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"As a bid to be the next Indy racer, the DeltaWing was met with skepticism and eventually passed over. Its narrow front track, lack of wings and small-displacement engine proved too far out of the realm for the IndyCar series. The players in the project, designer Ben Bowlby, Dan Gurney&amp;#039;s All-American Racers, Highcroft Racing and Michelin, though, weren&amp;#039;t done. They plan to run the car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the ACO&amp;#039;s 56th car (hence the Project 56 moniker), a grid spot traditionally given to a technologically innovative, or &amp;quot;outside-the-box&amp;quot; race car.        Project 56 will race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the ACO&amp;#039;s 56th car, a grid spot traditionally given to a technologically innovative, or &amp;quot;outside-the-box&amp;quot; race car.    The idea behind the controversial car, says Highcroft&amp;#039;s Paul Ryan, is &amp;quot;to find out what we could do with a clean sheet of paper, where the priority was to maximize efficiency.&amp;quot;   Project goals were to reduce the weight, aerodynamic drag and fuel consumption by half. Adjusting each of these values enabled gains in other areas of the car. For example, moving the front wheels inboard significantly reduced drag, which meant they could run a smaller engine that burned less fuel, which reduced weight. The process was enlightening, says Ryan, because it showed what could be done with the goal of producing a car that would support competitive, and efficient, racing as the chief priority.        Project 56 will race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the ACO&amp;#039;s 56th car, a grid spot traditionally given to a technologically innovative, or &amp;quot;outside-the-box&amp;quot; race car.    Because the DeltaWing has its center of gravity and its primary aerodynamic downforce located aft, between the rear wheels, the front wheels do not need to be large to maintain the same per-square-inch tire loading.   What a DeltaWing car that weighs 1050 lb. and has 300 bhp can achieve alongside LMP machines that weigh 1985 lb. with about 540 bhp will be an eye-opening experience at Le Mans. In the truest sense, that&amp;#039;s what Project 56 is all about. Look for more on the DeltaWing in a future issue. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a17786/project-56-deltawing/>