LED headlights for endurance race cars has been launched by Derbyshire-based RaceTech Harnessing.
They will make their debut at the 2013 Sebring 12hrs in Florida, and are being installed for the Le Mans 24 hour race.
The endurance race lights joint a range of LED headlights that RaceTech has developed over the past few years.
UK sub-contractors provide the parts.
DK Thermal of Hertfordshire, for example, provides custom metal-backed PCBs to heatsink, connect and locate the LEDs.
"LED intensity, colour temperature and luminous efficacy now supersedes the performance of conventional automotive lighting systems," said DK Thermal. "In addition LEDs are able to withstand shock and vibration much better than conventional light sources and have a very long life-span, which explains their use in a number of road cars."
LEDs come mostly from Osram Optosemiconductors.
"We prefer Osram LEDs. It seem to be the only company pushing [car headlight LED] development. Efficacy is improving every six months," said RaceTech director John Truman.
This said, one RaceTech headlight design has an LED from LEDengin - a company specialising in uncompromising heat extraction.
Optics are all custom.
"The beam is always the tricky part. I have tried standard off-the-shelf optics," said Truman. "I use an outside specialist, a local freelance optical designer using Zemax software. The optical designer recommends glass lenses for best performance, which I get made by another local company."
Glass lenses get a clear polycarbonate protective cover, and one model has an 80mm injection moulded plastic lens - this is the one with the LEDengin LED.
So far the company has four different lenses for four different beam geometries, from wide, "almost like a dip beam", said Truman, to narrow angle for longer range.
Endurance racing cars have to have lights on all the time. RaceTech generally recommends a mix of dip-like and main beams, and race teams fit two, four or six lights, all of which go on at night.
The photograph shows a five LED 100mm diameter light, there is also a 70mm three LED version of this one.
