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There is a lot of speculation
about CART's future, and a lot of that centers on its new engine
formula. It looks like the new engine will be 100% IRL except we are
hearing that at least two manufacturers are willing to bump up the rev
limits. However, the CART team owners may decide to stick with the
10,700 RPM IRL rev limit to make it easier for Chevy and Nissan to enter the
series. Toyota's Lee White thinks maybe 11,500 RPM the first year is
possible by all manufactures. That's only 800 RPM more than the IRL, so it
should not be too hard to achieve. At that RPM, the engine will
produce right around 700 to 725 HP.
Going forward Lee thinks CART
should shoot for 12,000 to 12,500 RPM. At that RPM the engine will
produce 725 to 750 HP, a level he feels is best to produce good
racing.
Did you know that Ford and
Toyota were very involved in the discussions with the IRL when the new 2003
engine specs were developed? In fact a lot of Ford's ideas are in the
new IRL engine spec. Learning that, we are quite surprised with
Ford's current position of not wanting to build a 3.5 L engine. We
think they eventually will.
The IRL engine specs were
developed so the engines could rev as high as 13,500 RPM some day, limited
by piston speed. And the specs were specifically developed to allow
the engine to work well on both ovals and road courses.
We also hear that a lot of
attention is being given to an open exhaust, i.e. a manufacturer can use an
exhaust manifold/header crossover layout, giving the Champ Car engine a
unique sound.
We also learned that John Judd
is actively working on a modified version of his 3.4 L N/A endurance
engine. That engine is good for 3,000 kilometers (1800 miles) between
rebuilds and only weighs 235 lbs, a pretty impressive engine. Judd is
spending his own resources to open that engine up to a 90-degree vee and
develop a CART/IRL 3.5 L engine with hopes a car manufacturer will put their
name on the engine. If not, he may offer it as a Judd, but it can't
race at Indy unless a manufacturer puts their name on the engine, per the
IRL rules. Bottom line is that it appears CART has two engine
manufacturers willing to play, and we hear more are in the wings.
We are also hearing whispers, as
reported on our rumors page, that Mugen is developing a 3.5 L N/A engine
that Honda would someday badge as their own. Mugen is essentially a
subsidiary of Honda and we are hearing more and more rumors that Honda will
be back.
As for our idea of taking weight
out of the car, that is gaining acceptance quickly. The IRL engine, at
295 Lbs, will be about 30 Lbs lighter than the current Champ Car engine with
all the turbo hardware. The chassis makers have told us they have
about 100 Lbs of ballast in the cars now in the form of metal plates
fastened to the underside of the car. That alone means 130 Lbs can
easily be removed from the cars. However, since the chassis is going to be
made safer, which will add weight (we hear 16 Lbs), it now looks like taking
100 Lbs out of the Champs cars looks like the right number to shoot for.
As for the appearance of the
car, a Champ Car should look unique. The IRL side pods have a much beefier
look, as a result of the IRL rulebook, and are therefore, a much higher
profile for added oval track protection. Continuing today's trend,
Champ Car side pods won't be as high, giving them a sleeker look. We
hear the goal is for the CART and IRL car to have the same spline, i.e.
chassis tub and engine. Everything else is essentially bolt-on - the side pods,
the transmission, suspension, body parts, etc., and can all be different if
desired.
As for the air scoop behind the
drivers head, we hear CART is looking at an integrated one within the roll
hoop, rather than above it. This will give the Champ Cars a much
sleeker look as well. In this
article we addressed that issue, so we are glad to hear CART is paying
attention to the importance of image of their product.
As we have stated on numerous occasions,
it is imperative that CART retain its unique identity or the IRL will
undercut them with lower sanctioning fees for the same product. With
its unique venues, stronger teams, better sounding engine, slightly more HP,
lighter cars, different transmissions, and a sleeker looking car, that
should be achievable, but it will require walking a fine line between being
unique, yet, close enough to the IRL to make it easy for the teams to
compete at Indy and to keep costs in check.
All this assumes, however, that
the Franchise Board can agree on the normally aspirated engine. At the
board meeting last Friday night, there were still several owners who feel
the engine is too much like the IRL, and favor a turbo engine, while others
can't wait to get to the N/A engine fast enough. Needless to say, this issue
isn't dead yet......and as Derrick Walker put it, we're still in limbo.
The author can be contacted at markc@autoracing1.com
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