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July 03, 2003
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This Week:

• smart presented its new model, the smart forfour to the press

• Nissan Adds Pathfinder Production to Smyrna Plant

• A 3,500-kilogram trailer load limit makes the Touareg an ideal towing vehicle

• New Ford Focus C-MAX Production Begins

• BMW Group Reports 10 Percent Jump In First Half Sales

• Bentley Le Mans winners and new Continental GT in action at Goodwood

• World's First CO2-neutral Designer Diesel Fuel Presented

• PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault and CNAM inaugurate two new wind tunnels for aerodynamic and aeroacoustic research on land vehicles

• Toyota Reports Strong June Sales: Sets Second-Quarter And First-Half Sales Records

• Cadillac Announces Leadership Appointments

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PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault and CNAM inaugurate two new wind tunnels for aerodynamic and aeroacoustic research on land vehicles

Photo: PSA
 

Paris - Jean-Martin Folz, Chief Executive Officer of PSA Peugeot Citroën, Louis Schweitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Renault group and Laurence Paye-Jeanneney, President of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), today inaugurated two automobile aeroacoustic wind tunnels. Among those attending the opening ceremony were Francis Mer, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, Nicole Fontaine, Alternate Minister of Industry, Jean-Paul Huchon, President of the Ile-de-France Regional Council and Franck Borotra, President of the Yvelines General Council. The inauguration comes two years after PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault and CNAM founded Souffleries Aéroacoustiques Automobiles (S2A), a consortium designed to establish a centre of excellence for automobile aerodynamics in France.

The two wind tunnels are located at a site adjoining CNAM's Aerotechnical Institute (IAT) in Saint-Cyr l'Ecole, western Paris. The wind tunnels reproduce the various aerodynamic and aeroacoustic phenomena to which vehicles are subjected, offering modern, effective testing resources to help engineers cut fuel consumption and improve safety. Other aims are to improve acoustic comfort inside the cabin, and reduce vehicle noise. Public and private research laboratories thus gain access to a French automobile aerodynamics centre with the status of a "Centre National de Recherche Technologique" (CNRT). The first full-size wind tunnel will be used for aerodynamic and aeroacoustic testing. It is equipped with a rotating table, a moving platform and a system for rotating car wheels. The second wind tunnel, built on a 2/5 scale, will be used solely for aerodynamic testing.

The S2A project required initial investment of over €36 million, including €32 million financed two-thirds by PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault and one-third by the French government (Ministries of Industry, Research and New Technologies, Ile-de-France Regional Council and Yvelines General Council).

(July 01, 2003)