2011 Lola B11/40 LMP2

[chop456]

Color me indifferent.

Lola, producers of LMP1 and LMP2 chassis for ACO-based sportscar racing, revealed their version of the new, lower cost 2011 P2 chassis today.

With a new class limit of €325,000 ($420,000), minus engine, or complete at €400,000 ($517,000), the B11/40 renderings reflect the need to greatly reduce manufacturing costs to stay within the 2011 cost cap. For the sake of comparison, a fully kitted 201 Lola P2 Coupe, minus engine, costs just over $975,000.

To meet a new sale price reduction of more than half, the popular Coupe version of Lola's P2 car -- as used by the Dyson Mazda team in the ALMS, for example -- has been abandoned, giving the B11/40 a similar look, at some angles, to the B07/40 that preceded the B08/80 Coupe. The tooling and production costs to manufacturer a Coupe version of a prototype, as most manufacturers confirm, is prohibitively expensive.

Designed to accept a wide variety of engine solutions, the British firm expects production-based motors from Nissan, HPD, Toyota, Jaguar, BMW and Ford to be available for installation.

Lola's familiar nose treatment, with tapered dive planes, a central nose duct and rounded cockpit rollover structures makes use of the lessons learned from their prototypes offered through 2009. More recent design aspects -- seen at the end of 2009 in P1 and this year in P2 -- have been carried over, especially with their sidepod sculpting that falls away in front of the rear wheels, and the tidied rear substructure.

Continued use of the P2-spec narrow rear wing span can also be seen, along with the new-for-2011 stabilization fin on the engine cover. Intended to reduce the likelihood of a blow over at extreme yaw angles, the prominent fin also offers an impressive amount of new signage space for sponsor logos.

More details on the B11/40 are due out shortly.

[Werner]

Well, except the stabilization fin this looks like any standard LMP chassis to me. The idea with the fin is not new though, Porsche Kremer raced it already in 1982

[Fran]

Would be nice if it was a real 2 seater and they did rides around the track!

[Nordic]

When the new cost limit rules where anounced didnt most companies say no way could they do it for that cost, seems like they have had a change of heart.

The new lola looks pretty smart, hopefully more will follow.

Gebharbt (spl) also used the central fin on their C2 car.

[Boorish Grobian]

With you Chop, doesn't exactly make my heart flutter.  Looks pretty much like the same Lola design we've seen for a few years now, with the addition of a dorsal fin.  They'll sell them to the usual suspects...
Fax

[SL]

Makes you wonder were they are going to make up the money?

Maybe a good idea to check the costs of spare parts and body panels.

Simon