Toyota Motorsport Uses Automotive Industry PLM Solution from Dassault Systèmes for 2004 F1 Season

TMG aerodynamics team cuts development time by 30 % with “Generative Car Design” solution. Companies establish Development and Services partnership.

Cologne, Germany and Paris, France – January 16, 2004 – A day before the launch of the new Toyota Formula 1 racecar, the TF104, Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) will use its Generative Car Design Industry solution to develop F1 car designs for the 2004 season.

The Generative Car Design solution is a Product Lifecycle Management Version 5 (PLM V5) solution created specifically for the automotive industry. It enables automotive manufacturers and suppliers to reuse their existing design knowledge to speed development of new components and vehicles, and reduce costs.

Through its new Development and Service partnership with TMG, Dassault Systèmes will collaborate with Toyota Motorsport engineers to develop new functionalities for the V5 PLM product suite based on the team’s requirements. Dassault Systèmes’ corporate logo will appear on the nose of the TF104.

TMG uses Generative Car Design in aerodynamics and engine development. For example, engineers in the Aerodynamics department used the solution to develop the external shape of the TF104. TMG’s Wind Tunnel Model Design group designs several hundred parts per month for wind-tunnel testing. The aerodynamic shape is then scaled up and a full-scale part is designed for track tests and races. The Aerodynamics department reduced the time required to design new parts by 30% using Generative Car Design. Toyota Motorsport plans to expand use of the solution to include chassis development.

“Time is a key issue in F1 business,” said Toshiro Kurusu, Executive Vice-President of TMG. “Deploying the Generative Car Design solution in the Aerodynamics department enables us to design parts quickly and to derive many versions which are tested in our wind tunnel. In addition, aerodynamics is not the only domain where we can reap the benefits of the solution. Toyota Motorsport is deeply involved in a drawingless project. The objective is to design, manufacture, and inspect engine parts without any drawings at all.”

“No other motor sport is as technically demanding as Formula One,” said Etienne Droit, executive vice president Sales and Services, Dassault Systèmes. By employing intelligent templates in the Generative Car Design solution that incorporate part and knowledge rules from existing designs, TMG leverages its intellectual capital to generate new components and cars more quickly for less. Our partnership will provide a solid basis for Toyota Motorsport to achieve new performance records.”