DP that actually looks good - can it be?

[grassrootsracer]

http://www.the-paddock.net/sportscar/content/view/241155/49/

It'd be even greater if it started to challenge the Riley for bragging rights, as well.

[harvick#1]

it almost looks to be like a GT1 car. but the car is by far the best DP car as looking good, but the bar was so low to begin with

[Sleeper]

It looks very nice, the old Piccio was uglier than the Riley!

[Jag_Warrior]

The windshield proportions still give it something of an odd look, but it's pretty sharp. I hope to see this one on track.

[FormerFF]

Man, that does look like a street car. I'd be surprised if it winds up as pretty after it is built as it does in the drawing.

[Erki]

I thought Alfa was going to build an LM GT2 car. :confused:

[Sleeper]

I thought Alfa was going to build an LM GT2 car. :confused:
The key words in that article are "feasability study". That means there trying to atract a manufacturer and what better for an Italian constructure than an Italian car company that is actively looking at building a GT car at the moment.

[Randy_L]

This is the first DP I've seen that seems to be specific to a manufacturer. The front has a sort of grill shape that is suggestive of Alfa Romeo. I wonder if GA will let that fly? I guess there is no rule against it as long as it could be adapted to other engines.

[Danske]

This is the first DP I've seen that seems to be specific to a manufacturer. The front has a sort of grill shape that is suggestive of Alfa Romeo. I wonder if GA will let that fly? I guess there is no rule against it as long as it could be adapted to other engines.

For 2008 every DP constructor can completely redesign their bodywork (to the existing rules). Each approved engine manufacturer can also submit one unique bodywork design for one particular DP chassis, to be used exclusively with that one engine/chassis combination.

For example, if Alfa did get an engine approved, and did sumbit unique bodywork to go on the Picchio, then that's what it could look like. The body doesn't have to look like anything in the Alfa product line, but it can if they want it to. Personally, I'm hoping the engine manufacturers try to build a better bodywork mousetrap than just slap together styling cues and toodle around at the back behind new and improved DPs.

[tannat]

What stock based engine waould Alfa install? V-6?

[bennybigb]

I was just wondering why EVERY Daytona Prototype is soooo butt ugly? If anyone knows, please enlighten me. I have tried so hard to be a fan of the series, mainly because I perfer my sportscar racing to be done with roofs (GTP Style), and DP always has full fields. But even then, I have not been able to trick myself into being a fan of those aweful cars.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Benny, the reason the DP's look "ugly" is because the rules dictate a certain sized greenhouse, very strict measurments on the track, wheelbase and how all the parts go together. The cars are held to these standards to make sure that the cars have limited downforce. You wont see ground effects tunnels, nor will you see exotic air ducting and air management in the front. The short noses are part of the rules for the dimensions up front to again limit down force. The large greenhouse is for safety, and yes, once again to manage the air flow of the car in such a way that the designers cant find ways to make downforce. The rules are written in such a way that you will notice that just about all the chassis were competitive for a while, so the differences in performance were not that great until the designers with the time and money had time to hone their designs, which is why Crawfords and Riley's are dominating now.

What you have to wrap your head around is that Grand-Am is big on cost containment, and big on keeping all the chassis kept to a performance level that would keep the speeds down to a level where driver differences would be the determining factor. They spec ruled the engines to give them equivalency as well. All the powerplants put out about the same HP and only slight variances in the torque. Now is this sports car racing as you and I grew up with? No, it isn't, and in many ways, Grand-Am is just weird to us traditional sportscar fans who love the technology and the sheer speed of the prototypes, but Grand AM has 27 DP's running most weekends. They have another 20 cars that often run in the GT classes. Whatever you think of Grand-AM, one must admit that it works on a lot of levels.

Grand-Am races are RACES and while the old NASCAR stage management of the races seems to come into play at times, for the most part they let the boys race, and the rules keep the cars pretty close. Are the cars pretty? Nope...some are just plain weird, but they work quite well, go fast enough to be considered a challenge by the men/woman that drive them, and at times they have put on spectacular shows.

It just means you have to enjoy watching strange body shapes that have no real relation to any car maker you know, but Bob Riley's designs have been around in IMSA and the ALMS and won at times in both. His Riley DP when you look closely is just another offshoot of those cars. These are race cars, just built to a set of strict rules that makes it almost impossible to make into a "beautiful" race car. This new Alfa Picchio beast may look nice, but lets see it race before anyone gets ready for a wholesale switch to this design.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but DP cars are turning laps faster than old IMSA style prototypes?

[BoilerIMS]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but DP cars are turning laps faster than old IMSA style prototypes?

Forgive me for not quoting a source, but I had to "borrow" these stats from another forum.

The DPs are not quite up to the old WSC speeds yet. Pole Speeds at Daytona:

1998 (WSC rules): 1:39.195
2003 (DP rules): 1:43.475

WSC rules were written to make the cars slower than Group C/IMSA GTP, so I'm going to assume the DPs are still not up to GTP speeds.

[Scuderia ferrari]

Wow...handsome beast. Would love to see this thing racing soon.