Bosch and Pagani test driving safety systems of Huayra BC in Arctic Circle

Pagani and Bosch

Pagani relies on Bosch for the driving safety and braking control systems used on its Huayra and Huayra BC vehicles. “The philosophy of our vehicles is a combination between art and science, technology and design, performance and uncompromising safety. Bosch Engineering has been our partner for a number of years now in this endeavor,” says Horacio Pagani, founder of Italian hypercar manufacturer Pagani Automobili. Although the ABS and ESP hardware come from Bosch’s mass-production automotive portfolio, it is Bosch Engineering GmbH, a subsidiary of the supplier of technology and services, that is responsible for the custom adaptation of the software. Bosch Engineering employs more than 2,000 engineers whose expertise extends to every aspect of their field – except off-the-shelf solutions. As they have already done with the Huayra and the Zonda, the company is using the Pagani Huayra BC to showcase its ability to tailor and configure both software and electronics to meet vehicle-specific requirements. Because in order to perform ideally in all situations, the ABS and ESP systems require extremely precise software calibration to accommodate both the performance characteristics of a hypercar as well as the particularities of summer and winter road conditions.

“This is the only way in which we can exploit the entire safety potential of the software while creating the dynamic handling particular to this brand. We understand Pagani’s requirements in this regard, and are developing a tailor-made software accordingly,” says Bernhard Bihr, president of Bosch Engineering Group.

Testing day in northern Sweden

For Jauregui and his colleagues, the days in northern Sweden begin early while it is still dark outside. Although sunrise is still a few hours away, large floodlights already illuminate the various road course modules both over land and over parts of the huge frozen lake. “First we test the ABS on a roadway surface that is iced over on one side. Later on we see how the car handles on a testing course located on the frozen lake,” native Argentinean who works for Bosch Engineering for more than 10 years explains. An electronic stability programme, for instance, contains over 3,000 parameters in its software that affect the system’s reactions. “The greatest challenge for us is making all of the vehicle’s power and handling controllable and safe, even in critical situations, without losing sight of performance.” 

Jauregui’s most important ally in this task is Jakob Hellkvist, who is an “icemaker”. Working morning, noon, and night, his job is to prepare the road courses, making sure that the driving surface conditions on land and on the lake are always the same. Several times a day, he sprays the roadways and course modules with water and then smooth them out, after which he will use specialized equipment to give the ice surfaces exactly the right amount of friction. All of this ensures that even the smallest changes in handling behavior can be analysed following software adjustments, and that these changes are not the result of variations in driving surface conditions.

 “For us the reproducibility and comparability of measurement data is very important. We want to be able to measure how the handling will change when we adjust one of the parameters. When the road surface is always the same, we can eliminate it as a factor,” Jauregui explains. His laptop is mounted above the center console of the vehicle. After every test drive, he checks the measurement values, stores data, enters new command combinations into the computer, and then starts driving again. He will keep doing so until this symbiosis of safety and performance of Pagani’s Huayra BC is perfect, even on ice and snow.

Winter testing in northern Sweden

Bosch conducts winter testing on its state-of-the-art driving dynamics control systems at its test centre in Vaitoudden near Arjeplog in northern Sweden. This testing allows engineers to ensure that safety systems such as ABS and ESP will perform as intended in every situation to provide maximum assistance to the driver. The new, expanded testing grounds were officially opened in December 2003 by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The total investment volume totaled 20 million euros.

Source: Bosch