Swift enters Indy car fray - this is awesome!

WOW - I'll take one of these!!! really awesome and more CFD.

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/cars/441806/swift-enters-the-indycar-2012-fray.html

Carol

 

That is a beautiful car.

 

Swift builds excellent cars if anyone isn't familiar with them. I wish them luck. When USF1 goes away (oh sorry...IF), maybe they can pick up the slack.

 

Swift was big in Indy cars back in the Jimmy Vassar days, I remember him diving a Swift in Formula Atlantic and cleaning up, and then a couple of years later they got into CART.

 

I like the idea of exposed engines. Anyone know if "King" Hiro is still a shareholder in Swift?

 

It was him and the Panasonic money back in the day. New high tech wind tunnel when they made the car for Cart series.

 

For the IRL to move forward, they landed a good series sponsor. But now they need to approve a car that looks like no other so they get some world wide attention. If that mushroon design is practical, that would have an incredible impact on IRL's visibility.

 

Last I heard (a year ago) Hiro Matsu****a still owned Swift...

Hey! The software thought his name was a swear word!!!

 

most of his competitors thought the same!

 

thanks for the link carol. i'd heard of their entry but hadn't seen any pics.

interesting that there are 2 car designs. notice the difference in the rear wing mounting. first you have a typical formula car mount (center supports) but then you have another type with end supports. supposedly this gives better downforce with less drag. (has anyone noticed some ALMS cars in 09 had wings mounted from ABOVE (center supports that looped over to suspend the wing from above rather than support it from below), this improves the aero i guess.)

nice mention in the article about formula nippon also. i like those cars to the point i'd been considering how can i get one. they are too pricey for me though.

 

Pic of 2nd car.
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1st car
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That's it!! If IRL cars looked like this, they would impress many in the world. I would watch this series before watching the Montezemelo BS series. Sadly, wishful thinking.

 

I'm liking this version better.

As for the SwiftLight, or whatever they called it, that acceleration/braking/fuel consumption....just not digging that idea. I prefer the mystery of what is actually happening...outsde of what I hear on the scanner. No sense telegraphing what you are doing to your competitor. For those of us fresh off the Superbowl, how much fun would it have been for Peyton to tell the Saints that he was in process of throwing a pass to Clark across the middle? No fun in that.

 

...interesting. Looks more like a teenager's notebook sheet than something plausible.

Where's the front downforce?


_J

 

I'm thinking I am in error here, maybe it was Reynard??

 

Swift was involved in Atlantics for years, I believe as the sole chassis supplier.

They joined CART in the late 90's and won a few races with Newman Haas and Michael Andretti, and sold cars to a few other teams (Robby Gordon and Dan Gurney/AAR, I believe)

 

Yes, they won in Cart and are a far step from a teenagers notebook sketches.
Killer drones and weapons of war.

http://www.swiftengineering.com/about.shtml

 

be sure to go to the motorsports section on their website - really awesome formula nippon cars

Carol

 

the Formula Nippon cars are beautiful.

didn't realize they were involved in Toyota's NHRA program, interesting.

 

Thus far, it appears that both Dallara and Swift have each shown several radical "fantasy" designs which will probably not even be considered (sadly), and one "safe" viable design.

 

That car looks SICK! I don't know how they'd handle on the street courses, but those would be a blast to watch on speedways. They look like the cars from the Speed Racer movie.

 

+1, exactly what I was thinking, SR.

 

You think that is radical? Look at the Delta Wing! I can't believe that's the design the major teams are backing....

This Swift design looks downright dull and run-of-the-mill in comparison.

 

I read something on another site that stated that they are the same car with two different aero packages. The swoopy one is low downforce for ovals and the more conventional one is high downforce for road courses. I like 'em!

Cheers,
Kurt O.