3 Jun 2010

It will never happen, but it would be damn cool if it did...

I'm not a big fan of IndyCar racing, but I am very intrigued by the DeltaWing Racing car.
 
 
The DeltaWing is one of four concepts under review by the Indy Racing League for their main series, which is similar to NASCAR's Sprint Cup.  The IRL hopes to debut a new car design in 2012.  The new design must be lighter, cheaper, and more fuel efficient than current IndyCars, while maintaining (or improving) safety and speed.
 
Of the four designs, the DeltaWing is by far the more radical.
 
 
I love this design, and in my uneducated opinion, this is exactly the direction the IRL should go.  This radical concept is like no other race car in the world, and would clearly differentiate the IndyCar series from Formula 1 and NASCAR.  More importantly, it would bring some real innovation (and perhaps usable real-world concepts) to the larger automotive industry.
 
And, one only needs to look back to the 1998 U.S. 500, and the deaths of three spectators, to realize how dangerous open-wheel racing can be.
 
 
I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to see a DeltaWing on the track someday.