A powerful and responsive, 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine is not usually what comes to mind when you think of “green” cars, but – if Bernie Towns and the crew at Speedriven get their way – it soon may be.
Bernie Towns is an engineer at HighMount Exploration and Production – a natural-gas-focused energy company based out of Houston, Texas. “Clean” and “green” are everyday buzzwords in the energy-production industry, and Towns’ company Future Power Technology well be no exception, promoting research into new ways to push CNG into the mainstream. In addition to being well-versed in current green-energy trends, however, there is something about Bernie Towns that is different from the usual green-car advocates. “I admit it. I’m a horsepower addict,” Bernie says. “I love speed, I love power, and I love my Mercedes-Benz.”
The object of Towns’ current automotive affections is a 2007 SL600 Mercedes-Benz roadster, which – after nearly a year of research and development work by Chicago-based tuning firm Speedriven – now develops over 800 horsepower and over one-thousand pound-feet of torque from its biturbo V12. Good enough for 10-second quarter mile runs and a top speed well in excess of 200 mph.
Towns’ massively powerful Speedriven SL satisfied his need for speed, then, but Towns still felt that something was missing. “In the IT world, we literally spend hours of every day coming up with ways to do business in more efficient ways and (at HighMount) in more environmentally responsible ways,” explains Towns. “So there I am, sitting at lunch one day and the people are talking about natural gas cars, and it suddenly hits me: we should convert the SL to run on natural gas!”
“In a lot of circles, green is the new fast,” says Speedriven’s Jo Borras. “I think that’s true, and Bernie is certainly a believer. He’ll talk about CNG giving off 80% fewer harmful emissions than gasoline, and he has the resources to figure out flame-front speeds, burr temperatures, and other technical things we need on our end to properly tune for the gas and convert the car. He doesn’t just want to do a CNG Benz, though. Bernie wants to break records.”
“Audi has the current record, at 364.6 kilometers per hour that they set back in 2009. That’s just over 225 mph, which they did in a heavily tuned Audi S4 making about 700 hp,” explains Towns. “That wasn’t standing-mile speed or anything, that was all they could get out of that car. The Mercedes has a bigger engine to start with, and it’s a slipperier car – from the factory at least. By the time this is all said and done, we’ll be making at least another 100 horsepower over the record Audi, and Mercedes has already given us a better aero package to work with. 230 mph to 240 mph run on CNG powered fuel. That’s the goal, and why can’t we do it? We know that Oklahoma and Texas have an abundance of natural gas, and a ready infrastructure of responsibly operating and producing companies that employ thousands of Americans all the way from production to distribution at CNG-filling stations that are already in place and available to the public. This is exciting and this is fun and there is no better and more brilliant use of this type of clean power than in our vehicles.”
The next test of Bernie’s car is scheduled for the Texas Mile event in March, and the SL600 is already at Speedriven’s Chicago facility, getting fitted with a new turbocharger assembly designed to push the boundaries even farther. “The first step to put the ‘pedal to the metal’ on this project is for Speedriven to get the hardware to where it needs to be,” says Towns. “I think 200 in a standing mile, with 240 mph or so as the top speed. Once we’re happy with the hardware and with the programming and we’re getting the results we want on gas, then we’ll convert the car’s fuel system and scale the math appropriately for the CNG. That way we’re dealing with known quantities all the way through, introducing new variables one at a time. That’s how Speedriven wants to move forward and that’s how everyone on my end likes to do things as well. Methodical. Step by step.”
Bernie Towns and the crew at Speedriven are moving forward and gaining support with each passing week. Towns offers that the group has been in touch with Mercedes-Benz USA, and that the ANGA and NGV America are also getting “on board” with the project.
“We’re pretty excited. I’m pretty excited,” says an emotional Towns. “It’s not everyone who gets to go out and do something really exciting with emerging technology and clean energy and break speed records in the same car they drive home every day and still get to call that ‘work’. This is great!”
Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) is the 2010 DTM champion. The Scotsman finished the 11th and final round of the 2010 DTM at Shanghai, China in second place and took the title with 71 points.
Gary Paffett (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the final race on a temporary street circuit in Shanghai’s district Pudong and ended the championship runner-up with 67 points. This victory was the ninth for Mercedes-Benz in 2010 out of the 11 races. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), overall leader before the race after eight podiums out of the previous 10 races, had started 17th on the grid after a qualifying accident and ended up 13th in the race and third in the championship with 66 points.
It is Paul Di Resta’s first DTM championship title after he had been runner-up in 2008. For Mercedes-Benz, it is the 10th drivers’ title since the brand entered the DTM as a works outfit in 1988: Before this year’s title win, Bernd Schneider took six championships, Klaus Ludwig two and Gary Paffett one.
Salzgitter/Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG with Spengler/Paffett are first in the team ranking already since Hockenheim six weeks ago; they have now 133 points.
Jamie Green (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished sixth. David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home eighth and scored his first championship point in the final race of his first DTM season. Ralf Schumacher (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up 10th ahead of Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class). CongFu Cheng (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 15th ahead of Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class).
The race was red-flagged after 50 of 60 scheduled laps, after the track was blocked momentarily following a short coming-together of Susie Stoddart and Mike Rockenfeller (Audi).
Gary Paffett (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) winner: “It was a tough race and with my win I achieved everything possible. However, I had lost a few points during the season; otherwise the fight with Paul today would have been more exciting. Congratulations to him, he had a great season and deserves the championship.”
Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) second and champion:”I am really happy about my DTM title win – a dream came true. I thank my entire team and everybody at Mercedes-Benz for this great season.”
Jamie Green (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) sixth: “Sixth place is ok, although third position was in reach. Unfortunately, I got stuck in traffic after my first pit stop so we decided to pit again early, but so I lost a few places. However, I am the best driver with a last year’s car, like I was in 2009, so I have reached my target for this year.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) eighth: “Yesterday, I was sixth and achieved my best qualifying result in the DTM, today I scored my first point and posted the fastest lap of the race. This is a nice end of my first DTM season. Unfortunately I lost a few places in traffic – an even better result would have been possible today.”
Ralf Schumacher (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class) 10th:”The circuit was a real challenge and the organizers did everything for the safety. It was a good decision to start behind the Safety Car. For this season, I had wished for more good results. My speed was always there, but if you start too far in the back of the field, it is not easy to show that.”
Susie Stoddart (TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) 11th: “An uneventful race for me. Without yesterday’s crash and with a better grid position points would have been possible today. Well done to Paul on his championship win and thank you to my Persson team and Mercedes-Benz for the great support throughout this season.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) 13th: “I look back to a good season; however, in the last event I made a mistake in qualifying which almost decided the championship already before the race. I suffered from understeer today which was probably a consequence of my accidents on Friday and Saturday. Congratulations to Paul on his title win.”
CongFu Cheng (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) 15th:”Unfortunately, I made a mistake during my first pit stop and received a time penalty. Otherwise, a result between 10th and 12th positions would have been possible; my speed was not bad. I thank my team for a great first year in the DTM and congratulations to Paul on the title win.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) 16th: “It is like a little victory that I was able to start the race, following my accident on Friday. I thank my team for the great job fixing the car in time for the race.”
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:”A difficult final of a great 2010 DTM season with Paul as the deserved Champion and Gary as the Shanghai winner – for the second time after he had won also the so far only race here in 2004.
“This season, Paul did the best job of all – Bruno Spengler who arrived here as the overall leader would have deserved as well as Gary Paffett – but in the end Paul achieved the well-deserved title win.
“A cordial thank you for the first three places in the championship and nine wins out of 11 races to everybody in the HWA team under Gerhard Ungar, to the Mücke and the Persson team.
“I also want to thank all active and hardworking colleagues who are usually not on the front row – our specialists of organisation, media, marketing and controlling – and, of course, also the ladies in our office, who are always working at real “race speed” day-to-day and always precisely.
“There are no great victories without a great team, and we have a great team.”
Paul Di Resta, the 2010 DTM Champion
Paul Di Resta (24) is the 2010 DTM Champion. He won the title with second place in the season’s finale which had been staged at Shanghai for the first time. Paul thus overtook his team mate Bruno Spengler who had started the final race as the points leader. The race in China was Paul’s 42nd DTM race. He won six of them, started from pole position six times and posted seven fastest race laps.
Paul Di Resta is a cousin of former Mercedes-Benz DTM driver Dario Franchitti, who won the US IndyCar series for the third time and the Indy 500 for the second time in 2010. Paul began racing karts at the age of eight. In 2000, he won the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future kart series. Three years later, he took part in his first car race in the British Formula Renault. In 2004, he won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award and became a Mercedes-Benz Junior.
Racing for English team Manor Motorsport, Paul Di Resta entered the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005, finishing his debut year 10th overall after three pole positions and one podium place. In the following year, he won five races and clinched the championship ahead of the 2010 Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
In 2007, Paul moved up to DTM and finished his second race in the championship in second place – with a last year’s car. At the end of that year he was fifth overall. One year later, now racing a new model, Di Resta took his first DTM race win and finished the year runner-up. In 2009, Paul Di Resta was third overall in the DTM and also became test and reserve driver for Force India Mercedes in Formula One.