New design Lemans race car

[CobraEd]

Very radical!

DeltaWing, a Nissan-powered race Batmobile, zooming into Le Mans | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos



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[Ron61]

It is certainly different looking from what we are used to seeing. It will be interesting to see how well it works out at high speed.

Ron

[computerworks]

The car was built by Dan Gurney's AAR shop...

All American Racers: Home Page

[carmine]

Kewl.
Very Kewl.

This is what happens when you think outside the box.

[Donunder]

Panos Gurney Franchitti -- pretty handy team.
But, it has to understeer doesn't it? Four inch wide front tyres? Maybe if it ran four fronts like the Tyrrell P34 back in the mid seventies it might grip but it would still be challenging the laws of physics you'd have to think.
It's still a great looker though and smarter minds than mine are obviously at work to make it a success.

[Steve Cassani]

Somehow the forces that would result in understeer are carried by the rear suspension. I don't know how this works. My guess has the static weight balance well aft of the center of the car. Breaking into a corner will transfer weight forward but not past the center. Prompt acceleration will redistribute the weight back to the rear tires, preventing the anticipated imbalance with understeer from occurring. The car is very light, less than 1600 pounds. A four inch wide contact patch by two tires, with no more than say 300 pounds suspended at the front, would work to slow the car without losing lateral adhesion so long as breaking was not kept too late.

The delta wing first surfaced as an option for Indy car racing. The dynamic I'm guessing is more a problem in road courses and the design had to have worked on ovals as well. I can't get my head around the mechanics in either setting and I'm far more interested in seeing the delta proven than any of the 'advances' in suspension and design that have come up in the last two decades.

[Cobra #3170]

They were testing at Buttonwillow near Bakersfield California with Michelin, it was very fast in a straight line as would be expected and cornered respectably too. A narrow front turns in really well and tends to transfer more weight at the rear at a given roll angle. Ultimate lateral front grip might be compromised but if it is light enough it would work with a narrow track. It is all about balance anyway, if the front and rear are balanced it will work and it may be fast enough in a straight line to offset whatever cornering force it is giving up at the front.

[Three Peaks]

Hard to tell from the video, but it seems to have plenty of understeer and doesn't seem to stick in the corners enough to be competitive. I'm sure a lot of development is ahead for this new chassis, but it seems a couple small canard wings in the front would do wonder to help it stick in the corners without causing too much downforce for the powerplant to overcome.
I'm anxious to see how it will do at Le Mans- I like seeing guys thinking outside the box and making it work....

Bob

[LMH]

Radical is one word to describe it. Fugly would be another. It's looks fast in straight line but I just can't see it cornering well. I guess we'll see.
Larry

[rjbh20]

Originally Posted by Cobra #3170

They were testing at Buttonwillow near Bakersfield California with Michelin, it was very fast in a straight line as would be expected and cornered respectably too. A narrow front turns in really well and tends to transfer more weight at the rear at a given roll angle. Ultimate lateral front grip might be compromised but if it is light enough it would work with a narrow track. It is all about balance anyway, if the front and rear are balanced it will work and it may be fast enough in a straight line to offset whatever cornering force it is giving up at the front.

The idea of trading downforce (i.e, cornering force) for straight line speed reminds me of two brilliant, but flawed designs -- the Chaparral 2H of 1969 The Chaparral Files (TCF) > THE 2H MYSTERY and the original AVS Shadow of 1968 1968 Shadow Lowline CanAm Prototype Images, Information and History | Conceptcarz.com . Both were racing failures that quickly added enormous wings & other aero devices to add downforce. Hope the Delta Wing does better, but I'm skeptical.

[Don]

IndyCar 2012 - IndyCar.com


" DeltaWing Racing Car Selected by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) for the 24 Heures du Mans in 2012

DeltaWing design and technology will be utilized by Project 56 Partners.
Two seat DeltaWing will focus on innovation to achieve ultra energy efficiency and 24 hour performance

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (June 9, 2011) – DeltaWing Racing Cars, of Indianapolis, today announced a major project milestone.
“We are pleased to announce a licensing agreement with the “Project 56 Partners” to utilize the DeltaWing design and technology for their participation in the 24 Heuers du Mans in June, 2012,” said Ben Bowlby, the concept’s originator. The Project 56 group includes Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, Dr. Don Panoz and Highcroft Racing.

“The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has shown great vision in creating an opportunity for an innovative and experimental vehicle such as the DeltaWing to participate “outside the classifications” in this famous event. The race has a long and glorious history, featuring the most advanced and technologically relevant racing cars. We are thrilled to have been invited to join the list of innovators and to honor the Spirit of Le Mans,” said Bowlby. "