American motor racing has been steadily moving towards "Spec", that is, each team racing the same car with the same engine and other components. The Indy Racing League runs Dallara chassis powered by Honda engines. (Although NASCAR technically uses a few different cars with different engines from different suppliers, they all look pretty much the same.) Now the latest spec racing cars for the Champ Car series – IRL's rival formerly known as CART – have just been delivered.
The new Panoz DP01 has been received by ten Champ Car teams, the first ten before the entire field makes the switch from the previous Lola-built cars. The new chassis will use the same turbocharged Cosworth V8 engines, the now independent engine supplier owning majority rights to the series and having involuntarily withdrawn from supplying engines in Formula One. They all run on spec Bridgestone tires, just as Formula One makes the switch next season.
Constructed primarily of carbon fiber, the new cars weigh an impressive hundred pounds less than their predecessor Lola counterparts. The chassis were delivered unpainted and all-but-identical to the teams who'll be adding their own team and sponsors' livery. We're looking forward to seeing the new cars in action.
[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]
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