Finally, the IndyCar universal aero kit is no longer a conception, artist rendering or three-dimensional image. Finally, the IndyCar universal aero kit is a reality -- a real car that is set to hit the track for testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Tuesday and Wednesday.

Images of the car that will begin competition in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season were Monday. And as the IndyCar Series describes it, the new car will be “Bolder. Safer. Even more thrilling.”

The car will be used by both Honda and Chevrolet teams next season and the new car concept is also hoped to encourage a third and even fourth manufacturer to join the series before 2020.

IndyCar, Dallara and design experts in the United Kingdom -- paired with input from drivers, teams and fans were involved in the process to scrap the competitive aero kits used by Chevrolet and Honda. With a single aero kit providing downforce coming from the bottom of the car instead of the top, it will help decrease the amount of turbulence currently created by the aero kit pieces on the rear wings.

“This has been a year and a half in the making and the car is finally going to be on the track so we are exciting about that,” IndyCar president of competition and operations Jay Frye said Monday. “The reaction from the fans helped us a lot because it made us feel like we were going in the right direction, and that is great.

Chevrolet and Honda will supply the power for the new cars. Chris Owens

“If you take the engine cover off, you can now see the engine. Chevrolet and Honda will be able to showcase their engines in a different way. We wanted to be as transparent as possible with everything. We tested last year at Phoenix with changes to the current car before we designed the pieces for the new car. After that, we’ve had six or seven wind-tunnel tests and the results have come back very positive. We had a lot of boxes to check and so far, we have been able to check off every box.”

One of the boxes that is being checked is the development of a wind screen as a protection device for the drivers.

“The cars have been built and designed around having a windscreen and at some point, we will be testing one this season,” Frye said. “When we put it on we want to make sure we get it right. Then, we will decide if we want to use it or not in the future and then what season we will implement it.”

The new car for 2018 will come in two specifications: one for superspeedway ovals and the other for use on short ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits.

With streamlined aerodynamics, IndyCar officials expect more dicing for position. With the weight of the car shifted slightly forward, balance should be improved and the car will be more nimble.

“We wanted the drivers to pull up quicker and closer and not pull up and get stopped by the wake of air,” Frye said. “There has been a big gain to that. There are less parts and pieces on the car and hopefully that will have less debris and hopefully less cautions. As far as safety it will be a more robust car.”

The process for the new design started in April 2016 with invitations to potential manufacturers. Soon after, Frye's "reverse engineering" mantra came into play. Make the car sweet to the eye, then tasty to the track. Design it and they will come.

The new aero kits will eventually feature a windscreen for added driver safety. Chris Owens

The project began more than a year ago. Design support came from Dallara and Chris Beatty, a UK-based concept design and 3D animation consultant. Throughout the process, competitors contributed to the design progress.

The public reveal of the concept began with drawings shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi was one of the drivers in attendance. "It looks like a real race car," he said.

The car features a much lower profile reminiscent of the Indy cars of the early 1990s. A lower engine cover and lower short oval/road course rear wing endplates provide a long, lean look. Gone are the rear wheel guards, which made the car appear bulky. The wings are lower, smaller and more aesthetically pleasing.

The LED display system on each car -- which currently shows position in the running order, the time of a pit stop and when push-to-pass is engaged -- is more sophisticated, expanding opportunities for providing fans with content.

The car is also designed to be safer.

Side impact protection has been significantly improved in a variety of ways, including the sidepod leading edge and induct duct joined with two bulkheads to create a proper crushable structure ahead of the radiator. The unitary construction is designed to absorb loads from all directions, and the structure is 8 to 10 inches wider at the driver's hips.

The top of the sidepod has been designed to exceed FIA side-impact tests. The inlet duct, sidepod side and bottom have been constructed in hybrid carbon/dyneema fibers for improved penetration protection. Oil and water radiators have been moved forward, adding cushioning on the driver's side.

A wider leading edge mitigates the chance of another car's wheel climbing on top of the underwing.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia will test the new cars on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chris Owens

Simulations show the new car meets all of IndyCar's targets for not going airborne in spins at 90, 135 or 180 degrees yaw. The rear wing and front wing main plane are smaller and the centerline wicker from the nose of the car to the cockpit is tapered to provide protection against the car lifting when it spins.

The front wings are noticeably smaller with fewer pieces, reducing the amount of potential debris in incidents. Fewer pieces also means less to maintain.

Some elements added to fix previous instability issues (domed skids on the car's undertray and a large tail fin) are no longer necessary. The stability and downforce provided by the domed skids on the 2017 car have been replaced by lateral domes attached to the underwings of the 2018 car.

The rear wheel guards have been removed, therefore the winglets have been removed.

Fences in the rear of the underbody have been added to the road course/short oval package.

The design has allowed for a cockpit windscreen application, when developed.

Veteran drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia will serve as test drivers for the universal aero kit. Team Penske is providing the Chevrolet-powered car for Montoya; Schmidt Peterson Motorsports the Honda-powered chassis for Servia. All data, however, will be given to IndyCar and not the two test teams.

The testing schedule is as follows:

Tuesday and Wednesday (if necessary): Indianapolis Motor Speedway (superspeedway).

Aug. 1: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (road course).

Aug. 10: Iowa Speedway (short oval).

Sept. 26: Sebring International Raceway (street-course simulation; brakes and cooling test).

"The process started a year ago April, and we took the input of our fans, drivers, teams, manufacturers, partners, everyone shares in this,” Frye said. “There is a historical component to this design, and it comes with a very forward look and all the latest components. Although the design looked good on paper it looks even better in person. We couldn't be more excited to get this car on the track."

The total cost of the car is a conversion process. The car will be used for three seasons. The annual cost will be 30-to-40 percent less than the current car. IndyCar negotiated the term for a three-year period so teams can begin to put that into the budget.

Teams will get the cars in November. Team testing will begin in January.

"Chevrolet's IndyCar fans will continue to have a great deal to cheer about in 2018,” said Mark Kent, director, Chevrolet motorsports competition. “While we enjoyed tremendous success with the Chevrolet-specific aero kit, we are looking forward to the next chapter of competition as IndyCar introduces its universal aero kit.

“The focus for Chevrolet IndyCar teams, technical partners and Chevrolet engineers will be on optimizing the integration of our 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injection V-6 engine in this new package such that the engine continues to deliver the right combination of performance, efficiency and reliability to provide our teams and drivers the best opportunity to win races and championships."

Kent’s counterpart at Honda Performance Development (HPD) also supports the new look of the car.

"We're excited to see the 2018 Indy car body kit on track,” said Art St. Cyr, president, Honda Performance Development. “It looks great, with a return to a more traditional Indy car overall design, but with many forward-thinking elements and still incorporating the great advances in safety the series has made in recent years. It looks fast, as it should. We think the fans will love it, too."

Dallara will make the universal aero kit for all cars with the majority of parts built at its facility just a few blocks away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

"Two-thousand-seventeen marks our 20th year in IndyCar and we are glad that we can keep contributing to the great success that this series deserves,” said Giampaolo Dallara, founder and president, Dallara Automobili. “We have been working with the series' organization and the teams to reach this shared goal, and this day represents an extraordinary step forward to achieve it."

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