Astra Ferkin

## Firkin

The pre-production show car, shown in Tatooine Orange.

The **Astra Firkin** is a mid-engine, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) hypercar developed and built by Astra. Limited to just 150 units, it is the lowest production Astra ever. The name "Firkin" is the NATO codename for the Russian Sukhoi Su-47 experimental fighter jet. The name was chosen due to the Firkin being a groundbreaking model for Astra (the first hybrid, first hypercar and first mid-engine car), and it's low production numbers (only one Su-47 was ever built, and only 150 Firkins will ever be made).

### History

In 2018, the Astra Performance Development wing of Astra Motors began "Project Berkut" ("Berkut" being the Russian nickname of the Su-47). The goal of Project Berkut was to develop a mid-engine hypercar, to be used as a high-performance testbed for a number of technologies, including hybrid powertrains, fully-electric drive, active pushrod suspension, ground effect, flex-fuel capability, etc.
APD developed a whole new engine and platform for the Firkin, even when given the option to use an existing engine (the main candidate being the 4L twin-turbo V12 from the Pyrios R). The new engine was a 5.0L twin-turbo V8 which produced 760hp, while a custom carbon fiber monocoque, dubbed FK1, was created solely for this car (APD won't allow its use on other cars).

### Overview

#### Exterior

The exterior design was primarily driven by aerodynamics, with a number of air channels in both the front and rear designed to balance out downforce and drag. Early on in the project, the idea of a large rear wing was scrapped, as APD engineers and designers decided it would not fit Astra's overall design language. The underbody is designed to produce as much downforce as possible, with a large rear diffuser to produce the necessary downforce for track driving while maintaining a clean design over the car.

#### Interior

The interior follows the same principles of optimization and minimalist design as the exterior. To maintain a low weight while retaining creature comforts like electrically adjustable seats, air conditioning, and an infotainment suite, the designers heavily relied on carbon fiber.

#### Drivetrain

The Firkin is the first ever hybrid Astra. It is powered by a 5.0L twin-turbo V8 which produces 760hp, and is assisted by two electric motors, each producing 200hp. In total, when fully deployed, the Firkin produces 1160hp. The front motor, called MGU-F, drives the front axle, while the rear motor (MGU-R) is attached to the crankshaft, in the same style as the MGU-K in a Formula One power unit. Originally, an additional 2 motors were to be attached to the turbos to help spool them up and collect energy from them, however the small performance gain was deemed not worth the extra cost and complexity.

The Firkin has multiple hybrid modes, those being:

- Comfort: The motors dynamically adjust their deployment to improve smoothness and fuel economy.

- Charge: The motors are set to maximum energy recovery. The MGU-R pulls energy from the combustion engine while the MGU-F collects energy when braking to charge the batteries.

- Sport and Race: Track oriented modes. Sport mode has a reduced deployment to save power while Race almost fully deploys the motors on corner exit.

- Qualifying: Track-only mode. Maximizes hybrid deployment on corner exit and depletes the battery in just one lap.

- VMAX: Top speed mode. Hybrid deployment is reduced at low speeds, while the motors fully engage starting at 200mph. The 270mph top speed can only be achieved in this mode.

Sport, Race, Qualifying and VMAX modes also lower and stiffen the suspension.