http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1868/lolab0860lmp11wd9.jpg

Big news out of the last week's Autosport show is the release of the first image of the Lola B08/60 LMP1 coupe coupled with news that Team Charouz will be fielding an Aston Martin powered version this season.

But let's back track for a moment to catch up on multiple birds and one stone, last month the ACO released the 2008 LMP Regulations (http://www.mulsannescorner.com/chassisregulations/2008LMP12.pdf). For the most part changes were relatively minor but for one exception, the ACO added a "homologated engine" note to the LMP1 engine column. Previously there was nothing stopping someone from racing a GT1 engine in the back of an LMP1 chassis (Lister Corvette engine for example), but the regulations didn't encourage it given the draw back of the higher weight and design constraints of a GT based engine vs. the unlimited nature of bespoke racing power plants from Judd, AER, etc. But that has now changed and engines homologated for GT1 (production of 1000 units a year) are now recognized within the LMP1 engine regulations and given larger inlet restrictor for comparable engine capacity. For comparison, a 6.0 liter, multi valve bespoke LMP1 engine is allowed a 45.5 mm restrictor where as a GT1 homologated engine can used a 47.2 mm restrictor (46.6 mm base + .6 mm for over 12 cylinders). So that will mean more power from the GT1 engine in LMP application to make up for its deficiencies. Le Mans is a power circuit and such that faced with the prospects of having to lug around less ballast because of greater engine weight, you'd always take that hit if it meant 30 more horsepower.
Team Charouz will be using the 6.0 liter V12 out of the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 in their Lola B08/60 this season.

Source: www.mulsannescorner.com (http://www.mulsannescorner.com)

I love that Design!, it's the pretties Lmp car out there!, but im not sure if it will be fast enough to catch the Peugeot's and Audi's!, but it would be cool if we could get a 4 teams fighting for victory! (Peugeot, Audi, Lola, Pescarolo)

This is very neat, correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like this car is more downforce oriented then the other LMP cars.

I don't think it will be having that high downforce setup at Le Mans. The angle of the rear wing will be lower, and it won't be using the add-on front dive planes on the side of the fenders. The agressive lourvers will probably be flattened with the low downforce setup too.

I dunno, I guess this setup is used for testing at a private track. Or maybe it's the Sebring setup.

Interesting Tom, I know that high downforce setups don't work wonderfully well at LeMans but then again it does have it's uses as the 917 learned in it's first few races.

You'd be the one who would know, does the LMP rules allow for adjustable downforce settings from inside the car by the driver?

Look's alot like the Bentley Speed 8, but then again most LMP's look like that.

I like it :).

Interesting Tom, I know that high downforce setups don't work wonderfully well at LeMans but then again it does have it's uses at the 917 learned in it's first few races.

You'd be the one who would know, does the LMP rules allow for adjustable downforce settings from inside the car by the driver?I don't know, but I don't think so. The Bentley was running with a wrong downforce setup for 10 hours in 2003. If the drivers were able to adjusted it, they would likely have done it. But that's a while ago now anyway, the regulations about that might have changed.

I haven't read the ACO regulations, so I'm not 100% correct, but a wing controllable from inside the cockpit would constitute a movable aerodynamic device. Their frowned upon in Formula 1 (frowned upon meaning banned), so I can only assume that the ACO would have implemented similar regulations.

In fact, I got a hold of the 2007 regulations, and section 3.6.3 cocnerns the rear wing. Point a.3 clearly states that the wing 'Not be adjustable from within the cockpit'. So unless they've changed it for 08, the answer is no :)

BTW, I agree the setup looks a tad downforce heavy, especially the rear wing.

I haven't read the ACO regulations, so I'm not 100% correct, but a wing controllable from inside the cockpit would constitute a movable aerodynamic device. Their frowned upon in Formula 1 (frowned upon meaning banned), so I can only assume that the ACO would have implemented similar regulations.

In fact, I got a hold of the 2007 regulations, and section 3.6.3 cocnerns the rear wing. Point a.3 clearly states that the wing 'Not be adjustable from within the cockpit'. So unless they've changed it for 08, the answer is no :).That answers my question, I just wondered because I'm not extremely familiar with the downforce vs top speed in the straight strategy employed by the LMP cars and the sight of such a downforce heavy car made me wonder how well it would do on the long straights of LeMans.