INDYCAR: Dyson-Led Group Submits 2014 Indy Lights Proposal

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Dyson-Led Group Submits 2014 Indy Lights Proposal

SPEED's Marshall Pruett confirms a newly-formed constructor, led by Dyson Racing, hopes to earn the 2014 Indy Lights chassis contract.

Marshall Pruett | Posted August 21, 2012

With Lola's attractive 2012 IndyCar rendering shown here as a reference, the Hulman chassis is said to share some of its features while bringing new solutions to other sections of the car. (Photo: Lola)

The interest surrounding the 2014 Indy Lights car continues to grow as a new constructor has stepped forward to submit a chassis and engine proposal.

SPEED.com's sources have confirmed that a group led by Dyson Racing, along with a collection of ex-Lola employees, have entered the running to supply a car it has dubbed the "Hulman" in honor of Tony Hulman and the Hulman George family that owns both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IZOD IndyCar Series.

If the Hulman HGIL014, which bears some resemblance to Lola's 2012 IndyCar renderings, is accepted by the series as the new 2014 Indy Lights car, the chassis would contain state-of-the-art design, the latest technologies and would be manufactured in North America.

Through the Dyson's controlling interest in the UK-based Advanced Engine Research company, the same Mazda-badged 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine used in the team's championship-winning ALMS LMP1 program would be offered as part of the Hulman chassis package.

Chris Dyson, left, and Guy Smith, right, won the ALMS race at Road America last weekend in their No. 16 Dyson Racing entry. (Photo: LAT)

Despite the convenience of offering a total vehicle solution, the 2014 Indy Lights selection committee will make the final choice on chassis/engine combination. If the AER engine is chosen, it would be open for manufacturer branding.

The team behind the Hulman project has also put forth a proposal that would allow its chassis to be leased, a break from the normal convention of buying chassis.

As a rough pricing guideline for the Hulman chassis/engine to work from, the current Indy Lights car, manufactured by Dallara in Italy, retails for a base price of $168,000, with another $25,000 required to buy the road course kit and $15,000 for electronics, bringing the total to $198,000.

The series' naturally-aspirated V8 engine, formerly badged as an Infiniti, costs teams right at $100,000 per year once rebuilds are added to its base lease figure.

DeltaWing, Swift and Mygale are also known to have submitted chassis proposals with some targeting a total chassis price in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.

On the engine front, Honda, with its 2.8-liter, twin-turbo V6 ALMS P2 engine, has tendered an engine supply proposal along with an enticing Indy Lights-to-IndyCar assistance package.

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