The design presented at the Chicago event was developed ever since the beginning of 2009, as it was a well-known fact that the North American racing series would switch to a new chassis two years from now. Among the important figures that participated in the development of the car was Lola's former chief designer Ben Bowlby (now working for Chip Ganassi Racing).
The DeltaWing project's striking appearance is believed to improve racing in the IndyCar Series by minimizing the turbulence at the rear of the car. Consequently, the trailing cars would have less problems overtaking or keeping control of their cars when hit by the airflow coming from the car in front of them.
“The first prototype car will be powered by a 2.0 litre four cylinder turbocharged engine. Final horsepower figures will be based on the car's performance on the track, but by using state-of-the-art computer modeling, it is anticipated that the engine will need to produce approximately 300 horsepower to attain the performance targets and will run over 4,000 miles before requiring a rebuild, a dramatic 100 per cent improvement over the current engine,” said a statement from DeltaWing.
As stated in the press release, DeltaWing also kept an eye on environmental issues when developing the new car.
“We are confident that this car will outperform the current generation IndyCar and do it in a more environmentally friendly way. (...) Consumers are choosing cars that provide impressive performance capabilities but with greater fuel efficiency. This prototype IndyCar features those same characteristics, making it much more relevant to the public and the auto industry,” said DeltaWing's chief executive officer Dan Partel.
“As we design the DeltaWing prototype, safety, efficiency, value and cost are our main priorities. The goal is that more teams and drivers will have the opportunity to compete in the IZOD IndyCar series. At this point we anticipate a complete car with engine will sell for $600,000,” added Bowlby.
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