A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
The Mercedes power plant has the compressor placed at the front of the unit, while the turbine is mounted at the rear; a split-turbo installation that differs from the Renault and Ferrari architecture whereby both components are side by side at the back. On the PU106C, the compressor and turbine connect via a shaft that goes through the ‘Vee’ of the engine where, incidentally, the MGU-H also sits. Hence the orange cables that connect the MGU-H to the energy store (better known as the battery) at the front of the Mercedes unit (see on the right-hand side on the picture above).
Coloured in dark blue, the boost pipework and what is probably the intercooler are further tokens of Mercedes’ unique engine architecture. Close cooperation between chassis engineers in Brackley and their engine counterparts in Brixworth have resulted in the conception of a single air-to-water intercooler lodged within the monocoque itself, between the driver and the engine.
Other hydraulic and electronic parts that can be seen on the image above include the Moog servovalves at the base of the unit.
