zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Honda's IndyCar Aero Kit Has Wings On Wings On Wings (On Wings)
Honda's IndyCar Aero Kit Has Wings On Wings On Wings (On Wings)-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:44

Wings on wings on wings on wings: that's the theme for Honda's IndyCar aero kit. If your reaction to was a resounding "meh," perhaps this VTEC-kid-inspired set of venetian blinds will grab your attention.

Sure, it was a tad disappointing that the big news from IndyCar's Media Day was a body kit. A sweet body kit would certainly command attention in any early 2000s high school parking lot, but it's not exactly going to bring attention to IndyCar in droves.

Perhaps the wrong body kit went first. Honda's crazy collection of horizontal planes on their road course/short oval aero kit is one of the wildest designs I've ever seen fitted to a race car, particularly from the front view. It's visually stunning, and I can't wait to see it on a race course.

Honda claims that it's not just nuts, but functional. According to , Honda Performance Development teamed up with ex-Formula One designer Nick Wirth and his Wirth Research team to come up with the design.

Honda Performance Development Vice President Steve Eriksen says that the move away from strict spec cars is a good move for IndyCar. Eriksen told :

We've had a car that is essentially the same since 2012—all cars the same across the whole grid. Now you're going to have the visual differences across the cars. I think it will be engaging for the fans, particularly the folks that are really interested in the details. My sense is that it is really about getting back to the roots of IndyCar, where you have development going on as opposed to being spec.

The differences aren't just visual, though. Which aero kit will be better on track? We'll have to find out on March 29, when the season opener for IndyCar finally happens at St. Petersburg.

There are over 100 pieces in Honda's kit, and teams are permitted to add and remove elements as they see fit, adding a whole new element of strategy to the car setup.

Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay believes that the first half of the season will be spent just trying to make sense of the new aero bits.

"I think at the beginning, I really do think that the teams will just have blinders on, looking straight down at the computer trying to figure out what, when, and how they can make their own stuff work better," he told .

Hunter-Reay's team did much of the testing for the new aero kit and Honda power package during the lengthy IndyCar offseason. You can see the car in testing (plus other fun development bits, like the design being tinkered with in computational fluid dynamics software) in Honda's launch video for the kit:

Unfortunately for teams, moving away from a spec usually means additional costs. However, Honda kept the price for their aero kit incredibly reasonable in the world of big-budget race teams. $75,000 will get you the initial kit.

Will all these aerodynamic bits and baubles finally bring attention back to IndyCar? I'm still not sold on it, but given the vast difference between the two designs and the number of swappable parts on them, it at least looks like a small (albeit very small) step in the right direction.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
May 16, 2025
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
May 16, 2025
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
May 16, 2025
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
May 16, 2025
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
May 16, 2025
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
May 16, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved