First looks of the Daytona Protypes

[LMP900]

This is the Fabcar Porsche, I'm falling in love with this car.

http://www.grand-am.com/photos/zoom....=134&photo=831

This is the Picchio

http://62.110.164.240:8082/english/Daytona/photo/01.jpg

Build quality seem quite high on both

[Banks]

Go to - www.brumosporsche.com/daytona_prototype.html
For a more detailed view

[SFonseca]

No, Give me the SRP'S anytime!!!!!!!

New Daytona prototypes are funny nothing more...

[Banks]

Surely , variety is good for the sport.
I think these prototypes could catch on. I know they don't fit the current Le Mans rules but someone will probably offer a solution before too long. As Porsche have put some input into this one you can bet the ACO is taking more than a glance at it.

[LMP900]

+ they look quite good, powerful and american, I think they'll catch on, there is only one problem the GTS class is extremely weak in Grand-Am so the overall Competition isn;t that good

[Fogelhund]

LMP900 - The GTS class in Grand-Am is essentially done. They outlawed unibody cars over 6.0 litres. GTS will now be AGT cars only.

They look quite good. Have you seen the Ford Focus DSP? Look under the dictionary for hideous and you'll see its picture. The Picchio is decent though.

[Lee Janotta]

Well, besides the obvious fact that they have about as much power as a good F3 car, these cars just look funky... They're too tall for such small cars.

I really was hoping for something to the proportions of the 911GT1... Y'know, something that looks like an honest prototype for a production car?

One of these just doesn't belong. Guess which.

[LMP900]

OK the Focus is really hideous but the fabcar and the Piccio are quite nice!

[Aysedasi]

Originally posted by LMP900
OK the Focus is really hideous but the fabcar and the Piccio are quite nice!

I'm with you, I think they both look marvellous. Cars with roofs on - just how it should be.

[cybersdorf]

Do LMPs/GTPs and DSPs compare? They are built to different specifications. The GTP and DSP have the roof in common but that's pretty much it. I don't expect to see these cars at Le Mans (funny how everything is seen in a Le Mans context here ) - GA wants to stay in America anyway. The two series are heading in different directions, and that may not such a bad thing - now every "product" has its own identity, and can build its own fan base.

Porsche's input was probably some engine know-how and a pair of 996 headlights, btw - this is not a "Porsche prototype". Fabcar has plans for this chassis with other engines and other "identikits" (e.g. Dodge, Toyota).

[LMP900]

still with all of those makes that are getting involved it will make for a good series

[LMP900]

chassis builders that is

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by cybersdorf
Porsche's input was probably some engine know-how and a pair of 996 headlights, btw - this is not a "Porsche prototype". Fabcar has plans for this chassis with other engines and other "identikits" (e.g. Dodge, Toyota).

Yup... NASCAR.

[MulsanneMike]

So far I'm more underwhlemed than I thought I would be. The Focus DSP is, well, words don't do it justice. It looks like one of those cars you drew when you were 12 and thought was awsome. Now when you look, it reminds you of your youthful enthusiasm but also of your naivity and immaturity. But quite frankly the Focus is wretched and borderline rediculous and calling it immature is giving it too much credit. The FABCAR is a step up, though it still is very awkward visually. The Picchio is the tops. Though I'm pretty sure any design professor would tell you to go back to the drawing board with any of these cars simply from an aesthetics standpoint. Squat, awkward, inelegant.

I'm sorry that this is somewhat scathing, but right now I really don't see the draw to these cars. To me, looking at any of these DSPs and comparing them to any LMP/LMGTP is like looking at the Lazer 917 kit car and comparing it to the actual Porsche 917. One is an awful interpertation of the other.

Of course to clarify all stated above, it is simply my opinion so don't crucify me for it!

[FastJoel31]

No matter how these cars look (the Picchio isn't that bad), they still lack some major power/regulatory freedom.

Either way, I am going to wait and see how the Daytona 24 Hours goes before I am going to make a true judgement.

[LMP900]

well, it seems to me that the Focus is an halfhearted attempt by ford. I really do like the Fabcar but the Piccio is awful when you look at it from the front. Perhaps R&S will built a better looking car :S Still the fabcar is good!

[Speeddemon555]

I kinda like those prototypes. If ACO looked at these new cars, they might put in their own class against the 900s, 675s, GTS and GTs.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by MulsanneMike
Of course to clarify all stated above, it is simply my opinion so don't crucify me for it!

(Isn't that what you get crucified for? People who don't have an opinion usually do quite well )
Anyway - I thought the renderings of the Multimatic looked strange because they were poorly done, but they had more of a Focus "tie-in". Whether this was a good idea from the outset is another question altogether, but as a "gimmick" it could have been kind of neat. Now, with the "faux LMP" high nose, it does indeed look *ahem* different to what I had expected.
Speaking of opinions, mine was from the outset that GrandAm should have gone for an all-GT format. TransAm for grown-ups, so to speak. Instead of a mandating a prototype formula - just because "we have prototypes too!" - that due to marketing interests is now being "roadified" again (outwardly anyway), why not apply the current AGT/TransAm concept of the road car silhouette? The Rocketsports Jag XKR that came 4th at the Daytona 24, for instance, isn't anything but a prototype either. It certainly isn't a Jaguar
Neither of these cars have anything to do with the road cars in question so, why bother.

[Cynic]

Couldn't download the pic of the fabcar, but the Picchio looks awful. Maybe the name is a mis-spelling of Pinocchio? Anyway, do we really need yet another car class, especially when teams are always saying that they want some sort of common ground between the ACO and everybody else.

[NME]

wHAT IS THE AVERAGE COST OF THE CARS ?

WHAT ABOUT EXPECTED RUNNING COSTS IN GRAND-AM?

[Osella]

Picchio looks lovely IMHO, a bit Audi Avus-like.
That Focus takes the biscuit though... what next, a Pontiac Aztek Prototype?

[mickj]

I like the Focus, and all the others.

[Fogelhund]

Originally posted by Fogelhund
LMP900 - The GTS class in Grand-Am is essentially done. They outlawed unibody cars over 6.0 litres. GTS will now be AGT cars only.

and having made this somewhat factual post, Mosler comes out and introduces their new GTS car.


http://www.speedtv.com/auto/?lvl=3a&cat=23&id=4127

quite an attractive car really.

I wonder how it will do against the much cheaper tube frame cars.???

[cybersdorf]

I was just going to point out that GrandAm-GTS won't be AGTs only...
It says in the article about the Mosler that "the cars set to debut in ’03 required minimal refinements to bring them into compliance with GTS regulations"; so in reality the car isn't all that diffeent from this years GrandAm-GT car. Which makes a Rollcentre assault on Daytona all the more likely