Ashmore on 2007 cars

[Tailwind]

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/N...le.asp?ID=8968

Here is a good article on what Champ Car would like to do with the 2007 cars.

[jjspierx]

Interesting read...can't say I agree with all of it, but some it sounds pretty good. I don't think making the body work as wide as the track of the car is a good idea. If they were to do that, why not just put body work over the wheels and call it a prototype. Champcar is open-wheel, the possibility of interlocking wheels is known by the drivers and it can make the racing more exciting.

[rustyfan]

I for one hope the new car will allow for better slipstreaming. Racing is getting way, way too aero-dependent these days (and I'm not just talking about Champ Car).

[BootsOntheSide]

When I saw that headline, I instantly thought of ADAM Ashmore.... Certainly JJ raises a good point - it's not as if ChampCars has seen many crashes of that nature.

[Snrub]

Very interesting article.

I like that it sounds like they'll be very focused on developing a car that will produce good racing. That should be the bottom line. I support Champ Car in part because they have a spec that produces good racing. It would be great if they took it a step further with the new spec. It sounds like they have a good grasp on what parts will contribute to good racing and what parts won't. The article has a lot about reducing turbulance and votexes, etc. so I would suspect there would be a better drafting as a result.

I agree with jjspierx on the wheels sticking out issue. I do like the idea of making the suspension bits stronger, but I'm not sure I like the idea of a wierd shaped front wing that could sustain more of an impact without compromising it's function.

It sounds like the current engines will be around for a while, which I'm sure most people would be pretty happy about that. I'm not sure I like the idea of going from a single to twin turbos, one in each sidepod, but obviously they know more about the cars than I do.

[Omega99]

Very exciting! They want a car that looiks good and produces better racing, and I think that's what everyone wants to hear. I just don't know how good it can look as an open wheel car with the bodywork as wide as the track of the tries.

I just wish I could help with the design!

[dubby99]

I would really love to see a Lola car that produces good racing and also a car that takes alot of skill to drive but the one problem i am seeing in all of this is it could rule out chassis manufactures coming in to the sport in the future if it goes full on spec.

I would not mind seeing a couple of chassis manufactures entering the sport how it once was.

But then again CC are doing there very best to get back a fan base they once had so if that means produce a spec chassis that creates more passing, so do it, they have nothing to lose as long as the car looks good (better than f1 and IRL car!) i am with them all the way regardless.

[Tailwind]

"...they have nothing to lose as long as the car looks good (better than f1 and IRL car!) i am with them all the way regardless."

I thought it was interesting that they wanted to build a car that looked good. Thats a hard requirement to quantify for an engineer, but you know if you pulled it off when you step back and look at the finished product.

[Ac.]

I'll echo Snrub in saying that improving the strength of the suspension pieces would be very welcome. I don't want to see a demo derby out there, but today it seems that even light contact bends the suspension.

[icemachine]

I really like the front wing on current champcar, If its only a slight change thats fine with me but the idea of a nerf bar (rounded chromed side step you see on trucks) as front element does nothing for me. Also for the rear wing I think they need to stay as a single element not a twin or three stage one, those just scream "ricer" to me.

[Dov]

Here's a few pics of the new 2007 "spec" Champ Car from Racer magazine:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

[Kicking-back]

Looks interesting in those impressions - although I suspect it'll be a bit different on the track.

For one - those artists impressions are based closely on the current cars - and for another cars never end up looking like the drawings!

[brightline]

I think for for champ car to be successful you need some ad space on the sidepods, something I just don't see on the artist conception. There really isn't enough space on the sidepods already to read half of the sponsors!

I love cheering for Gulfstrea and McDonald, Wellbo, and Bell Micr cars, or if they are going the other direction ulfstream, ellbox, cDonalds, and ell Micro! Even better was last year cheering for the Rocketsports ohnson contro car!

[cos]

Originally Posted by brightline

I think for for champ car to be successful you need some ad space on the sidepods, something I just don't see on the artist conception. There really isn't enough space on the sidepods already to read half of the sponsors!

Yup -the current Panoz/Dallara IRL cars have got it right in having large smooth sidepods for ad space.

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

Even F1 is considering tweaking the rules to make the sidepods more sponsor friendly again so it's clearly a major issue in open wheel formulaes at the moment.

The concept car is certainly different to the competition that's for sure. Not as ugly as IRL or as cartoony as the new A1 car, I guess once it's been through the wind tunnel a few times for refining it'll look like a winner.

Credit to Champ Car for working out a set of sensible (long term) objectives and making them happen.

[Hazza]

From side on the car looks a little bit like the 2000 Irl car? (With the big nose?)