Radical new IndyCar prototype has LSR look

[aircap]

Described as "a landspeed car crashed into a Cessna", Ganassi Racing unveiled the DeltaWing - a prototype IndyCar that should be lighter and faster than current versions.
Read and decide:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100210/IRL/100219986

[racefanwfo]

I LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HotRodV8]

My 2 cents.

I don't like it. My first impression is it looks like the Batmobile that went to college and just made it through final exams because Dad made a donation to the college.

I see they wanted to go Green in the new design. I can understand that.

I haven't paid much attention to Indy cars in the last 20 years. It doesn't look "Indyish" to an old guy like me. They say it is 50% more aero that the present car. It doesn't look like it, but they have numbers to prove my eyes wrong.

Looking at the salty streamliner like body, it tells me they will have some difficulty adapting to different race tracks and racing conditions on the Indy circuit. I'd wonder about tire temperatures at Indy during the hot temperatures of the end of May. I think the present Indy car with all the front and rear wings to adjust would be easier to match changing race conditions than on a full "Delta Body" design.

I think they made it to green, but not to mean.

[wolcottjl]

Looks like a trike

[Peter Jack]

I want to see what happens when some driver decides to shoot through a narrow gap. Seems to be asking for the "big one" in Indy Car racing.

Pete

[Blue]

I gotta say that I really like it.  This would be a massive improvement aerodynamically (my own opinion, not taking their numbers for granted).  I especially like the drive towards more speed from less power.  It would help teach everyone the power of good aerodynamics (minimal separation on that back end) and get people asking the right questions.

Neglecting traction and stability issues, 235 mph on 300 HP would equate to 470 mph on 1200 HP.  Fun stuff.

[jimmy six]

Covered or open wheel. streamliner or lakester. streamliner faster...Who Knew

[Tzoom]

Streamlined for straight line speed but with no visible gadgets for creating down force and a narrow front end I think when it gets to the end of the straight away it will continue to go straight.  Another Inbred Racing League (IRL) POS

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Well, it does say that there's a downforce generator built into the underside and front of the car.

Oh, for the olden days.  I first went to the Indy 500 in 1961 -- and saw every race (but one) 'til '68.  Ah, the Offy engines, the wave of methanol exhaust as they made the first pass down the straight (Dad and I sat at about the finish line a few rows back from the fence -- will never forget that particular moment), the excitement of hearing the pack come down out of #4 corner, 33 strong, and still the sound of the Novi motor was easy to pick out as they came roaring towards us.

I somehow think that the rush of then was way more exciting than the zoom of today's cars.  And this new one -- well, maybe faster, maybe safer - but nowhere near the fun.

[Dreamweaver]

With all that downforce and weight on the rear tires seems like not a lot of grip on the front end for turning into a corner.

.24 cd, not exactly groundbreaking when a Prisus is what .25?

Would look like a fleet of Batmobiles tho.

Interesting concept.

[Anvil*]

Looks like they're suggesting Indy stop open-wheel racing and consider a Sports Racer. I was rather fond of the Can-Am series, but never really thought of them as oval-track cars.

[robfrey]

Anvil, I too liked the Trans-Am cars of the early seventies but they did kill a bunch of the best drivers. Ferrari 512s, Porsche 917s, Lolas, McLarens with all aluminum BBCs. Ooooooh Yeeeeeeah!
 
Blue, no surprise you like this. LOL.

Something just seems wrong about budgeting fuel flow on a race car but I can't say that I haven't thought of this for a class at Bonneville. It would probably an additional liner class that would bring a lot of corp. money to the LSR game. I'm not sure it would be a good thing or bad thing.

[robfrey]

Something tells me that these cars will rely heavily on left / right brake biasing to get them to turn in as good as they do on the simulation.

[Milwaukee Midget]

I haven't paid much attention to open wheel racing since the Formula 5000 series - the most notable in my mind being Mark Donohue's AMC powered Lola. 

I like this as a concept - kind of a hybrid of a traditional open wheel car with Group 7 overtones and LSR aero cues, but I just don't see me sitting at Turn 5 at Road America with a beer or a brat in my hand waiting to see it come around the corner.  It's just too sterile.

[RidgeRunner]

     An interesting engineering exercise, I'm always looking for aero tech to apply for LSR efforts.

 Ref Reply #11: 
               In my opinion, A lot of corporate money away from LSR has helped to keep the individual   innovation as a primary attraction of LSR for me.  While some high dollar but low key assistance in the past has been good, should the almighty dollar ever rise to the forefront attached as ultimate corporate greed it would be bad for the sport as a whole.

                     Ed