|
To Lee:
I'm open to any and all ideas on this one...that is what this site is all about...
However, for whatever it is worth...
6.5 Liters is about 396 cubic inches...just about the same size engine that ran in the 2002 Corvettes at Le Mans last summer (just a couple of cc's unde 6.6, according to last year's ACO official entry list)...a displacement widely accepted as a "Big Block" in any car enthusiast's book...whether it is a racer, a classic car nut, or a manufacturer...
The only reason why I didn't suggest higher displacements is that an even bigger engine might give the LMP 1000 a little more of an advantage than maybe it should receive in power just to overcome 200 extra lbs. of weight that they would carry....
I also took a look at what might be a realistic, accepted powerplant range by the ACO for this proposed category....
I proposed this engine range to marry the rough equivalent displacement and horsepower capabilities of the "Super Car" engines we see in GTS with the aero and lighter chassis weight advantages enjoyed by the LMP categories (GTS roughly ranges from 1100-1300 or 1400 kg, doesn't it? -- please verify...I'm not sure)
The aero advantages would make them faster than a GTS, while giving this new category the choice between "More Power vs. a little extra weight & less fuel mileage" as their trade-off in the prototype category in general...
I thought the trade-off would be worth a risk for some race teams as an option...
However, I'm wide open on running any size power in this theoretical category...I'd love to watch and listen to a sleek prototype roar by with an 8.6 Hemi, or an even bigger behemoth (you're right - 10.5 is a behemoth!), pushing it down the track....
Thanks for your thoughts...even bigger might make this new category that much more interesting...
|