Penske Leisure revealed the primary rendering of its proposed 2027 IndyCar throughout a non-public teleconference with its crew house owners in October.
The assembly between IndyCar’s father or mother firm and its entrants coated a spread of matters, highlighted by the sharing of Penske’s advised substitute for the present Dallara DW12. The collection was particularly trying to elicit suggestions as work on the design continues, and the illustrations led to some robust reactions after the gathering.
One crew proprietor despatched an e mail to most (however not all) of the opposite house owners urging for an entire do-over of the 2027 idea. Within the group e mail, the proprietor mentioned they connected a photograph of the Purple Bull X1 open-wheel idea penned by Adrian Newey for example of the forward-looking design they wish to see emerge from the brand new automotive growth course of.
Requested to share the rendering, Penske Leisure declined the request, however did say it may elect to take action at a later date.
House owners who’ve spoken with RACER describe the 2027 idea as a calmly modified model of at present’s automotive, with a big, bellowing Method 2-style wing array affixed to the rear. In varied methods, those that supplied opinions referred to as for beginning over with a bolder and extra inventive tackle the seems to be of the following chassis, citing Newey’s X1 for example for IndyCar to observe.
The 2027 automotive, just like the DW12, will likely be created by Dallara as a spec automobile, which implies the bathtub that carries the driving force, together with its bodywork and wings, and each facet of its outward look will likely be a hard and fast design that can not be modified.
Penske Leisure is contemplating an method to its next-generation IndyCar the place it might carry over as lots of the DW12’s mechanical elements as doable to scale back prices — from suspension, to ancillaries beneath the sidepods, to some drivetrain gadgets.
This may paint the following automotive right into a bearing the same likeness to the present automotive because of the attachment factors for these gadgets needing to be the identical. It may additionally account for the rendering being portrayed as having visible cues which might be very acquainted to the DW12.
Conversely, extra visually inventive alternatives would exist if a choice is taken to distance the long run automotive from the DW12, which might lead to fewer carryover elements being included that want to connect with the identical places as they do at present.
A number of crew house owners pointed to Adrian Newey’s X1 idea for example of the modern path they’d wish to see IndyCar take with its subsequent automotive. Picture by way of Purple Bull Content material Pool
“The primary precedence isn’t to see how inexpensively we will do it, however value goes to be a consideration as issues get developed extra narrowly,” Penske Leisure CEO Mark Miles advised RACER.
“Dallara is on level to develop the chassis with numerous different provider companions, and it is vitally a lot work in progress. So from my perspective, we weren’t on the lookout for a referendum the primary time we put renderings of the automotive ahead. We wished suggestions. And it continues to be. It’s altering. It should change.”
The DW12 chassis debuted in 2012 and has undergone 4 important alterations throughout its 13 years in motion. Beginning with the introduction of producer aero kits from 2015-2017, the following main replace got here with a return to spec bodywork in 2018 utilizing the brand new and comely Common Aero Equipment ’18 which stays in place at present. Afterwards, it was the introduction of IndyCar’s customized aeroscreen in 2020, which is on its second iteration, and most not too long ago, it was the under-the-bodywork shift to a hybrid powertrain in 2024.
By the point it’s retired, the chassis named for its late growth driver, Dan Wheldon, can have spent a minimum of 15 seasons in service, which suggests the following design may very well be seen for an prolonged time frame.
“Let’s make a automotive that individuals speak about exterior of IndyCar,” mentioned Meyer Shank Racing co-owner Michael Shank. “Let’s up the sport. Let’s flip up it a notch with one thing that actually brings individuals again to IndyCar. Design-wise, let’s get it on the market, visually, as a result of we’re all in the identical automotive. Let’s make a automotive that’s interesting.
“My coronary heart that loves IndyCar racing needs a clear sheet (design), proper? As a result of in the end, that’s what we actually want. We’d like each device we will to attract new individuals in, and I feel a brand new automotive, a extremely wild idea, is vital in how we get there. Take into consideration what Adrian Newey got here up with a pair years in the past with that X1 automotive. Perhaps it’s not precisely that, however that’s the place we ought to be pondering.”
Dale Coyne Racing proprietor Dale Coyne shares in Shank’s evaluation.
“It’s not futuristic,” mentioned Coyne. “It seems to be the identical. It’s like the present automotive. You up to date it by a few three years. It doesn’t appear to be a contemporary automotive.
“I feel we will take a much bigger step. There ought to have been two steps past [what was shown]. Let’s make one thing that has a ‘wow issue’ that players would take a look at and say, ‘Yeah, that’s actually cool.’”
The rendering shared with the groups was mentioned to function a rear wing just like that on the present F2 automotive. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Pictures
Rahal Letterman Lanigan co-owner Bobby Rahal wasn’t as passionately against the 2027 rendering, however did reference his previous buddy and former CART IndyCar race engineer Newey and reiterated there’s time for different ideas to be evaluated earlier than the design is finalized.
“I didn’t get the sense what we had been offered with was a carried out deal,” Rahal mentioned. “I obtained the sense that it was a ‘Right here’s the place we’re pondering of going, these are the areas we’re pondering of pursuing, tell us what you’re pondering.’
“Adrian Newey did an idea that was fairly superb, proper? And particularly now that we’ve got the aeroscreen, I’m fairly positive that [X1] automotive included a cockpit with a windscreen. Final yr Adrian and I had been having dinner and he mentioned, ‘The factor all people forgets is no person actually cares what radiator dimension you’ve, or when you’ve got strakes on the automotive or not. They care in regards to the total look of the automotive. That’s what excites them.’ And I did inform that to IndyCar.
“So how do you produce a automotive that’s easy and but simply so compelling isn’t going to be straightforward, however that’s the problem.”
Chip Ganassi Racing proprietor Chip Ganassi, who believes Penske Leisure will go along with a big quantity of carryover elements which might maintain the 2027 design from being vastly completely different from the DW12, supplied no opinion on the seems to be of the automotive, however did have staunch emotions on the place its visuals rank as a precedence within the design course of and wished to underline Rahal’s opening remark.
“Look, nothing is written in stone right here, nothing is locked in,” Ganassi mentioned. “You must make the automotive, engineering-wise, do what you want it to do first relating to security, upkeep, race on highway programs, ovals, all of the above. And you then say, ‘Okay, now let’s work on what it seems to be like.’ You don’t say, ‘Work on what it seems to be like first, after which make it do all of the stuff you want it to do.’
“It is advisable to construct a automotive with perform over type. Type follows perform. When these guys begin saying, ‘It must look this manner and look that approach’, you’re placing type earlier than perform, and that’s the place we disagree.”
Turning the dialog to the long run, McLaren CEO Zak Brown talked about McLaren’s help in serving to F1 with the technical and styling course of for its subsequent set of laws. If Penske Leisure wants new ideas for the 2027 automotive, Brown is prepared to deploy McLaren’s inventive crew on the matter.
“What I can let you know is we and different groups have labored very carefully with the FIA on the following Method 1 automotive in a really collaborative approach,” Brown mentioned. “We have now contributed our engineers and simulation and design workers to assist. They’ve achieved nice issues collectively, and we’d welcome doing the identical in IndyCar.”
