Interesting Item on New Chassis in Indy Star (Merged)

[NaBUru38]

Planet-IRL published three evolutionary proposals. One is too conservative, another one pretty ugly, and the middle one is fine to me.

[johntt]

Agree, the yelow one is the best looking. The Delta Wing is due to be shown off next week sometime.

[jondownunder]

Can't say I like any of those designs much. Hate to say it, but I think I prefer the evolution of the current chassis out of the three.

More on Dallara's submissions...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81298

Apparently there are four contenders still under consideration to build the new chassis:

-Dallara
-Delta Wing
-Lola
-Swift

The IRL are also stipulating the new car will have to be built in the USA.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81292

I think it's an absolute tragedy they're going down the single chassis route. It's an insult to what pre-split IndyCar was and should be aiming to return to.

[JagtechOhio]

And no where have they made any mention at all of trying to enable the old chassis to remain in competition. So the old cars are worthless the day orders are placed for the new chassis, and teams that can't afford the changeover are gone the same day.

The red car with front wheel fairings and flat rear deck is the bomb. Still Indy in character, but easily distinguished from F1.

And nothing gets a finalized design or protype construction until IndyCar writes an engine spec.

[Tim Northcutt]

I could live with 2 or 3...Gold or the Red one that JagTechOhio likes...The other red car is too much like the current car, and the current chassis is butt ugly, IMO

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

I think it's an absolute tragedy they're going down the single chassis route. It's an insult to what pre-split IndyCar was and should be aiming to return to.

I totally agree, they are just replacing one spec series with another, the novelty of which will soon wear off when people are fed of seeing the same car, all be it in a different color scheme, whizz by.

Has it definitely been confirmed the IRL are going down the single chassis route?

[climb]

this issue has been discussed millions times; the problem is not what's more beautiful, but what can you afford.
Currently the AOWR cannot afford a multiple chassis/engine series, period

[bjohnsonsmith]

Affordability aside, I thought the IRL was considering multiple chassis.

[Alwaysfirst]

I just think that they're all really disapointing. It's not that hard to come up with a beautiful racecar & all of the Dallara proposals are miles off IMO. I'd rather see the current chassis continue racing that see any of those monstrosities on track.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I know I've said this before and I'll say it again. If I had my way I'd give the teams a load of old Reynard and Lola chassis; there have got to be quite a few knocking about and say there you go, now get on with it.

[Tim Northcutt]

#3 remindes me of the early 1980s Teddy Yip design for the Gurney Eagle that Mike Mosley, Danny Ongais, and for his rookie year, Little Al drove. It also reminds me a little of the Coyote chassis that AJ Foyt drove in the mid-1970s... It carries hints of both designs.

#2 reminds me of the early 1970s Parnelli "Super Team" cars that were sponsored by Viceroy (Al Sr. and Mario drove them) and Joe Leonard's Samsonite-sponsored car on that three-car team....especially the sloping sidepods.

Do an image search and see if you can notice the resemblances that I recall of those chassis when compared to these two concepts.

[bjohnsonsmith]

The first car looks like a modern *******isation of a late '90s Reynard/Lola. #2 I don't much care for and #3 looks like a rip off of the Fioravanti LF1 Racer that appeared at the 2009 Genenva Auto Show.

[johntt]

Having now seen them from multiple angles...

#1 is like a de-uglied version of the current chassis. A big improvement obviously, but lazy and too conservative a design.

#2 is a ripoff of the DP01. No bad thing IMO

#3 Too retro. Too backward looking. Fill in the area behind the rear wheels and we have a new Can-Am car

I would take #1 or #2 over the current chassis any day.

[miatanut]

Originally Posted by climb

this issue has been discussed millions times; the problem is not what's more beautiful, but what can you afford.
Currently the AOWR cannot afford a multiple chassis/engine series, period

FF has multiple chassis.

They can come up with something more beautiful and attract some of us back.
They can come up with multiple chassis and attract some of us back.
Or
They can keep going the ugly spec car route and we only pay attention to them to laugh at them, and they stay stuck in the deep pit they're in.

I don't see how they can afford NOT to make some change from the status quo.

[ger80]

Agree, F3 and sportscar (LMP & DP) also have different chassis without getting unaffordable. Key is of course to have regulations that limit cost somehow.
Dont like the "chassis has to be build in the US" rule - is that driven by Obama?

[jondownunder]

The original planet-irl article has been updated to link to a page of further Dallara images:

http://planet-irl.com/2010/02/05/mor...-from-dallara/

Now I can see the first one looks just as bad as the current car from the front.

The second one from the front reminds me of the F.Nippon Swift or a Formula Zip.

[icemachine]

I like the front end of #2, the centre of #3 and the rear wing on #1, who wants to do the mash up???

[nickyf1]

The First and Second ones are nice, although they look a bit to ''retro-future'' and remember, real life versions always look much nicer than the renders!

A1GP Lola for example!

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

Now I can see the first one looks just as bad as the current car from the front.

The same happened to me. I hadn't noticed the bubble around the cockpit the first time.

[gttouring]

#1 seems an evolution not a revolution
and what is the general size of these thingS?
I thought the slightly smaller DP01 size in champcar was a good direction to go in
#2 more of the same.
#3 wow that is different- if they can blend #2 and #3 to some degree i think a very unique and great new platform can be found- if they are all one make then what else can we expect...-
i would prefer chassis to be free, and development allowed instead of weight penalties in other series...
if you win you are frozen for 3 races. if you land a podium somecan be submitted. if you are out of the top ten well you can submit side pod and diffuser changes (this is per make not team- so if Lola or Gforce wins and this gforce is in 10th well sucks for them the car wasn't the issue. same with engines a manufacturer can submit one revision per season...

[mountainstar]

My opinion is they are throwing all kinds of crap at the ceiling to see what sticks. Not anything groundbreaking or interesting nor anything that suggests the irl has any clue what the hell they are doing from here on out.

It's time to man up and stop being a pus and come up with some good open regulations. Stop being scared of competition.

I believe that is one of the many reasons the irl is on the sporting level of table tennis and springboard driving and no one cares anymore is the whole series is wimpy. Totally unchallenging cars and competition and effeminate wussy drivers.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Does any one from the IRL read or subscribe to 10-10nths?

[JagtechOhio]

Everyone reads what they want to read, and ignores the facts as they wish. The comment I posted below will probably be ignored here, just as it was on the blog where it was published:

"So here’s my editorial. I’m guessing that after 65 years, the Hulman family and all that is IMS and IICS have a deep relationship with local and State politics. The Mayor of Indianapolis led a delegation to Europe last fall (source: Indiana Business Journal) to develop the business relationships that would find investors and create jobs for Speedway. Didn’t Mr. Dallara’s public committment just seal the deal?

Game over.

I write questions, technical and promotional initiatives, position statements, etc. on this forum and another one in the U.S., with a larger audience. No member from inside the racing community has ever commented as a result, even if it was just to call me a horse'e pitoot.

No one reads this stuff except a few interested fans, and a few persistent malcontents.

IndyCar doesn't even read direct submissions to their own sites. Or resumes and marketing plans delivered to their own desks.

We are watching big business at work, nothing more. So we can sit back in our familiar role as spectators, not participants.

I'd much rather wait to watch some great racing action in 2010. That's the first priority, and one that is beimg overlooked by the fans who discuss the future, and the managment who is charged with shaping it.

Andy

[bjohnsonsmith]

Oh well, I'll just content myself with the odd pithy comment once a month, watch F1 and LMS instead and sod the IRL.

[JagtechOhio]

Feel free to sod the IndyCar Series if you wish.

I don't want to see them get buried beneath it.