Most liked posts in thread: DeltaWing version 2

Dave.0 · Feb 6, 2013

Sounds like Don Panoz said my way or the highway and everyone gave him the finger.

minimark · Feb 6, 2013

Sounds like everyone is jumping ship....

...what's that, the fat lady's warming up?

B.A.D. · Mar 14, 2013

Steve said: ↑

Apparently it's just a mockup but...not so pretty.

Click to expand...

Kind of reminds me of this

Steve · Feb 6, 2013

Dave.0 said: ↑

Sounds like Don Panoz said my way or the highway and everyone gave him the finger.
Click to expand...

That's not far from the way I read it. I figured most simply weren't even invited to play, others walked away.

On the plus side, in the past when Don Panoz put cars on the track interesting things happened. Here's hoping there's some entertainment before the fat lady gets to sing.

minimark · Feb 6, 2013

Don has done some good stuff in the past but the field of dreams was just a movie. The Deltawing is the answer to a question no one asked and at a time when sports car racing seems to be consolidating classes, he's off building a chassis with no series.

Don Panoz or is it Don Quixote? Lol

N2MINI · Feb 7, 2013

maybe he is hoping to start a "spec" racing series for it and then he gets to supply everything for everyone..

minimark · Feb 7, 2013

If true that sure would be going all the way around the barn to get to the front door. Wouldn't putting an engine in the hands of a top team who could actually compete and win in a series go a lot farther than putting it in something that can only beat itself at best?

Nope, too many big dogs including Nissan have walked away, he is now in salvage mode. 2cents.

minimark · Feb 7, 2013

We haven't even mentioned that Dan Gurney and his all American racers have also left the building without letting the door hit them in the butt...

Gurney was a real source of credibility.

Alan · Mar 11, 2013

In addition to the coupe version, they should unveil a "wide tire" version. You know, a version with wider front tires set wider apart. :ihih:

Nathan · Mar 11, 2013

Obviously Dave.0 has Beiber Fever.

Don't let him fool you with the Pink Floyd and Led Zep references. He really zips about singing Beiber tunes at the top of his lungs.

Back on topic....

Not a fan of that Chrome livery on the Delta Wing.

Steve · Mar 14, 2013

Apparently it's just a mockup but...not so pretty.

minimark · Apr 19, 2013

Keep consistency in the program he said.... The whole Delta Wing program has been more fluid than water from the beginning... Only the government could waste more time and money than this bunch... LMAO everytime they make a press release...

Why doesn't Don get back to building a better Panoz?

Steve · May 1, 2013

Katherine Legge: â€œPositively Amazedâ€ by DeltaWing (pressdog.com)

April 30, 2013

When Katherine Legge learned she was selected to test the DeltaWing race car April 21 and 24 at Road Atlanta, she called fellow DeltaWing driver Andy Meyrick for some advice.

â€œHe said â€˜try not to preconceive how it drives by looking at it,â€™â€ said Legge.

It turns out that the DeltaWing race carâ€™s radically different looks can be deceiving â€¦ or at least misleading.
â€œWhen you first see it your reaction is â€¦ â€˜interesting,â€™" said Legge with a laugh. â€œItâ€™s cool. Itâ€™s obviously technologically advanced and itâ€™s very clever. The people who designed it are obviously very bright human beings. I wondered how it would turn. I wondered how it would drive. For sure I thought like it wouldnâ€™t feel like anything Iâ€™ve ever driven before.â€

Then she got behind the wheel and drove, and fund out Meyrick was right and her sight-based assumptions were wrong.

â€œItâ€™s true,â€ said Legge. â€œIf you were blindfolded and someone put you in the car and you drove it, you didnâ€™t know what it looked like from the outside, it drives like a fantastic race car. Itâ€™s incredible.â€

Turns out the DeltaWing drives very similarly to the many other race cars Legge has driven, a list that includes a Champ Car, IndyCar, DTM car and an F1 car.

Leggeâ€™s thoughts on her DeltaWing shakedown:

â€œIt has very little drag because there are no wings. All the downforce comes from the undertray; itâ€™s just ground effect. So itâ€™s really fast in a straight line.â€

â€œIt brakes really well. Itâ€™s like throwing a parachute out the back because most of the braking is done by the rear of the car so thereâ€™s no pitch in the car (under braking), and that was a really cool sensation.â€

â€œYou carry stupid speed into the corner. You roll so much speed into the apex that itâ€™s crazy. You donâ€™t hit the apex with the front wheel because you have to judge hitting the apex with the real wheels.â€

â€œYou look at it and you wonder how you are going to be able to judge distance. You think that it will take a while to get used to but really itâ€™s just another racing car.â€

â€œIt drives not exactly like an IndyCar but pretty much. Itâ€™s right up there. I was fairly positively amazed.â€

Still to be determined is if the carâ€™s triangular shape will make it challenging to sense how close other cars are when going side-by-side.

â€œI donâ€™t think it will be so difficult, actually,â€ she said. â€œBecause I thought it would take a while to get used to judging where to place the rear of the car in relation to the front. You have to have the sixth sense for how much wider the rear is but it really didnâ€™t take long to get that in my head. I think it is one of those things that your brain just sorts out subconsciously.â€

Legge got the opportunity to test the DeltaWing as a result of her â€œcalling everyone I knowâ€ when her IndyCar ride for 2013 fell through two months before the season started. The fact that Legge was learning Road Atlanta at the same time she was testing the DeltaWing helped her naturally work her way into the feel of the car.

Along with being amazed by the car, Legge was impressed with the DeltaWing Racing team. The team was impressed enough with Legge to hire her to partner with Meyrick to drive the DeltaWing in the LMP1 class of ALMS on May 11 at Laguna Seca.

â€œIâ€™m very pleased about the opportunity, very gratefully for the opportunity. I think that we can make it into something special,â€ she said. â€œObviously there is a whole class for them next year (in ALMS) so if we get up and running and fast then thereâ€™s no reason there wonâ€™t be more joining the party next year.â€

The same radically different appearance of the car that creates false assumptions about how DeltaWing drives also seems to attract a lot of positive attention from potential sponsors as well.

â€œIt does use less fuel, it uses less parts; it uses less everything; itâ€™s much more efficient,â€ she said. â€œI think in todayâ€™s world, where everyone is looking at efficiency and being green and everything like that, itâ€™s a step toward the uture. Companies love it. When you are looking for sponsors and you are talking to people about it, it gets their attention.â€

For more on the DeltaWing, visit deltawing - Home.
Click to expand...

Minidave · Feb 7, 2013

What I got out of it is he wants to be an engine supplier to many top tier teams, and this is his way of getting his engine into the limelight.

Steve · Feb 7, 2013

NISSAN SPLITS FROM DELTAWING (PistonHeads.com)

Thursday 7th February

Nissan bids Deltawing farewell, Panoz to race it at Sebring and beyond

reaking up is never easy but Nissan has confirmed that its involvement in the Deltawing
project has come to an end, issuing a 'it's not you, it's me' statement reproduced below.

It was little over a year ago that we reported Nissan's backing for the revolutionary Deltawing and in that time the car has been truly taken to PHers' hearts, winning our Award For Outstanding Engineering Geekery at the end of 2012 by a landslide of votes. Chris Harris was blown away by the car's unusual dynamics and dazzled by the enthusiasm of its creator Ben Bowlby when he drove it at Road Atlanta, scene of its most impressive race result with a fifth overall in the Petit Le Mans event. This atoned somewhat for the disappointment of an early exit from the Le Mans 24-hour, the Deltawing nonetheless taken very much to the hearts of all who saw it in action.

The Deltawing lives on though, Don Panoz taking over the project and, according to an article on Fox's SpeedTV, planning to replace the Nissan engine with a Mazda-derived unit for next-month's Sebring 12-hour. Nissan hasn't commented on Panoz's plans beyond saying it "wishes Dr Don Panoz and all the other partners involved in the Deltawing all the best for the future and we look forward to supporting their progress from the sidelines at future races."

In an internal document Nissan spoke of "now looking ahead to the future and our next exciting project" while saying "Nissan Deltawing was a very exciting project winning the hearts and minds of many." It denies pulling out of the project was a cost decision, that there was any bad blood between it and any of the other partners or that it was simply a case of so long and thanks for all the publicity. "The ... Nissan Deltawing project was first and foremost a test-bed for future innovations for both Nissan's motorsport and road product programmes," it says. In its own words it takes aerodynamic, transmission and engine knowledge away from the partnership and says the car "enabled us to explore the potential of Nissan's 1.6-litre engine for future applications." These will include the further developments of the Juke Nismo, teased on the recent launch for the road car PH attended.

If the official line is polite but distant the Tweets and other comments from Nissan insiders, notably motorsports boss Darren Cox, have been a lot more emotive. Quotes like "We should say though that we loved every minute of the #NissanDeltawing experience. Exciting and innovative project. #gamechanger" and "We had a blast with DeltaWing and will always have a major soft spot for that car #nissandeltawing" from @Nissan_OnTrack last night show a more personal view.

Speaking exclusively to PH, Cox said, "It was an amazing journey for all of those at Nissan and NISMO who were involved in the project. On reflection the highlights were the London launch when all the partners were together for the first time, the aftermath of the Le Mans crash because everyone knew we had delivered the best job we could have and of course Sebring - not just the result and speed of the car but also the secondary boost of allowing people like Chris Harris from outside the team to experience this incredible car."

Fully aware of the passion the car has inspired he reserves special thanks for those who supported the project too. "Biggest thanks must go to the fans who took us to their hearts," he told us. "Nissan gave the fans access to the project and the fans repaid us with their huge support. Thanks to you all. We will keep surprising you in the coming months and years with our Motorsport activity."

[Sources: SpeedTV, Nissan]

Nissan's official statement:
"Nissan confirms that it will not continue with its partnership of the DeltaWing motorsport project with immediate effect.

"Nissan was an instrumental in the ground-breaking DeltaWing project, which aimed to demonstrate the current real-world viability of efficient motorsport by completing the famous Le Mans 24 Hours using half the fuel and half the tyres of any of its counterparts.

"Described as a "game-changer" and widely acknowledged as the most revolutionary racing car to be built in a generation, the Nissan DeltaWing was the brainchild of British engineer, Ben Bowlby. It was also described as "the world's first social media racing car" due to Nissan's innovative approach off track.

"The car's performance at Le Mans and its subsequent 5th place finish at Petit Le Mans endurance race in the USA proved to the doubters that the pioneering and hugely innovative technology produced by Nissan and the other partners in the project delivered on its promise.

"Nissan produced a lightweight, down-sized version of its 1.6-litre DIG-T engine for the Nissan DeltaWing. Combined with innovative chassis and aerodynamics, this engine produced the same lap times as its fellow Le Mans entrants, using half the fuel from its vastly smaller engine capacity.

"Darren Cox, Director of global motorsports for Nissan, says: "The Nissan DeltaWing was an exciting project that challenged all conventional thinking and that is why Nissan put its support behind it. We are committed to developing innovative and exciting cars both on the track and on the road.

""Nissan wishes Dr Don Panoz and all the other partners involved in the DeltaWing all the best for the future and we look forward to supporting their progress from the sidelines at future races. "

"Nissan will announce its future motor sport plans on 26th February at the opening of its new state of the art Nismo headquarters in Yokohama, Japan."
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N2MINI · Feb 7, 2013

I'm sure some of the "backers" joined in, in the beginning just to be apart of what was a great chance to get it approved for Indy car.. Didn't get that so they went Endurance racing, ok that was fun, we proved it would work, spent a ton of money, so now what..
Moved on to something else that may actaully parlay into something.. Sadly this car is going no where any time soon I don't think... As minimark said, this car/chassis has no series to run in...

minimark · Feb 7, 2013

How many road racing series do you think would allow the use of torque vectoring (the magic genie in the deltawing)?

I'm thinking it would fall under a driver aid....which the likes of F1 and NASCAR (Grand Am) have banned...? Heck isn't it even banned now from WRC?

Steve · Feb 7, 2013

I always wondered how the thing would work with the torque vectoring diff but I'm pretty sure they never got it working well enough to use it. No idea whether Panoz is still pushing that aspect though given the way the car worked without the diff I'd be surprised if he continues to spend money trying to develop it.

minirab · Feb 8, 2013

Amen!

Nathan · Feb 8, 2013

Michelin pulls out too...

“We are proud to have been involved in the DeltaWing project, which provided the opportunity to develop an innovative 4-inch, lightweight tire that delivered high performance and durability,” said Craig Hodges, external communications director for Michelin North America. “Our goals for a successful partnership were achieved, as evidenced by the car's performance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and again at Petit Le Mans in 2012. The new technologies and processes used for the DeltaWing tire will play a crucial role in helping Michelin to develop the next generation of innovative competition tires.”
Click to expand...

As well as like everyone else involved...

Ray Mallock Limited, the British company that built the engine from a Chevrolet block and helped prepare and race the car at Le Mans, is gone.

Dan Gurney's All-American Racers, which built and tested the DeltaWing, is gone.

Duncan Dayton's Highcroft Racing, which helped develop the car and raced it at Petit, is gone.

The drivers who raced the car at Le Mans and Petit are gone.

And perhaps most of all, Ben Bowlby, the engineer who conceived and designed the car, is gone.

The DeltaWing is not at the open two-day test at Sebring, which concluded Friday afternoon.
Click to expand...

Read more: Michelin latest piece of DeltaWing team to pull out of racing project - Autoweek

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