Konrad KM-011
Encyclopedia
The Konrad KM-011 was a sports prototype
built for Group C
racing in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season
. The car was part of a brief partnership between Konrad Motorsport
and Lamborghini
.
s in the World Sportscar Championship
. Konrad was a long time Porsche campaigner, but knew that for 1992 his 962 would no longer be legal to run in the series, and Porsche had no planned replacement. Thus Konrad would need to either buy a customer chassis or build his own car, as well as find a new engine supplier to meet the new 3.5 Liter formula. To meet the engine requirement, Konrad turned to Lamborghini
and their owner at the time, Chrysler
, planning to use the Formula One
engine that the company currently supplied to Ligier and Modena
. At the time, both Formula One and World Sportscar Championship engine requirements were the same, allowing for teams to build engines for both series. Thus in order to allow Lamborghini to expand into sportscars involvement following the failure of the Countach
QXV, they agreed to supply their 3512 V12
.
For the chassis, team founder Franz Konrad
would set about designing the car that would become known as the KM-011. The design of the car was rather simple, borrowing established design features from such cars as Konrad's own 962. Among the main attributes was a larger, more squared off front end and a large roof-mounted hood scoop to better feed the engine, similar in style to other newer 3.5 liter Group C
cars.
The car would run on Yokohama
tires and be primarily sponsored by Wärtsilä
Diesel Group, as well as carrying some sponsorship for Chrysler
in some rounds.
, Konrad debuted the KM-011 in the hands of drivers Franz Konrad
and Stefan Johansson
. Unfortunately the car failed to qualify for the event, and Konrad instead turned to his older 962, taking a points-scoring finish. At the next round at Magny-Cours
, the car was successful in qualifying, allowing Konrad to abandon their 962, but unfortunately the KM-011 failed to finish after 18 laps due to a failed starter motor.
Wishing to finish the season, Franz Konrad gathered the budget to fly the KM-011 and Konrad Motorsport team to the final two rounds of the season in Mexico City
and Autopolis
, Japan
. In Mexico the KM-011 lasted 36 laps before its gearbox gave out. This was followed by suspension failure at Autopolis after a mere 24 laps. With this, the KM-011 failed to score any points in the World Sportscar Championship season, the 962 being the only car to score.
However, during the break from Mexico City to Autopolis, Konrad had the KM-011 flown back to Europe to participate in the final Interserie
round at Zeltweg
. In the first heat, Franz Konrad
drove the KM-011 on his own to a 7th place finish. The second heat saw the KM-011 suffered problems and failed to finish three laps from the finish. The combined results therefore gave the KM-011 a 16th place finish, classified as a finisher.
The KM-011 would make one final appearance at the first Interserie round at the Nürburgring
in 1992. The car would take 3rd place in the first heat, followed by a 4th place in the second. This combined result earned Konrad an overall 4th place finish in the race. Unfortunately funding for the project would soon end. Although Konrad promised to be on the grid for the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season
, the car never showed.
This would be the only car that Konrad would build themselves. They would return to running customer cars, mostly Porsche
s, following the retirement of the KM-011.
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
built for Group C
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
racing in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season
1991 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship season was the 39th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship, which was contested over an eight race series from 14 April to 28 October 28 1991...
. The car was part of a brief partnership between Konrad Motorsport
Konrad Motorsport
Konrad Motorsport is an auto racing team initially from Austria but now residing in Germany. Founded by Austrian racer Franz Konrad in 1989, the team has mostly run Porsches, although they have also run Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Saleens over their existence.-History:Initially competing in the...
and Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
.
Development
At the time of the development of the KM-011, Konrad Motorsport was competing with Porsche 962Porsche 962
The Porsche 962 was a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had...
s in the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
. Konrad was a long time Porsche campaigner, but knew that for 1992 his 962 would no longer be legal to run in the series, and Porsche had no planned replacement. Thus Konrad would need to either buy a customer chassis or build his own car, as well as find a new engine supplier to meet the new 3.5 Liter formula. To meet the engine requirement, Konrad turned to Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
and their owner at the time, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, planning to use the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
engine that the company currently supplied to Ligier and Modena
Modena (racing team)
Modena Team SpA was a Formula One team from Italy that contested a single season in 1991. The team had a rather muddy history, and are often referred to as the Lambo or Lamborghini team because of its connections to the Italian automotive manufacturer....
. At the time, both Formula One and World Sportscar Championship engine requirements were the same, allowing for teams to build engines for both series. Thus in order to allow Lamborghini to expand into sportscars involvement following the failure of the Countach
Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is a mid-engined supercar that was produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini from 1974 to 1990. Its design both pioneered and popularized the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high performance sports cars...
QXV, they agreed to supply their 3512 V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
.
For the chassis, team founder Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad is a former race driver and founder of Konrad Motorsport in 1976.As a driver, he won the 1983 German Formula 3 Championship in an Anson SA4-Toyota. In 1990, he took a career best 2nd in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Jaguar, then followed this with an overall victory in the...
would set about designing the car that would become known as the KM-011. The design of the car was rather simple, borrowing established design features from such cars as Konrad's own 962. Among the main attributes was a larger, more squared off front end and a large roof-mounted hood scoop to better feed the engine, similar in style to other newer 3.5 liter Group C
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
cars.
The car would run on Yokohama
Yokohama Rubber Company
is a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...
tires and be primarily sponsored by Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...
Diesel Group, as well as carrying some sponsorship for Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
in some rounds.
Racing history
For the 1991 season, Konrad initially ran their 962, scoring a handful of points in the first four races of the season. At round five at the team's home event of the NürburgringNürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
, Konrad debuted the KM-011 in the hands of drivers Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad is a former race driver and founder of Konrad Motorsport in 1976.As a driver, he won the 1983 German Formula 3 Championship in an Anson SA4-Toyota. In 1990, he took a career best 2nd in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Jaguar, then followed this with an overall victory in the...
and Stefan Johansson
Stefan Johansson
Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters...
. Unfortunately the car failed to qualify for the event, and Konrad instead turned to his older 962, taking a points-scoring finish. At the next round at Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...
, the car was successful in qualifying, allowing Konrad to abandon their 962, but unfortunately the KM-011 failed to finish after 18 laps due to a failed starter motor.
Wishing to finish the season, Franz Konrad gathered the budget to fly the KM-011 and Konrad Motorsport team to the final two rounds of the season in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Autopolis
Autopolis
Autopolis is an international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan . Opened in 1990, it hosts a range of domestic and international motorsport events throughout the year. Although the track meets a high standard in terms of its facilities, it has never hosted a...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In Mexico the KM-011 lasted 36 laps before its gearbox gave out. This was followed by suspension failure at Autopolis after a mere 24 laps. With this, the KM-011 failed to score any points in the World Sportscar Championship season, the 962 being the only car to score.
However, during the break from Mexico City to Autopolis, Konrad had the KM-011 flown back to Europe to participate in the final Interserie
Interserie
Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....
round at Zeltweg
Zeltweg
Zeltweg is a town in Styria, Austria. It is located in the Aichfeld basin of the Mur River in Upper Styria. Larger municipalities in the vicinity are Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Fohnsdorf.-History:...
. In the first heat, Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad
Franz Konrad is a former race driver and founder of Konrad Motorsport in 1976.As a driver, he won the 1983 German Formula 3 Championship in an Anson SA4-Toyota. In 1990, he took a career best 2nd in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Jaguar, then followed this with an overall victory in the...
drove the KM-011 on his own to a 7th place finish. The second heat saw the KM-011 suffered problems and failed to finish three laps from the finish. The combined results therefore gave the KM-011 a 16th place finish, classified as a finisher.
The KM-011 would make one final appearance at the first Interserie round at the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
in 1992. The car would take 3rd place in the first heat, followed by a 4th place in the second. This combined result earned Konrad an overall 4th place finish in the race. Unfortunately funding for the project would soon end. Although Konrad promised to be on the grid for the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season
1992 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1992 Sportscar World Championship season was the 40th and final FIA World Sportscar Championship season. It was a series of Group C formula sportscars separated into two classes, termed C1 and FIA Cup. It ran from April 26, 1992 to October 18, 1992, comprising 6 races.-Pre-Season:From the...
, the car never showed.
This would be the only car that Konrad would build themselves. They would return to running customer cars, mostly Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
s, following the retirement of the KM-011.