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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Inside The 2012 Car
In what has been a well-kept secret, SPEEDtv.com can now reveal a proposal that would drastically change the culture of IndyCar racing.
Robin Miller  |  Posted December 10, 2009   Indianapolis, IN
Say goodbye to the dog-faced Dallara. Images of the wind tunnel model are being held for the official announcement, but if it makes it past the approval stage, look for the first wingless IndyCar in decades. (LAT)
An option for the proposed Indy car of the future is a jaw dropping, eco-friendly creation that's intended to excite the younger generation and automotive world as well as drastically reduce the costs and increase interest.

In what has been a well-kept secret the past several months due to people signing confidentiality agreements, SPEEDtv.com can now reveal a proposal that would drastically change the culture of IndyCar racing.

Spurred by the challenge of innovation, which has been absent from IndyCar for the past several years, longtime designer Ben Bowlby has spent the past 11 months getting creative.

Bowlby's design is a radical departure from the cars that have inhabited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the past 45 years. His plan is to make a much lighter car than today's but maintain the safety integrity and speeds of this past decade. He's also proposing a 4-cylinder, non-stressed, turbocharged engine that costs less than $140,000 and makes nearly 10 miles per gallon.

The chief engineer for Chip Ganassi and former chief designer at Lola, Bowlby has not only come up with a new car/engine concept, he's attempting to restore some free thinking to the Indianapolis 500.

"All the car owners agree we need innovation back at Indianapolis," said Bowlby. "We also need to be relevant to the spectators and to the manufacturers while reducing waste, making things more affordable and widening participation.

"We just want to give the IRL an innovative, creative option but we believe this can attract a renewed interest from car and engine manufacturers."

Owners Michael Andretti, Eric Bachelart, John Barnes, Tony George, Kevin Kalkhoven, Roger Penske, Dennis Reinbold, Kevin Kalkhoven, Keith Wiggins and Ganassi have endorsed building the protoype and formed a company called Delta Wing LLC.

The cars may be assembled in Indianapolis but the goal is to get everyone involved. And the state of Indiana is exploring the possibility of helping fund the prototype.

"Delta Wing will out-source all the parts and serve as a coordinating entity," continued Bowlby. "We will provide teams with components for the cars, quality assurance and management of development.

"But we're not interested in keeping any established racing car manufacturers out of the process. Our objective is to out-source the components to people from our industry."

Dallara, the Italian company that's currently the IRL's lone chassis manufacturer, is interested in continuing its participation when the new car is introduced in 2012.

Swift, which built cars in CART in the late '90s and continues to construct Formula Nippon, Atlantic and other open wheel classes, indicated last week it very much wanted to race at the Indy 500 in the future.

And Panoz, the supplier for Champ Car in 2007, remains active in many forms of North American motorsports.

Bowlby, whose simulations of weight/power/downforce on his car have been verified by at least two current IndyCar teams, hopes to have the prototype up and running by this June or July.

He's met on a couple occasions with Firestone, Honda and IRL officials, who have given their verbal OK to proceed with the prototype.





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Robin Miller

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