INDYCAR: Judd Interested In Finding A New Engine Partner

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Judd Interested In Finding A New Engine Partner

With the recent confirmation that Lotus has departed IndyCar, its former engine builder is interested in advancing the project with a new partner.

Marshall Pruett | Posted December 19, 2012

Judd's 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine was making progress before Lotus stopped funding the program and ultimately departed the series. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

The troubles and travails associated with Lotus’ foray into the IndyCar Series as an engine manufacturer have been well documented, but there could be a positive ending for the partner that did all the heavy lifting.

To briefly recap what took place prior to Lotus' formal exit from the series earlier this month, once the storied marque committed to supplying engines to the series in late 2010, its financial department crippled the program before it got off the ground by allocating a minuscule budget.

The program also got started far later than its rivals at Chevy and Honda, and with a lack of time and dollars conspiring against their success, Lotus showed up for the season opener at St. Petersburg looking wholly unprepared for the task at hand.

John Judd would like to see the IndyCar engine he designed and built continue with the involvement of another manufacturer. (Photo: LAT)

With Engine Developments Limited--the English firm contracted to design and build the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 for Lotus--working minor miracles to get enough engines onto the grid for St. Pete, it had little time to recover once the season began its steady march towards its September finale.

Four of the five Lotus-powered entries would abandon ship before the Indy 500 in May, leaving HVM Racing as a one-car representative for the brand, and by default, the only team capable of testing engine updates while Chevy and Honda battled among themselves.

EDL's engine, designed by company founder John Judd, was showing signs of progress on road and street courses as the season progressed, but with Lotus quietly pulling the plug on financing the powerplant well before the conclusion of the championship, its full potential was never realized.

Given the recent clean break from Lotus, Judd told SPEED.com he’d welcome the chance to resume EDL’s IndyCar program with a new manufacturer.

“At the moment, to continue in IndyCar, we’d need a manufacturer that has a contract with the series,” he said. “We haven’t had any approaches so far, but the most likely way would be through IndyCar. The engine is there, and it’s available.”

Although Lotus was associated with the project before it was halted, Judd confirmed there are no strings attached for 2013 and beyond.

“The IP (intellectual property) and the physical parts all belong to us," said the former CART Indy car engine supplier. "All the engines are our property and have ownership of all the tooling and everything else to produce more engines, to develop them and to support a continuation of the program.”

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