IndyCar envisions cars getting ‘lower, sleeker’
IndyCar’s next evolution of race car — a uniform body kit that president of competition and operations Jay Frye describes as borrowing design elements from multiple eras — will be used from 2018 to 2020 before the series assesses a next move, hopefully, he told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday, with input from at least two new engine manufacturers.
Current manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda will again provide body kits to teams this season, but development has been frozen as the series moves away from the unpopular and expensive assemblies after two seasons.
A rendering of the uniform model, which has been developed to a scale model stage for testing purposes, will be unveiled Feb. 10-11 at a Verizon IndyCar Series test at Phoenix International Raceway, Frye said. Dallara was re-signed to a multiyear deal to provide safety cells for IndyCar, but Frye said the series has not decided who will build the uniform kit.
Whoever its designer, the kit will feature lower engine covers and be “lower, sleeker, what an IndyCar has historically looked like,” Frye said.
“We looked at cars over the past 20 years, and we tried to pick parts and pieces off of different cars that we liked and that we thought were cool,” Frye said. “This car will have a lot of retro to it.
“If you look at Chevrolet right now with a ’68 Camaro, the ’17 Camaro is a retro version of that but very high-tech. It’s not a ’68 Camaro, but it certainly looks like one.
“We think this car will be aesthetically exciting for the fans.”
Frye says results from a first test of the uniform kit have been “shocking, in a good way, since we kind of reverse-engineered this car” but offered no comparisons in terms of speed or downforce.
The primary source of down- force, which holds cars to the racing surface through corners, should come from the undercarriage instead of wings on top of it, as is currently the case. That is sure to be popular with drivers seeking greater opportunities to close and pass.
Rudimentary testing was done regarding aesthetics and downforce by pulling elements off the current car for tests at Phoenix and Mid- Ohio Sports Car Course.
Frye says the series has had discussions with three or four engine manufacturers and has provided them financial plans and “so far no one has told us ‘no.’ ”
Prospective new engine manufacturers were allowed input into the development of the uniform kit as a precursor to possible involvement and as a way to freshen the process. Frye said it would likely take a new manufacturer 18 to 24 months to join the series.
The 2017 season begins March 12 in Florida with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.