Haas plans to move team to IRL

Champ Car team co-owner Carl Haas plans to take his multiple
title-winning team to the rival IndyCar Series in 2009 if a merger between the
two championships cannot be agreed before then.

Haas, who owns Champ Car's most successful team
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing with Paul Newman an Mike Lanigan, told SpeedTV:
"It hasn't happened yet but we've certainly considered going.

"It may not happen this year, but it's highly probably that
we'll go for 2009 because there needs to be one series."

There have been several unsuccessful attempts to unify Champ
Car and IRL in the 13 years since they split, but with only Paul Tracy, Graham
Rahal and Oriol Servia confirmed so far for Champ Car this season, Indy boss
Tony George is rumoured to have proposed a new deal to Champ Car bosses.

Team PKV co-owner and 1996 Champ Car champion Jimmy Vasser is
eager for the two series to unite as soon as possible: "We've got to make a deal
with Tony George," he said.

But Conquest Racing boss Eric Bachelart believes there are
still issues that prevent a successful merger: "The problem I see is that the
IRL and Tony [George] would want control and that's tough for the Champ Car
guys," he said.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64852 

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Car Design News Contest 2008

Car Design News has announced the first edition of its all-digital
international car design contest. Open to both professional and student
designers, it will start on next 16 January and the submission deadline will be
26 March 2008.

Car Design News Contest 2008 will be judged by senior auto design directors
from major automotive manufacturers, including Martin Smith, executive vice
president of design at Ford Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, and Shiro Nakamura,
senior vice president and head of design at Nissan (see the complete jury
panel).

This contest is unique as all designs will be created as virtual computer
models.

There are two contest categories - professional designer and student designer
- with top prizes that include a software license for Alias DesignStudio
software, $2,000 in cash and 12 months membership to Car Design News.

The contest will begin on 16 January 2008 with the announcement of the design
brief, full panel of judges and assessment criteria.

The design brief will focus on the lives of three "Millenniumites" (people
born in 2000) as they might be in 2028.

The deadline for the projects submission is 26 March 2008; finalists will
have additional eight weeks to further develop their proposals. A gallery of all
finalist and winning entries will be published 2 July 2008.

"This is a contest created by car designers for car designers, and we expect
the most skillful and creative professionals and students from around the planet
to participate," said Sam Livingstone, director, Car Design News. "The final
digital gallery of finalists and winners will showcase some of the most exciting
designs ever seen."

The contest is spoindored by SABIC Innovative Plastics and Autodesk.

Website: 
www.cardesignnews.com.

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Exclusive: Bertone BAT 11 unveiled

For the first time in over 50 years, Bertone sadly did not have a stand at
this year's Geneva Show, largely due to the severe financial difficulties
facing the company. However, that didn't stop them making a surprise debut at
the first AutoDesignNight last night in Geneva with the amazing BAT 11
concept, commissioned by American enthusiast Gary Kaberle who owned the
original 1955 BAT 9 car. The car was exclusively unveiled before an audience
of 400 of the world's top designers at an evening reception at La Sip
nightclub in the heart of the city.

Marie-Jeanne Bertone and David Wilkie unveil the concept

Based on a modified Alfa Romeo 8C platform, the BAT 11 continues some of the
distinguishing elements of the original 'Berlinetta Aerodynamica Tecnica' cars
designed by Franco Scaglione and developed by Nuccio Bertone. These include
the tapered fins and faired wheels, all in a context where soft proportions
are combined with strong, robust lines. The monolithic form has a simple
dihedral bodyside section with fins that seem to have been designed as a shawl
that wraps around the car beginning from the front fender and extending to the
top of the side windows toward the rear.  

The front end is strongly tapered
to a V-shape with a neat Alfa Romeo shield low down in the lean-forward nose.
The V-shaped form continues into the wraparound windshield and continues at
the rear, with a center fin butting up to the tapering rear window and a pair
of open air extraction slots behind the rear wheels. The vast bat wings cant
over at nearly 45 degrees towards the back, with the rear edge housing a pair
of thin LED taillamps. The 21-inch wheels feature a double layer of twisted
spokes, the outer ones made in carbon fiber that, according to designer Gwen
Pennarun, are a contemporary update of the original Borrani wire wheels.

The story behind this car is quite remarkable and CDN will be bringing you
the full account in a subsequent Design Development story in the next couple
of weeks. Watch this space...

From :
http://www.cardesignnews.com/

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