TRW Steers Le Mans Winners

    DUSSELDORF, Germany--Aug. 2, 2001--TRW's power steering is gaining a winning reputation in the motorsport world with another year of success in the Le Mans 24 hour race.
    Both the winning and runner up Audi RS 8 cars in the 2001 race were fitted with the company's leading technology - making it the fourth successive win for a car using TRW power steering.
    In addition to these first and second place Audi vehicles, TRW worked with the Audi race team, which won the top three places in 2000, and the winning BMW and Porsche teams in 1999 and 1998 respectively. TRW is also heavily involved in developing technologies for a number of Formula One teams.
    "We are leading the field in terms of technology development and this win shows a little of what our power steering offers in terms of reliability and performance," said Aly Badawy, vice president, engineering, steering, linkage and suspension for TRW Chassis Systems. "We have developed special performance hydraulic steering gears made of lightweight materials such as magnesium, titanium and carbon mixes to deliver the race-winning performance characteristics demonstrated over the past four years."
    Dieter Fehlings, engineering director for TRW's European steering operations, headed up the work with the 2001 teams. "For the Le Mans race, we have to develop steering systems that are reliable to withstand the varied conditions that drivers can face during a 24-hour race," he explained. "The drivers need to have a responsive steer and to be able to feel the road handling in diverse road conditions. The balance between providing power assistance and providing the responsiveness is very important.
    "By developing these systems for motorsport teams, we can research the affect of heavy driving conditions and high performance requirements on our steering technologies and apply these finding to the development work for the vehicle manufacturers for the general market."
    TRW's Dusseldorf, Germany engineering team works with the race teams to develop the systems according to the drivers' requirements.
    TRW is leading the industry in developing the next generation of electrically powered steering systems as well as developing the electrically powered hydraulic systems such as those used in this year's winning vehicles.
    TRW Chassis Systems is a world leader in braking systems, steering and suspension systems, commercial steering, engine components and aftermarket replacement parts for the global automotive industry.
    TRW Inc. provides advanced technology products and services to the automotive, aerospace, telecommunications and information technology markets worldwide. TRW, which is celebrating its 100th year of operations in 2001, had 2000 year-end sales of $17.2 billion. For more information, visit www.trw.com.