Reynard 02S

The Reynard 02S was a Le Mans Prototype race car built by Reynard Motorsport in 2002. Intended to replace the failed Reynard 2KQ prototype, the 02S would end up becoming the final new design from Reynard as the company went bankrupt prior to the project's completion.

International Racing Management bought the rights to the 02S project and would complete the car under the name DBA4 03S. In 2004, Zytek would be tasked with building more chassis, which would be sold under the name Zytek 04S before being upgraded to the Zytek 06S. A further alternative was created by Creation Autosportif in 2006, named the Creation CA06/H. Some of the chassis continue to be used, although they have been extensively modified from the original Reynard designs.

In 2000 Reynard had introduced the 2KQ prototype to customers with mixed success. The car was plagued with aerodynamic problems that led to many customers quickly moving on to better chassis. Even after an attempt to modify the 2KQ with an upgrade package in 2001 called the 01Q, Reynard decided that an all new car was necessary. At the same time, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, had reorganized the Le Mans Prototype classifications with the creation of the LMP900 and LMP675 classes.

Due to similarities in the design characteristics of LMP900 and LMP675 chassis, Reynard set about designing a chassis that could run in either class, dependent upon ballast and the type of engine installed. However the car was originally built around the use of a Zytek ZG348 V8, built to the LMP675 maximum size of 3400 cc. A new sequential gearbox built by Ricardo would integrate a paddle-shift system on the steering wheel that was designed specifically for the 02S. The bodywork of the 02S, designed by Will Phillips, would be very low in design with a tall rear wing set to the maximum allowable height.

When Reynard went bankrupt, International Racing Management (IRM) bought the rights to the 02S designs as well as the unfinished chassis. The project was initially offered to the Japanese team YGK with the belief that the car would be renamed as YGK 02S, but they passed on further developing the car. RN Motorsport would eventually become part of the project, and following its debut under the Reynard guise at the 2002 Petit Le Mans, the car would be renamed a DBA4 03S (later shortened to simply DBA 03S). Carsten Rae, co-owner of RN Motorsport, chose the DBA name in honor of the newspaper he owned, Den Blå Avis. Very little was changed by IRM between the initial Reynard development work and the finished product that appeared in late 2002.

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