2015 verizon indycar series
season preview
32 chevrolet 2015 rc/so aero Kit
ROAD RELEVANT
Producing in the
region of 675hp at
12,000rpm, Chevy’s
twin-turbo, V6 IndyCar
engine is the poster
child for its direct-injection, small-capacity, turbocharged
road-car units, sharing
technology and DNA.
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While there’s still performance to be found, nobody’s
calling a truce any time soon in the indycar engine war...
aerodynamics are the new manufacturer
battleground in the verizon indycar series,
but it doesn’t mean a ceasefire has been
called in the ongoing engine war.
The 2015 season is largely a carry-over
in terms of engine development, and the list
of parts that are open for homologation
is relatively small. The most significant
changes relate to packaging, and how the
new bodywork will be wrapped around
the 2.2-liter, turbo v6 units.
“The installation is what will be most
visibly different to the fans,” says
chevrolet’s indycar program manager,
chris Berube. “But our pencils are never
put down, and i’m sure our competitor’s
aren’t either. We’re always trying to find
that little bit more, and maintain the
reliability that we’ve achieved in the
process. it’s natural that we did a proper
integration with the engine and aero kit.
They were not developed in silos.”
“it’s definitely very relevant to us for
the foreseeable future,” Berube says.
“We really like that combination of
specifications and we’ll continue to hone it.
“The engine technology transfer
happens in both directions – the direct
injection came from the production world
and we adapted it, working with our
production supplier Hitachi, for the race
engine. and, obviously, the small
displacement, the turbocharging, the e85
[fuel] – that’s all two-way transferrable.
We definitely enjoy that linkage.”
the other battleFIelD
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