Designing Ferrari’s new engine

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Andréa, a consultant at agap2 Milan, tells us what it was like working in the world of motorsport.

“For a Formula 1 fan like me, working on a project like this is a dream come true.”.

Several months ago, Andrea, a young Mechanical Design Engineer, joined HPE Coxa (High Performance Engineering), a company specialising in high-end mechanical engineering. Having focused on the internal combustion engine during his engineering studies, Andrea was the perfect choice when they needed someone to assist one of their most prestige clients, Scuderia Ferrari, with the development of their new F1 Power Unit engine.

In the heart of the Italian Motor Valley.

HPE COXA was founded in 1998 by Piero Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari’s last living son, with the aim of supplying high-end engineering and precision manufacturing services to the motorsport, aeronautical and defence industries. At the moment I’m working at the head office in Modena, in the heart of the Italian Motor Valley, where you’ll find all the major players in motorsport: Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ducati, Pagani, and so on.

The future Ferrari F1 Power Unit.

HPE Coxa works for Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team, the Ferrari brand’s racing division. We’re assisting them with the design of the components for their new internal combustion engine, which will be used in the F1 Grand Prix races. I have to design both the 3D models, using CreoCAD, one of the most advanced software packages, and their mechanical aspects. My job has changed as the project has progressed. I was in direct contact with Ferrari’s engineers and project managers, and I designed the components they needed myself, from scratch. For a Formula 1 fan like me, working on a project like this is a dream come true.

High standards hand in hand with excellence.

My main challenges have definitely been to do with time management and pressure. Motorsport is a demanding business and you have to produce the very best results in as little time as possible. It’s really important to concentrate hard and not make mistakes. But that doesn’t make the work environment any less amazing. The team I’m working with consists of some young, and some highly experienced, people, whose secrets I’m trying to learn so that I can improve my own skills and knowledge.