Gibson Technology is an
automotive and motorsport company based at
Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...
, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson as "Zytek Engineering" in 1981.
In 1981 Gibson founded the "Zytech Group" with two main divisions:
Zytek Automotive
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.
Owners ...
, based at
Fradley Fradley is a village in the Lichfield District, in the county of Staffordshire, England.OS Explorer Map 245: The National Forest :(1:25 000) : , Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, based at Repton, Derbyshire. In 2014 Zytek Automotive was sold to the German engineering company
Continental AG
Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...
, whereas Zytek Engineering remained under Gibson's leadership and was renamed Gibson Technology.
Zytek Automotive
Zytek Automotive is a specialist powertrain and vehicle engineering enterprise, which has been part of
Continental AG
Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...
, a German engineering company, since 2014. It designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars and commercial vehicles. The current family of electric motors ranges up to 170 kW.
The UK facility can accommodate up to 6,000 E-Drive integrations a year in batches as low as 100.
Zytek has designed electric engines for the initial 100
smart fortwos, which took part in a market trial by selected British customers as lease vehicles from 2007 to 2009. The 70 kW integrated drivetrain installed in the
Modec
Modec was an electric vehicle manufacturer in Coventry, in the United Kingdom, specialising in Commercial vehicles in the N2 category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in Ma ...
electric vehicle is designed and manufactured in house by Zytek, as well as the drivetrain in the E Vito Taxi.
Gordon Murray Design
Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive.
Early life
Born t ...
and Zytek Automotive developed an
all-electric three-seater
city car
The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined.
A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market i ...
, the T.27, made possible through a ( in June 2010) investment from the government-backed
Technology Strategy Board.
[ With a total cost of £9m ( in June 2010), the research and development project allowed the consortium to develop a prototype that was unveiled at the Royal Automobile Club in June 2011. The T.27 road debut was held in November 2011 at the RAC Future Car Challenge. As of 2011, Gordon Murray Design was negotiating with three manufacturers for possible production of the T.27.]
Zytek Engineering
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
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
*Alan (given name), an English given name
** List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
* ...
outfit in order to expand its motorsports involvement. The team initially supported the Jordan Grand Prix team in Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
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
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
with their first sports car, the Zytek 04S
Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company based at Repton, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson as "Zytek Engineering" in 1981.
In 1981 Gibson founded the "Zytech Group" with two main divisions: Zytek Automotive, b ...
, which was able to finish second in the team championship in 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
due to two overall victories. Zytek Engineering continues to campaign in the Le Mans Series as well as in the American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The American Le Mans' hea ...
and 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
.
Vehicle Technology
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
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 th ...
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in 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 cr ...
, 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, th
Zytek-07s
which campaigned in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes of the Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
.
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
Miguel Maria de Sá Pais do Amaral, 8th Count of Anadia , 4th Count of Alferrarede, KHDSMOM, commonly known as Miguel Amaral (born 31 July 1954) is a Portuguese aristocrat, businessman and amateur racing driver.
Family
Miguel Amaral, born in ...
and Olivier Pla
Olivier Pla (born 22 October 1981) is a French racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Glickenhaus Racing. His younger brother Jim is also a racing driver
Career
French Formula Campus and Formula Three
Bor ...
.
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
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
in both 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
and 2014, and the Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
in 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, in the hands of Greaves Motorsport
Greaves Motorsport is a British racing team, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2006, Greaves Motorsport, founded and run by Tim Greaves, entered the Le Mans Series (LMS) for the first time, ...
(2011) and Team Jota (2014).
Gibson Technology
In 2017 the rebranded company became the supplier of a 4.2-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
, 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
Rebellion Racing is a Swiss racing team that competes in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an associatio ...
's pair of Rebellion R13
The Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by France, French constructor Oreca on behalf of Switzerland, Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be re ...
s and DragonSpeeds BR Engineering BR1
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 ...
. The engine brought Rebellion's R13s to a 3-4 finish (1-2 among privateer teams) at Le Mans, behind the Toyota TS050 Hybrid
The Toyota TS050 Hybrid is a sports prototype racing car developed for the 2016 Le Mans Prototype rules in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The car is the direct successor of the Toyota TS040 Hybrid, which competed in both the 2014 and 20 ...
s. 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.
See also
* Gordon Murray
References
External links
Zytek Automotive
Gibson Technology
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom
Companies established in 1981
Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Motor vehicle engine manufacturers
British racecar constructors
British auto racing teams
24 Hours of Le Mans teams
European Le Mans Series teams
American Le Mans Series teams