Lotus to develop aero kit for IndyCar
07/29/10 Lotus may be playing a bigger role in the premier level of American single seater racing which is the IndyCar series. This comes after the announcement that the race series will allow teams to design their own aero packages onto a standard Dallara chassis from 2012. Currently Lotus and Cosworth are partnered with IndyCar team KV Racing Technology which is driven by former F1 driver Takuma Sato. The series uses stock V8 engines and chassis from Honda and the aforementioned Dallara chassis respectively. This isn’t unusual in the racing game and is a cheaper form of racing which creates a level playing for all teams.
The arm of Lotus involved within IndyCars is Lotus Cars (Lotus Group) and has very little affiliation with the Lotus Racing team. It is headed by CEO Dany Bahar who was a former Ferrari man. It would be good to see what role they may play in the coming months of the race. Tony Fernandes had this to say about the matter, “Lotus Racing congratulates the IZOD IndyCar Series on this exciting news and supports the ICONIC Advisory Committee’s recommendation on the revolutionary concept of a standard safety cell with various manufacturers producing aero kits. We look forward to seeing more details on this future car strategy, and hopefully, allow our involvement in the IZOD IndyCar Series."
07/15/10 Lotus has hinted at a greater involvement in the next generation of IndyCar, following Wednesday's announcement of the series' future. Rumor is that they want to be one of the companies to brand the new IndyCar using the Lotus name.
IRL yesterday unveiled plans for a spec Dallara chassis from 2012, onto which constructors will be invited to build their own bodywork and wings and brand the car.
The Lotus Group is already involved in the branding of Takuma Sato's KV Racing car, but Lotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes hinted at an increased role after yesterday's announcement.
"Lotus Racing congratulates the IndyCar Series on this exciting news and supports the revolutionary concept of a standard safety cell with various manufacturers producing aero kits," Said Lotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes.
"We look forward to seeing more details on this future car strategy, and hopefully, allow our involvement in the series."
The Lotus Group is already involved in the branding of Takuma Sato's KV Racing car, but this statement hints at a bigger role. After all, Lotus does sell passenger cars, so calling an IndyCar a Lotus would be right up their ally.