Most liked posts in thread: DeltaWing version 2

Steve · Mar 4, 2013

Here's the new look for the open cockpit version. More visible than the all black version?

DELTAWING LIVERY UNVEILED (DRC Press Release)

Striking new chrome livery for DeltaWing Racing Cars starting at Sebring

BRASELTON, GA. â€“ DeltaWing Racing Cars has revealed the livery for the DeltaWing powered by Elan, before its first on-track test scheduled for this Wednesday at Road Atlanta.

After running a fully black livery with some yellow, then red trim on the roll hoop accents in 2012, the 2013 DeltaWing livery marks a radical departure. The DeltaWing will take the grid in 2013 with a striking chrome paint scheme, now highlighted with red accents on the roll hoop and just behind the front tires, from new tire partner Bridgestone.

The chrome is a natural evolution for the car that has made its mark on the sports car racing world simply by being different. Itâ€™s the latest new element for the DeltaWingâ€™s 2013 season.

â€œIt just ties into the DeltaWing being such a unique, revolutionary car,â€ said Don Panoz, managing partner, DeltaWing Racing Cars. â€œI wanted something that represented that image. A shining, aggressive metal was what I thought of, and that was the chrome.â€

The design went through several possible design ideas before settling on the chrome and red.

â€œI think this became apparent once we would be using Bridgestone tires,â€ said Panoz. â€œThe only color they have outside of black is red. We wanted to keep it consistent. Before deciding on the chrome, I looked at brilliant reds or brilliant greens. We decided the chrome was the thing to keep it in line with Bridgestone and their colors.â€

This is not the first time a Panoz race car has had this type color. The Panoz Esperante GTR-1 that raced in the late 1990s had a primarily silver background, as did the LMP1 Panoz Roadster-S run that premiered in 1999.

The DeltaWing is scheduled to test this Wednesday and Thursday at Road Atlanta in preparation for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, the opening round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series season. Olivier Pla and Andy Meyrick have been confirmed as drivers for the LMP1 class entry, with Meyrick set to turn his first laps in the car this week.

ALL PHOTOS: DeltaWing Racing Cars
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B.A.D. · Mar 4, 2013

Guess they wanted something to help the other drivers see them better.

Steve · Mar 6, 2013

Maybe, but I figure they also wanted to break away from the black version's very public exposure with NISSAN all over it in big bold letters.

I'm not so sure the chrome look will greatly aid visibility. I remember at least one driver complaining after Petit LeMans about not being able to see some other car (can't remember which) that was almost all chrome, esp. when it was coming from behind and amongst other traffic. I can imagine Panoz deciding the chrome will look cool though.

It's at Sebring now, getting ready for the 12H. Here's another look.

Zapski · Mar 6, 2013

The casters under the front wheel remind me of Clarckson's "fix" for the Robin Reliant.

Steve · Mar 8, 2013

Revise your car with a different engine, set its debut race expectations relatively low. Smart.

Revised DeltaWing makes test debut (Racer.com)

March 08, 2013

The new version of the experimental DeltaWing has successfully completed a shakedown test ahead of its debut in next weekend's Sebring 12 Hours.

The revised car, which is powered by a Mazda-based engine developed by Elan Motorsports Technologies, completed its first laps at Road Atlanta on Wednesday and Thursday in the hands of Johnny O'Connell and Andy Meyrick.

Dave Price, team manager of Don Panoz's DeltaWing Racing Cars squad, said: "Johnny went first because he had driven the car before [in testing last October] and then Andy had a go. Everything was fine, except a few of the new-car issues that you would expect.

"It was really a systems check and about tuning the engine out the track, because it had only previously run on the dyno."

Price said there were no issues with the new tires from Bridgestone, which have replaced the Michelins on which the Nissan-powered version of the car ran last year. Price suggested that a race finish at Sebring, when Olivier Pla will join Meyrick in the DeltaWing, was a realistic target.

"We want to run reliably, finish the race and show a bit of performance," he said. "We have set no targets beyond that; we know we ain't going to win it.

"I think a finish is realistic: we know the car and the gearbox are the same that finished Petit Le Mans last year [the car's second outing after the Le Mans 24 Hours]; and the engine has done quite a lot of running on the test bench."

Panoz, the managing partner in the Project 56 group that brought Ben Bowlby's DeltaWing design to the race track, has now assumed full control of the program following the withdrawal of primary backer Nissan. The plan is for the car and its successor, built around a custom monocoque rather than the current Aston Martin tub, to contest eight of the 10 ALMS races this season.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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edit: I was wrong, just a new engine so far, they're still using the Aston Martin AMR-One tubs at this point. The new tub will be used for the coupes they're already working on.

Steve · Mar 10, 2013

Chrome version easier to see than black version? Debatable...esp. looking back at it nose-on.

Steve · Mar 11, 2013

DeltaWing set to unveil coupe version (Racer.com)

Gary Watkins | March 11, 2013

The coupe version of the DeltaWing prototype will be unveiled on the eve of the Sebring 12 Hours this week.

The DeltaWing Racing Cars squad will on Friday take the wraps off a mock-up of the car that is due to race later in the season, possibly as early as round three of the American Le Mans Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May. The show car is built around the molds of a new monocoque that will replace the Aston Martin AMR-One tub of the DeltaWing DW LM12, which made its debut at last year's Le Mans 24 Hours.

"The tub is different in terms of the structure," explained DeltaWing team manager Dave Price. "The front is lower between the wheels and there will be some improvements because it is specifically designed for the job."

Work on the latest-generation DeltaWing is well advanced at team owner Dan Panoz's Elan Motorsports Technologies organization in Georgia. Price would not be drawn on the chances of the car being ready in time for Laguna.

The new version of the car is the work of Simon Marshall, who designed the Elan-built Panoz DP01 Champ Car before being recruited by DeltaWing architect Ben Bowlby to work on the DW LM12.

The revised version of the Aston-tubbed DeltaWing, now with a Mazda-based two-liter turbo engine developed at Elan in place of the original Nissan powerplant, makes its debut at the ALMS opener at Sebring on Saturday with Olivier Pla and Andy Meyrick driving.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Dave.0 · Mar 11, 2013

That thing looks silly now and kind of reminds me of this car.

PHOTOS: Acceptable Places For Justin Bieber To Take His Chrome Car - Popdust

Steve · Mar 11, 2013

Nathan said: ↑

Not a fan of that Chrome livery on the Delta Wing.
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Yeah, when Panoz was trying to decide on a livery someone should have told him about that repulsive disaster...and his chrome Fisker.

Steve · Mar 14, 2013

Steve · Mar 16, 2013

Not a good start for the new engine.

They only ran a few laps and then pulled it behind the wall for something like an hour, then on their 10th (I think) lap...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq3UdzBB8RU]The Delta Wing Has Engine Trouble at Sebring - ALMS - Tequila Patron - Racing - Sports Cars - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Mar 20, 2013

DeltaWing Set For Expanded Schedule (speedtv.com)

P1 contender set to contest seven of the remaining nine ALMS rounds...

John Dagys | Posted March 20, 2013 Chicago, IL

With a new team, new engine and and new tire supplier, the DeltaWing's debut at the Twelve Hours of Sebring proved to be an uphill battle, as expected.

While the revolutionary car, driven by Olivier Pla and Andy Meyrick, retired the second hour with terminal engine failure, plans are still in place for the Don Panoz-owned operation to contest the majority of the American Le Mans Series season, including the debut of a coupe version later this year.

Speaking with SPEED.com at Sebring last week, team manager Dave Price confirmed the team's intentions for single-car effort in seven of the remaining nine rounds in the P1 class.

"At the moment, we're not planning to do Long Beach or Baltimore, principally because we're not convinced it would be ideally suited for [street circuits]," Price said. "Although we have had some conversations about Long Beach in the last week with [tire partner] Bridgestone, so it's not completely out of the question. Otherwise, we'll do the rest of the season."

Fitted with a Mazda-based, Elan-built 2.0-liter turbo and Bridgestone tires, the DeltaWing showed promise in its first outing in its new configuration, but Price is looking forward to the potential of the coupe version, which was on display during the weekend.

While ALMS founder and DeltaWing team principal Panoz said it has been their intention to run the coupe beginning with the third round of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Price feels it will debut when it's ready, meaning potentially later in the season.

"I think later in the year, the object will be to try and win races with the coupe," he said. "The object is to sell them for the new class next year. So we need to prove the point that it can be competitive and it's easy to operate, not expensive to operate and that we've got the tires sorted.

"That's the objective, to prove the point that it's a package worth thinking about buying."

No word has been given on the driver lineup for the remainder of the season. Frenchman Pla would have at least one conflict with his FIA World Endurance Championship program, while the team has tested former Corvette factory driver Johnny O'Connell.
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Steve · Apr 12, 2013

DeltaWing coupe race debut delayed (Racer.com)

April 12, 2013

The race debut of the new coupe version of the DeltaWing prototype has been set back from next month's Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca American Le Mans Series round.

ALMS founder Don Panoz, who has taken full control of the DeltaWing project this season, had wanted the new car to race at round three of the series at the Monterey circuit. However, the problems with the Mazda-based Elan engine, which has replaced last year's Nissan powerplant, at the Sebring 12 Hours last month, have forced the DeltaWing Racing Cars squad to refocus its program.

Team manager Dave Price said: "We will be at Laguna, but it won't be with the coupe. The plan now is to debut it later in the summer. We need to get some more testing under our belts and iron out the problems we had at Sebring before we introduce a new car."

The open-top DeltaWing will test at the team's home track at Road Atlanta next week and will then run at Buttonwillow Raceway in California in the lead up to the Laguna race. Olivier Pla and Andy Meyrick, who raced the car at Sebring, will handle testing duties and race the car at Monterey on May 11.

Price added: "We want to keep consistency in the program by using the same two. Neither of them will be able to do all the races, so there will be other drivers later in the season."

The new DeltaWing coupe, which was unveiled over the course of Sebring race week, is built around a new, custom monocoque designed and built by Panoz's Elan Motorsports Technologies organization rather than the Aston Martin AMR-One tub of the original.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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minimark · May 1, 2013

Great example of how to conduct yourself in a job interview and get hired!!

MiniCamaro · Dec 20, 2013

Hmmmm. This thing is bizarre. Even the open cockpit version. It's actually kind of cool seeing it run around the track on its own. I guess I feel like the bodywork is just too different from any prototype I've seen for me to want to see it racing (I did see some of LM last year, but didn't see much, if any, of the DW. But maybe it would look cool at an auto show, as just a concept car.

My favorite aspect is the paint job. Yes, I like weird colors like chrome or, say matte black.

My least favorite is the fin in the back. Make it have a normal prototypesque spoiler and you've already made the car look much less bizarre.

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