The 2007 Champ Car World Series sees the debut of a new spec chassis/engine combination, the Elan Motorsports built Panoz DP-01.
The car has been developed with several key objectives in mind: increased driver safety, reduced weight, more nimble chassis, reduced cost, and a reduction in in the effect of "dirty air" in traffic. Panoz have acheived these objectives very effectively. The car is smaller in both length and width to make it more nimble. It is around 70kg lighter, down to 630kg from 700kg (without driver onboard). A revised driving position, improved front, side and rear impact zones, and a collapsible fuel cell improve safety. Perhaps most significantly the aerodynamicists chose to go down the route of underbody created downforce whilst actually reducing the amount of wings on top of the car. The front of these underbody tunnels can clearly be seen in the first pic under the radiator intakes. The car is alledged to produce over 60% of its total downforce from the underbody, which in theory should allow cars to follow each other closely with a less significant grip penalty and which in turn should result in more overtaking and better racing.
The other key changes for the series include the introduction of a 7-speed semi-automatic paddle shift gearbox for the first time. This will be the only electronic "driver aid" on the car however, as the series still shuns the use of any launch, traction or stability controls. All 750-800hp are controlled soley by the driver's right foot, which should make things particularly interesting given the introduction of standing starts in the series for the first time (where the track layout allows).
Power is still provided by Cosworth Racing in the form of the 2.65 litre turbocharged V8 FXE engine. It produces around 750hp in normal running, which is boosted to around 800hp when the driver uses the "push-to-pass" boost function. Fuelling is methanol rather than gasoline.
Preseason testing has shown the car to be impressively quick. On the final day of testing at Laguna Seca the 3-time champion Sebastien Bourdais finished top with a stunning lap of 1:05.880. This time shattered the previous unofficial track-record set by Ricardo Zonta in a Toyota Formula 1 car, beating the previous mark of 1:06.309 by almost half a second. Eleven drivers on the day actually beat Helio Castroneves' official lap record of 1:07.7 set back in 2000. Given that Champ Cars in those days were producing a fearsome amount of power, rumoured to be around the 1000bhp, these times are certainly full of promise.
The series begins in Las Vegas on April 8th, before heading off around North America and the rest of the world, including returning to Europe for the first time in a while with races at Zolder and Assen.
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Originally Posted by 2ndclasscitizen
