CaterhamF1 CT-01 Renault

[beelsebob]

Sorry, nothing to do with the new Caterham, I just hate the level of hyperbole people use when either talking about ugly F1 cars, or the rules.

My reference for a curvaceous car is this one:...

Agreed – that's a sexy car – but, there having been a sexy car in the past, and an ugly one now is not a proof of your statement "Every -single- year you think F1 cars can't get any uglier. And every -single- year you laugh out loud when you see it."

On the other hand, the car I linked being older than the car you linked *is* a disproof of that statement.

[gold333]

Sorry, nothing to do with the new Caterham, I just hate the level of hyperbole people use when either talking about ugly F1 cars, or the rules.

My reference for a curvaceous car is this one:...

Agreed – that's a sexy car – but, there having been a sexy car in the past, and an ugly one now is not a proof of your statement "Every -single- year you think F1 cars can't get any uglier. And every -single- year you laugh out loud when you see it."

On the other hand, the car I linked being older than the car you linked *is* a disproof of that statement.

Well first of all the Penske PC4 was a lot better looking than the PC3 you posted a picture of. I'm glad they banned the high airboxes halfway through '76.

But to be honest I was being honest with laughing out out loud every year for the past few years at how ugly F1 cars have become.

Cars did get better and better looking until about 1994. It started with the narrower goodyears in '93. That's not nice but we could live with it. But then the mandatory stepped bottom a-la Indycars in '95 and the ridiculous wooden plank that we still have. A Formula car 1 should have a flat bottom, and cause massive sparks when driven, but not in F1 apparently. Then the cars themselves got narrower and thinner in '98. Wide racecar? Not in F1. Then they made the ridiculous narrow rearwing and the snowplough front wing in '09. Every time I'm seeing these for the first time I'm laughing out loud at the castration of my favourite motorsport.

And now we finally have this nose, which as everyone agrees is shockingly repugnant. It's just that I have witnessed this happening since 1995. Year in year out.

But this nose regulation is going to be the last straw for many.

[beelsebob]

But this nose regulation is going to be the last straw for many.

I'm pretty confident that McLaren will demonstrate it's possible to build a beautiful car even with the new nose regulations.

[Caterhamrules]

Not the best credit to Lurk for providing me the first 2 pics

[beelsebob]

I find this more interesting:

It's not quite as tight as the RB7, but it's very close.

The radiator intakes and the side pod underneath looks not quite as well sculpted, but it's fairly good.

[shelly]

IIRC the rB7 has the fattest sidepod in the low zone below(dBu, across the vertical line of the comparison) and tapers form there, whereas last year almost all the other cars were slimmier in that zone.

From what I have seen in these first pictures (but it is difficult to define) caterham seem to have chosen a similar path, with a wider section that put an end to the front undercut and then tapers to the rear. Last year lotus had a tighter undecut that went all the way I think

[boson]

To my mind, all I can think of when I look at that horrible bump is one of the ugliest cars ever...

THE MULTIPLA



I REALLY hope that Mclaren or RB will shake things up and go for a low nose and are instead exploiting things that none of us have even thought of yet, with great effect.

[gridwalker]

HAH! Now a CT-01 to Multipla morph is an animated gif that I could enjoy (in a cringeworthy kind of way) ... Does anyone with more time on their hands want to take up the challenge?

[Tyler]

Sorry, nothing to do with the new Caterham, I just hate the level of hyperbole people use when either talking about ugly F1 cars, or the rules.

My reference for a curvaceous car is this one:



But if you think the 2012 Caterham is a sexy car by all means you're free to do so.
The same way that I'm free to throw up when I look at it.

PS: Even the 2012 Caterham's own designers are saying it's ugly.

Now that's a real beaut!!!!
I think that the cars of the early 90's are some of the best looking ever, however I also think that the cars of the late 90's, after the constructors began copying the high noses of the Benetton's are some of the ugliest ever.

I think that in general low nosed cars look better but then again beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So I wouldn't agree that F1 cars get uglier EVERY year, we just seem to go through some periods where the cars are uglier than others.

Anyway back on topic it will be interesting to see how many others go down this route.
I would have thought that a steep step in the nose like that would form a bit of a barrier for airflow passing over the top and that a gradual smooth incline would have been better.

However I know very little about aerodynamics, I understand that this design allows as much air as possible to flow under and around the car to reach the diffusor but perhaps someone could explain how it would effect airflow over the top of the nose.

[mith]

Maybe it's sidepods are bit bigger than those of RB7, but as for new team this car looks stunning (despite the caiman nose) and we have to remember, that RB7's cooling was probably aided by cold blowing which is banned this year.

[shelly]

What I am pointing at is that rb7 was the fattest in an area, and now ct-01 seems as fat as rb7 ther, and fatter than t128

[beelsebob]

What I am pointing at is that rb7 was the fattest in an area, and now ct-01 seems as fat as rb7 ther, and fatter than t128

But way way way way way tighter than the T128 pretty much everywhere else. I don't think there's any issue with the lack of a significant undercut there, in fact, the RB7 proved there really isn't a significant one.

[Tyler]

To my mind, all I can think of when I look at that horrible bump is one of the ugliest cars ever...

THE MULTIPLA



I REALLY hope that Mclaren or RB will shake things up and go for a low nose and are instead exploiting things that none of us have even thought of yet, with great effect.

You're right it does look like a Multipla!!!
Lately McLaren seem to do their own thing - of all the 2011 competitors, their nose and sidepods were the most 'different' and didn't follow the trend in that respect.
I don't expect to see a nose like this from McLaren.
I think we'll get a nose very similar in shape and design to last years, just a bit lower - it was already lower than the rest so they shouldn't have to make it radically different.

[Goran2812]

so, if the aero works, and they have KERS this year... what are your predictions for the team???

[awizul]

so, if the aero works, and they have KERS this year... what are your predictions for the team???

I really hope they won't maintain the gap... [-o<