Why We Should All Thank DeltaWing

To be clear, I do not like the DeltaWing concept car. Primarily because it does not fit my definition of "car," that being roughly rectangular with four corners. Therefore, I hope the ICONIC advisory board does not recommend the DeltaWing as the 2012 IndyCar.

However ...

I do think we should all give the DeltaWing developers props in several key areas.

1) Giving everyone permission to think freely, SIR! -- When it comes to "radical" or even "very new" ideas, nobody wants to go first. Because they are afraid they will be ridiculed and look bad. DeltaWing went first -- which required courage and came at a cost -- and offered a seriously radical idea for the new car.

I and others played our role of howling at it and comparing it to man parts. BUT, as we all know, once someone has gone first with a crazy idea, then it becomes much easier for others to offer other crazy -- or at least unconventional -- ideas. DeltaWing gave everyone cover in that area, because they could always say "At least it's not as insane as the Delta Wing." Having a radical idea out there just emboldens others to think in a more fresh fashion. So thank you DeltaWing for blowing the conservative lid off this thing right out of the gate. 

2) Kudos for Scientific Honesty -- Delta's chief designer Ben Bowlby went there. Delta's idea was to take the function of fuel efficiency, lower costs, etc. etc. and just see what form emerged. And there it is. Would have been easy to widen out the front wheels and compromise a bit on the specs they were shooting for, but DeltaWing didn't do that. That took some large, and praise-worthy, attachments. 

3) Willingness to Meet and Greet the Customers -- Really sustained props to Ben Bowlby and the DeltaWing peeps for their work displaying the windtunnel mock up and meeting and greeting at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 500 fortnight.

(Note: all car designers were invited to have displays in the Pagoda Plaza, but were only given something like 36 hours notice. The others, which didn't have full-scale mock ups, did put up posters.)

Bowlby spent hours next to the car, meeting fans, asking what they thought, explaining how it works, etc. etc. And he seemed to be enjoying the interaction.

I talked to him a bit about the car (read it here) at IMS and liked Mr. Bowlby immediately. He knew I was not a fan, yet was happy to discuss things with me. Very classy and admirable. If only everyone of differing opinions could interact so cordially. I am sure if the other entrants in the 2012 car derby had a prototype they would have done the same, but Bowlby was indefatigable at IMS. Kudos. 

4) Buzz Building Props -- You gotta give it to the DWing for drawing a crowd. At IMS people were looking, touching, getting their photos taken with the car. Again, hard to say what would have happened if Swift slammed down my personal favorite, the 66, next to the Delta Wing, but the futuristic, visually radical nature of the Delta did get people talking. 

Like the DeltaWing or loathe it, give its makers hearty congratulations for the reasons above. Someone has to go first if the league is to start thinking beyond centuries old traditional boundaries to new, innovative ways to grow and thrive in the 21st Century (something I carp about constantly). Delta did just that.

Comments

[Nathan]

I don't really want the car to win.

I want the CONCEPT to win. Whoever wins out must apply Delta's thinking to their cars:

1. 4 cylinder engines
2. Smaller, lighter cars
3. Lower costs
4. Built domestically
5. Better safety
6. Better fuel economy
7. TURBOS!
8. All that but same performance of today

That's all we've heard from IndyCar and the ICONIC people the past few months.

All those things were talked about by The DW people well before not only their concept, but the others were drawn up.

They really stirred the pot and we're all the better for it.

I hope they build the prototype and test it. We all want to know if it can WORK. If it does it could end up becoming the 2017 chassis.

[Concerned Fan]

@Nathan: None of those things are "Delta's thinking." All of those things---except #8, which is unacceptable---are the thinking of of the IRL. They are the ones that established those criteria.

[Savage Henry]

I would love to see the DeltaWing as one of the car options for 2012. I don't know if that's feasible, from a safety point of view, to have this car on-track with other designs. However, this car should have a chance to prove it on the track.

I wouldn't want to have this car be the "spec" car for the series starting in 2012. But then again, I don't want any "spec" car. The storyline of "traditional" vs. "radical" designs would be great for the series.

I believe that by 2020, racing cars are going to look more like the DeltaWing than the current designs. It just makes too much sense, ugly or not.

[Dylan]

Disagree, I don't think fuel efficancy matters in a racecar that's not at Le Mans. Can't say I support the 4cylinder idea either... and we need better preformance, not the same. My view is Delta Wing woud make a great addition to ALMS instead of LMC.

[The Speedgeek]

I agree with every last thing Nathan and Savage Henry wrote up there. Every single automaker, domestic and foreign, is looking at every single one of those aspects when it comes to cars in the future. Read a Car and Driver or watch a show like FastLaneDaily.com and you'll see that every manufacturer is going to smaller, more efficient (while still powerful) engines, lighter weight (weight is the enemy of speed and fuel economy), all while maintaining or lowering corporate costs. There's no reason that the racing world shouldn't follow suit. It makes sense.

Someday soon (I'm talking ten or so years from now), V12 and maybe even V8 engines are going to be extinct in all but the most expensive exotic cars. Even trucks will have an increasing number of V6 engines (Ford is already doing this with its EcoBoost V6 engine in the F150) or have V8s with extreme fuel saving technology (cylinder deactivation, start/stop mild hybrid technology), and most passenger cars will have 4-cylinders or V6s at the upper end. As the world's fuel supply burns away (or floats off into the sea), this is critical. No manufacturer will want to put a fuel hog massive horsepower racing engine into the world, because they will be seen on a global level (by potential customers, who are a far different group from race fans) as being environmentally irresponsible. Besides, if you can have a car that makes less power, uses far less fuel and runs just as fast as the cars of today, why wouldn't you do it?

Question to Concerned Fan: I'm confused as to why all of that is the IRL's thinking. Is that because of the press conference they had with Dallara in the week or two before the DW unveiling? Because my reaction to that is that all of that rhetoric was in reaction to the development and ethos of the DW, which had been in development for months at that point and which they knew was about to be rolled out. No? Thoughts?

[Andy Bernstein]

Concerned Fan is correct: all of the general design criteria had been discussed since the first engine rountable meetings and in public statements about future race cars by Barnhart and MacTaggart. Before anyone knew the Delta was being planned.

Agreed with Bill, the radical departure of the Delta was unforseen, since it's not a car: it's a brilliantly executed design of a concept vehicle.

Under the cover was a machine that looked somewhat unique, and requires control systems untested by race car drivers and ambiguous in complexity and cost.

But Bowlby, that guy is a piece of work. He's made mistakes in the past, like every designer. There is no one set of anwers, or every F1 and prospective IndyCar would be close to identical. Always compromises, and in the Delta's case some extreme ones. Perhaps they are all valid, and perhaps the results will be proven one day.

The whole story has been fascinating to watch, and the bite-sized lessons in vehicle dynamics delivered by a Master of the Art has been enlightening. Those of us who were absent from class at Indy missed a lot.

So Bill is spot on: Bowlby's genius gives insight to other designers, the IRL, Firestone, market analysts, and everyone else paying attention.

Now all we need is a new IndyCar. And since there will be only one, it should complement the current field...not eliminate it.

The Delta prototype has not been funded. Expecting 66 new race cars to be constructed and purchased is another radical concept, and one that creates even more skepticism in my mind.

[J. Madison]

Big props to Ben Bowlby! He has really put his heart and soul into this project and has been very classy and kind throughout. Also, it is my understanding that Ben's concept has Bernie Eccelstone nervous and that's a good thing on many different levels!