regulations. The GZ09S/2 was a LMP2-class version of the same car In 2011, its successor, the Nissan-engined Zytek Z11SN, made its competitive debut, following the latest rule changes to the LMP regulations. The GZ09S was retired at the end of that season, as it was no longer eligible to compete.
The Zytek Z11SN is an LMP2-class racing car built by Zytek Engineering since 2011. Powered by a 4.5-litre Nissan V8 engine, it is an evolution of the Zytek 07S and the Zytek 09SC, updated for the new Le Mans Prototype regulations that were introduced in 2011. It was predominantly used in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a Greaves Motorsport-entered Z11SN won the LMP2 categories of both contests in 2011. In 2014, Jota Sport won the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Z11SN.
The 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the third season of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series, co-organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars from four ACO categories. World Championship titles were awarded for Le Mans Prototypes drivers and for LMP1 manufacturers, and several World Endurance Cups and Endurance Trophies were also awarded. The eight race series began in April at the Silverstone Circuit and concluded in November at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
The 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season was the fourth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship auto racing series, co-organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars meeting four ACO categories. World championship titles were awarded for Le Mans Prototypes drivers and for manufacturers in the LMP1 category, and several World Endurance Cups and Endurance Trophies were also awarded in all four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and ended at the Bahrain International Circuit in November after eight rounds, and included the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ligier Automotive, formerly Onroak Automotive, is a French company which designs, manufacturers, and sells racing cars, specifically sports prototypes for various international series. Onroak was founded in 2012 by Jacques Nicolet who split the design, manufacturing, and sales divisions of his OAK Racing team into an independent company. Onroak has since formed an agreement with Philippe Ligier to develop new cars under the Ligier title. On 31 December 2018, it was announced that Onroak Automotive would be rebranded to Ligier Automotive as part of a rebranding and reorganization of Everspeed's automotive assets.
The CLM P1/01, renamed ENSO CLM P1/01 in 2017, is a sports prototype racing car built for Lotus Racing in 2014. The Lotus team entered the last five rounds of the World Endurance championship in 2014, but later took name as the Austrian based team ByKolles Racing. It is designed to meet the 2014 LMP1-L regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The P1/01 debuted at the 2014 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Jota Sport is a British sports car racing team. Founded as Team Jota by Sam Hignett and John Stack, Jota Sport is part of the Jota Group which is owned by Sam Hignett and David Clark. The team is based in Tunbridge Wells in England. Jota Sport has finished on the overall podium of 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans with two Oreca in an alliance with Jackie Chan DC Racing. In 2018/2019 Jota competed, in partnership with Arden International, RP Motorsport, Jackie Chan DC Racing and Aston Martin in the FIA World Endurance Championship with two ORECA 07 LMP2 and in the GT World Challenge Europe with Mclaren 720S GT3 cars.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was the sixth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. The season began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and will end at the Bahrain International Circuit in November, and include the 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. World championship titles will be awarded to the leading prototype drivers and manufacturers, while for the first time in the World Endurance Championship the leading grand touring drivers and manufacturers will also be awarded a world championship.
The BR Engineering BR1 is a sports prototype non-hybrid racing car built for the SMP Racing and DragonSpeed teams. It is designed to meet the 2018 LMP1 regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The BR1 debuted at the 2018 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the first round of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be renamed by Alpine to Alpine A480 when it was rebadged to run as a grandfathered into the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022.
The Strakka-Dome S103 is a Le Mans Prototype LMP2, built to the ACO/FIA Le Mans Prototype LMP2 Regulations. The car was originally eligible for use in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series as well as the IMSA sanctioned WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Following the 2017 rule changes for the class, the car is no longer eligible for use in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the European Le Mans Series. However, it is still eligible for use in the LMP2-Am Asian Le Mans Series.
The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship was the ninth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.
The Zytek 07S is a sports prototype race car, designed, developed and built by British manufacturer Zytek, to compete in the LMP1 class in sports car racing, in 2007. It is the successor of the Zytek 04S. The chassis evolved in 2009 and took the name Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S following the merger between Ginetta and Zytek who have a common shareholder in the person of Lawrence Tomlinson.
Zytek Automotive is a British powertrain and vehicle engineering specialist, which has been part of Continental AG since 2014. Zytek Automotive designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars and commercial vehicles. The UK facility can accommodate up to 6,000 E-Drive integrations a year in batches as low as 100.
The Zytek GL458 engine is a 4.5-litre, normally-aspirated, DOHC, V8 racing engine, developed and produced by Gibson for sports car racing, since 2018.
