Acura rolls out its new prototype—designated the ARX-02a—in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in what may be the most interesting sports car race of the year.
The 57th running of the classic endurance race in central Florida will bring together Acura, Audi and Peugeot for the first—and probably only—race this year in the most technologically advanced sports cars on earth.
“We’re taking on the big players in sports car racing,” said Scott Sharp, who will be one of Acura’s drivers with Patron Highcroft Racing. “[Audi and Peugeot] are duking it out in Europe and at Le Mans. Those are two serious programs.”
“The technology in the cars is incredible,” Sharp said. “They’re like F1 cars with bodies on them.”
Wirth’s design is somewhere between unconventional and radical, and uses the same width tires on all four corners.
“Typically, the front tires are more narrow than the back tires,” Sharp said. “But to go against Audi and Peugeot with their turbo diesels, knowing those power numbers, to make up for that, the chassis design had to be pretty aggressive.”
The Acura’s design is both advanced and aerodynamic. It has a raised front nose like F1 cars to channel air around the body. According to Sharp, if all goes well, they should end up with more tire to the ground, more mechanical grip to the ground and more cornering speed.
“You can see on our cars the body work is much wider to encompass the front tires,” Sharp added. “Theoretically, you have more drag and you have to put in more downforce to get the tire to work well. We’re still in the early stages of development, but it’s showing promise. Once we get the car to where we want, it will really fly.”
Wirth believes the cornering speeds by the Acura may be the fastest in Sebring history.
“The goal of this new program was to try and create the fastest and most agile P1 car that’s been built,” Wirth explained, “and also try and find a fundamental advantage that would offset the diesel’s raw power.”
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