The NASCAR car of the future, or as it more commonly known on the circuits, the car of tomorrow (COT), has already been in race use for part of the 2007 season and it will be used for the whole of the 2008 and the tomorrow seasons following that one. So what is the NASCAR car of the future?

As most will have guessed by now, the COT is not just one specific car or make of car. It is instead a whole range of new templates and specifications that each of the carmakers has to comply with if they wish to compete within the sport. However, these are revolutionary designs, which means that, whilst some of the smaller component parts from existing cars may be transferable, the majority of the bodywork and other major features are totally different.

The COT has taken well over five years in the making, with the experts involved spending countless hours poring over plans, drawings and complex designs. Much of the objective of the new car was to improve safety both for the driver and other competitors although, along with this it had to remain as competitive, if not more so than the previous models. Finally, NASCAR was also looking for the COT to be more efficient, both in terms of running and production costs. Whether they have achieved these aims remains to be seen. However, let us take a look at some of the more important new features of the COT.

DESIGN AND SAFETY

The car has been made higher and broader than previous models, with the drivers seating position more centralised than it use to be and a better and tougher roll cage introduced. All of these improvements are meant to make the machine safer, for example there is less danger to the driver from side impact and a reduced likelihood of being crushed.

Furthermore, the old route of the exhaust system was causing heat problems to the drivers, with blistering and tiredness often occuring. Therefore this has been changed to take a different route through the car, thus relieving this strain and danger.

COMPETITION FEATURES

As stated a key objective of the redesign was to make the car more competitive than had previously been the case. The designers were tasked to come up with a car that would bring more excitement in terms of passing opportunities. This they dealt with by removing some of the car's more aerodynamic features. For example, windshields are more erect and bumpers are split to bring more wind resistance and thus slow the cars. The benefits of these moves and the larger rear wing should help to improve the drive and allow for more overtaking.

EFFICIENCY

Apart from the fuel efficiency, eco-friendliness and safety, the efficiency of cost has also been addressed in the COT. Up until now the teams have had to build two cars in order to compete effectively on both the short and longer tracks. With the new COT this will no longer be necessary. Thus the teams and makers will be saving enormous amounts of production and development monies.

All of the above changes have been made in order to achieve the described positive results. However, as has been said earlier, time will tell. All we do know is that, apart from some minor complaints over issues such as the safety cushioning, the drivers and teams seem to have, in the main, got the measure of the new cars during the latter half of the 2007 season. However, the final verdict will have to wait until these vehicles have completed a full season, although it has to be said that initial results look promising.

For more information on the |COT visit www.nascar.com

Learn more about this author, Paul Lines.
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