Company Expects It To Be First Of Many
Aero-News has learned that less than six months after the
program was announced at the 2006 Lakeland Fly-In,
Superior Air Parts' new racing inspired 400 cubic inch XP-400
Engine will make its official debut in the skies over Reno Stead
Field during the 43rd Annual Reno National Championship Air
Races.
"There are a handful of very special moments when you're glad
you're in the piston engine business -- and this definitely
qualifies as one of them," said Timothy T. Archer, President and
CEO, Superior Air Parts. "It's hard to believe that just this past
April at Sun 'n Fun, Thielert AG's President and CEO, Frank
Thielert, and I made the announcement that Superior was getting
into racing. Now, to be here and see Scotty 'G's Unleashed Racer
tearing up the course -- well, it's really exciting."
The XP-400 Engine that powers Scotty 'G's Unleashed Lancair 360
Sports Class racer features all of Superior's engine design and
manufacturing advancements -- including a counter-weighted version
of the recently introduced proprietary ESR (Electro Slag Remelt)
crankshaft, and advanced roller lifters and camshafts. It also has
angle-valve Millennium Cylinders with bigger valves for better
breathing and more fin area for better cooling.
"The basic components of the XP-400 flying here at Reno are the
same as the standard 220 horsepower engine that we're selling to
the experimental market," explained Michael E. Caban, Superior's
Director of Sales and Marketing. "But the 'racing package' is
kicked up a notch or three. This engine has 10:1 compression ratio
racing pistons and a racing profile camshaft. The engineers have
been testing the engine on the stand at the Thielert factory in
Germany and they still haven't found the top of the horsepower
curve."
"So when people ask how much horsepower we're putting out we
just can't pin it down right now. But what we can say is it's fast
-- real fast!" he added. "We thought this racing package would be a
small percentage of the XP-400's overall sales, but what we're
seeing is a lot of builders want the extra performance that it
delivers. I guess every pilot has some 'racing genes' in them."
Archer explained that the racing version of the XP-400 is born
from the experience and innovation that Thielert AG has gained from
the company's long history as an engine prototype house for Formula
1 Championship racing teams.
"They've taken the best-of-breed design and production concepts
from world-class racing teams and used it to design and develop
many of the specialized components found in the racing version of
the XP-400 Engine," Archer said.
The racing version will be designated "XP-400 SRE" (Superior
Racing Engineering) and will be available for October
deliveries.
Along with having standard and racing versions of the XP-400
Engines on display at the Superior Air Parts booth (Outdoor
Exhibit, booth H-1) during the 43rd Annual Reno National
Championship Air Races, September 13 through 17, Caban said that
Superior is celebrating its entrance into racing with some very
aggressive pricing on the new engine.
"We're not only going to do our best to set a record on the race
course, we're trying to set some sales records for the remainder of
the year with this new engine as well," Caban explained. "Who
knows, with the deals we're offering we could see a flock of XP-400
racing engine powered airplanes here next year."