Since 1972, the Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara has been a force to be reckoned with in the racing community. There are many locations to look if you want to see what Dallara can do: Formula Three, Formula E, IndyCar, Indy Lights, Rolex Sports Car Series, Formula One, just to name a few. The company knows how to make a ballistic missile with four wheels become a useable weapon on a track. They’ve even built chassis for Ferrari, Audi, Chrysler-Oreca and Toyota. Racing is all they have done up until this point.
And that’s where the newswire is going haywire: a Dallara road car was recently caught by spy photographers, fanning the flames on a rumor mill that has been going for years. It looks like a two-seat track monster and is in early prototype stages, but the word is a turbo four-cylinder that should make copious amounts of power and a chassis that is ready to handle anything. In other words, don’t expect a luxury sedan anytime soon, much less an SUV. Good! Now, what kind of potential are we looking for here?
The cars in the video are the brand new Dallara P217 cars meant for LMP2, testing at Monza. The noise you are hearing is courtesy of the LMP2 spec engine, a Gibson Technology GK428 4.2L V8 that’s good for 600 horsepower and 410 ft/lbs of torque. We’d love to know where the rev range is on this howler!
Why are all LMP cars the ugliest ever seen in motor sport?
They all have blunt noses with huge square headlamps, those giant sharkfins and have the artistic merit of a lump of wood. So if Dallara want to make a success of a road car they should at least make it good looking enough so you don’t want to cover it with a giant paper bag whilst driving it!