The 2007 Chassis

[macdaddy]

From SpeedTV:

With no events slated for the first three weekends of September, Champ Car officials are preparing to fill the "news void" by releasing the details of the series’ new spec chassis in the coming weeks. Rather than the major makeover some were expecting... The new generation Champ Car is expected to be a little narrower and shorter than the current chassis, with slightly smaller wings front and rear and a greater percentage of its downforce generated by the underbody tunnels...

It is also expected that Champ Car will chose a single manufacturer to produce the new chassis.

[macdaddy]

...And yet, while being interviewed during the Montreal race, Dale Coyne said that the owners' meeting regarding the chassis had led to no results. He said that all it did was prove that there are many more questions to answer...

[Hazza]

Lets hope the new chassis is fast, reliable produces good racing.

But most importantly: Doesn't look pants.

[Kicking-back]

I'd go to Dallara and ask for a batch of GP2 chassis.

They provide excellent racing - just the right balance of aero and mechanical grip.

[Alex K]

Dallar or Lola, or both. Dallara has IndyCar, GP2 Series, FR3.5... maybe it is time for Lola to build something : Like new gen of Champ Car : I like that idea.

I am worring about financial state of Lola Cars, they have lost contract for GP2 Series... and only gain is F-Nippon and A1 GP. Let Lola build the chassis.

[Kicking-back]

Lola is financially stable.

They do a lot of work for other people.

[Amar7605]

I hope that the new chassis corners way better than current Champ Cars. Hopefully the new chassis are more nimble and allow the drivers to brake later, allowing the drivers to go deeper into turns.

[Alex K]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Lola is financially stable.

They do a lot of work for other people.

THX for info. D'you know K-B if Lola will participate in "auction" for next IndyCar chassis starting in 2007 :

Dallara will surely build chassis for IRL, and I wonder if Lola...

[Motley]

I just hope they don't move the sidepods out like what was discussed in Racer magazine. Let's keep them true opwn wheel cars.

[Kicking-back]

As far as I know, Lola bids for any major single seater contract which is financially sound, so I would imagine they will make bids for both IndyCar and ChampCar when the time comes.

[Snrub]

Lola stood by CC when Lola was losing money and not making money off an unstable CC. They deserve the first crack at the new chasis or at the very least not to be shut out by a single chasis rule.

[ss_collins]

watch Racecar Engineering for news..

[macdaddy]

Lola = Carl Haas
'Nuff said.

A new rumour has a front-engine, front-wheel-drive two-seater next year, requiring an oilman.

[Amar7605]

Hopefully the car looks really sleek. Looking at F1 and IRL cars, you can see how jagged the designs are. I want a car to look like a race car!

[Pingguest]

The ground effect sounds very interesting. Does anyone has an emailadress of Max Mosley. The ground effect could be interesting for him as well.

[Snrub]

Good point about Hass and Lola.

Originally Posted by Pingguest

The ground effect sounds very interesting. Does anyone has an emailadress of Max Mosley. The ground effect could be interesting for him as well.

max.mosley@chickenlover.com

[Jordi]

I just hope it looks like a Champ Car - beautiful. I wouldn't make it narrower. It's alright as it is...

[macdaddy]

With the trend being more street-racing, "narrower" is almost essential to improve the racing in the tight confines. And the increasing lack of ovals makes the inherent safety issues less important, especially given the complete lack of superspeedways.

[Milanostah]

Originally Posted by macdaddy

Lola = Carl Haas
'Nuff said.

A new rumour has a front-engine, front-wheel-drive two-seater next year, requiring an oilman.

And the marshals will ride around on those old-timey bikes.

[macdaddy]

They're slated to start reconstruction on the Long Beach circuit on the 7th. The asphalt is being replaced with wooden boards.

Bridgestone has their work cut out for them.

[SALEEN S7R]

Something like the new Formula Nippon car by Lola would look good, IMO. The Nippon car is essentially a A1 GP chasis with a differnt front wing and differnt rear wing. Im sure the chasis could be modifed again to suit Champ Car, the new Formula Nippon car below looks like a very tidy car IMO. Oh and as KB has said Lola are financially sound and IMO are probably substantially larger than Dallara, yes they lost the GP2 contract but they have gained A1 GP and Formula Nippon and are producing new LMP cars for the ALMS and the LMES, LMP cars cost as much, if not a little more than a GP2 car to run and buy and the technology levels in them are superior to that of a GP2 car as well.

[Amar7605]

Hmm... if you took the picture above and gave it a turbocharged engine, then the car will look pretty good.

But what I think is needed is larger sidepods. That way the sponsor logos can be more visible. It's already hard enough on today's Champ Cars.

[Omega99]

Originally Posted by Amar7605

But what I think is needed is larger sidepods. That way the sponsor logos can be more visible. It's already hard enough on today's Champ Cars.

I half agree. The flugal horns cut into the sidepod's real estate and make it hard for sponsors to put a proper name/logo on there, however, if they're made as big as the IRL sidepods, they'll just look ridiculous IMO.

[Hazza]

Originally Posted by Amar7605

Hmm... if you took the picture above and gave it a turbocharged engine, then the car will look pretty good.

I was allways a sucker for the fuel nozzle on the top of the car. If I asked really nicely do you think they'd do that again?

Too me, thinning the cars would be an excellent move but as pointed out, aslong as there is still enough space for sponsers on the cars...

[Amar7605]

I am sure that sponsorship concerns are taken into consideration when designing a new car because sponsorship exposure is critical.