Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari
Ferrari A1GP car to be based on F2007
Although we're still a little while from seeing the single-seater unveiled, sources indicate that the open-wheel racer Ferrari will design under its new partnership with the A1GP racing series will be based heavily on this year's F2007, the F1 car Raikkonen and Massa have piloted this season in pursuit of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.
From that starting point, we can expect the body to be widened some to accomodate an engine larger in displacement but somewhat lower-revving than the current F1-spec V8s. The smart money would be on a less extreme and less fragile aerodynamic package than used in F1.
[Source: A1GP]
The news follows hot on the heels of the announcement that Ferrari will be providing the engines and have input into the design of the car which will be used by every national team on the grid starting with the 2008-2009 season, but suggests that, while the cars themselves won't be built in Maranello, Ferrari's design input will be considerably more hands-on than suggested by the original announcement.
Ferrari will also have similar involvement in the design and propulsion of an additional spec open-wheeler for the simultaneously-announced second-tier A2GP series, whose formation isn't expected for another few years.
Homologated road cars like the 575 GTC and F430 GT2 notwithstanding, the last time Ferrari turned out a purpose-built race car for anything outside its own Formula One effort was the 333SP, an open-cockpit racer that competed heavily in the late 90s in IMSA and Le Mans-class motorsports.
Anyone who isn't excited by the prospect of seeing the United Nations going wheel to wheel in purpose-built Ferrari race cars might want to have their pulse checked at this time.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stevie Z 3:33PM (10/15/2007)
No surprises there; both top F1 teams this season were using ferrari designed cars.....
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LBuzzer 7:52AM (10/16/2007)
That's gotta be one of the best posts of the year...
Nice one, Stevie Z! +
bill 4:06PM (10/15/2007)
Will a McLaren employee be supplying a Ferrari employee 780 pages of McLaren technical documents to facilitate the building of the A1GP cars? Will Felipe Mass email Kimi to comment on how none of the 780 pages of documents from McLaren proved useful in the development of the car? Will the FIA stonewall any investigation of Ferrari after it is discovered most, if not all, of the parts on the Ferrari A1GP car carry McLaren logos and serial numbers?
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HotRodzNKustoms 7:38PM (10/15/2007)
Give me a new Formula-5000 like series. Big engine with a minimum displacement of 5 liters, big tires, flat bottom, and no electronic driving aids. Let the drivers and the gear head engineers be the heroes. We have not had a hero race car driver since the 70's. Only then will I have a open wheel series I can truly enjoy.
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Ian 9:42AM (10/16/2007)
I don't get it!
Changing chassis and engine for a detuned F1 name brand unit ADDS COST to A1GP Teams w/o improving the show. Or perhaps the previous suppliers pulled thr ug for some reason?
It would be far better for A1 GP to form an alliance with Champcar and effectively be their winter season with some crossover teams.
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