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Technology in race cars (52): Cool(ing) stories - a hot topic

Created on June 26, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Mercedes-Benz AG

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Mercedes-Benz AG

Mercedes-Benz radiator grille parade - ever smaller, ever flatter

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Renault (1903) - Side coolers in a double pack

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Renault (1901) - Winning car of Paris-Vienna 1901

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Hisa 4-cylinder (1907) - no solar panels, but radiator above the engine

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Brabham BT 46 (1978) - with ceramic cow elements on the chassis flanks at the press debut

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Lotus 49 (1969) - new with openings on the hood

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Lotus 49 (1968) - radiator is concealed under the hood, there is no provision for targeted air extraction

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Ferrari 312 B3 (1974) - horizontal side radiator, exhaust air upwards

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Lotus 72 (1970) - Formula 1 side cooler pioneer

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Shadow Mk1 (1970) - view-through drawing

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Ferrari 312 T (1975) - Radiator behind the front wheels

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Lotus 88 (1981) - upright side radiator, exhaust air to the outside

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Brabham BT 46 B (1978) - water cooler on the flat engine, fan on the right

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Mercedes W125 record-breaking car (1938) - thanks to ice cooling, the front opening is only for the intake air

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Vanwall 2-liter (1954) - received the nickname "draught-stopper"

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Renault Grand Prix (1906) - Radiator in the middle of the car

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Renault Grand Prix (1906) - radiator-free front

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Bugatti 35 (1924) - Classic radiator as a design element and status symbol

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Sacha-Gordin Formula 1 (1953) - A revolutionary concept

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Sacha-Gordin Formula 1 (1953) - Exhaust air ducts between upper and lower chassis tubes

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Summary

The "combustion engine" is actually a heat-power machine that generates more heat than power. This heat must be kept in check, which is achieved with the - popularly named - radiator. A refreshing typology of the radiator arrangement in racing cars from 1966 onwards, with brief detours into the early days.

This article contains the following chapters

Front radiator
The radiator moves to the rear
Surface radiators - tried again and again, always unsuccessful
Ice cooling

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Who isn't looking to cool down wherever possible on these hot days? Cooling has always been a hot topic throughout the history of automotive technology - and it still is today with electric cars (batteries). The "combustion engine", as it is almost contemptuously called today, is actually a heat-power machine, a thermal engine, as it is much more euphoniously called in France. It generates more heat than power, and this heat must be kept in check. There are only two ways to do this: The direct one, in which airstream or air moved by the blower cools the engine, or the indirect one, in which the engine temperature is brought under control via an air-water heat exchanger. In other words, what is commonly known as a radiator, which for decades was the most striking design and distinguishing feature of most car manufacturers.

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