New Atlantic car to be slower

UPDATE #2 We are downgrading this rumor to 'false' as we now have some more accurate data. The old car had 240 HP, not 275 and weighed 1290 pounds with driver and 25 pounds of ballast, vs. 1400 pounds for the new car with driver and ballast. The new car has 300 HP so the power to weight ratio of the new car is actually better than the old car.

In addition, whereas the old car generated 1750 pounds of downforce, the new car generates 2350 pounds. We learned today that already the new car was lapping Firebird 3/4 sec. per lap faster than the old car.

02/16/06 The previous car weighed 1,265 pounds (with 275 HP) with the driver, vs. 1,400 pounds (with 300 HP) with driver now. The HP/Weight ratio was 0.217 but has now dropped to 0.214 with the new car. It will be interesting to see the performance numbers of the new car vs. old in race qualifying conditions. In our opinion, the new car needs about 50 more HP. Time for Cosworth to work its turbo magic, because that's about the only way to get 50 more HP from the normally aspirated engine given the piston speeds are already right up there with an F1 car. 02/16/06 As nice as the new Champ Car Atlantic car is, expect it to be slower than the car it replaces. The new car is bigger, but in an effort to reduce cost, it is also very heavy. The new car with driver weighs 1400 pounds with a 165 pound driver and 25 pounds of ballast. That is not much lighter than the new 165 pound lighter 2007 Champ Car. With just 300 HP vs. 800 HP for the Champ Car, expect lap times to be slow.

To reduce cost things like the sidepods are fiberglass instead of carbon fiber. The rear wing end plates are wood with carbon fiber lamination instead of all carbon fiber. Add in the bigger car and this all adds up to a heavy car. While it is not bad to get a driver used to a heavier car before reaching Champ Car, it's clear the series needs to bump up HP in future years to something around 350 or 400. Might a turbocharger be in this car's future?