DeltaWing, a Nissan-powered race Batmobile, zooming into Le Mans

This is the DeltaWing, a Nissan-powered race car that will run in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans as an experiment taking its first laps in the United States on Thursday. Its creators aren't chasing a victory so much as a validation that their ideas could make racing better. Think of it as a Batmobile for the race track.

Built by a consortium of racing firms and suppliers headed by designer Ben Bowlby and endurance-racing backer Don Panos, the DeltaWing was created as a possible alternative to IndyCars. When Indy racing decided to stick with a more traditional design, the DeltaWing's backers looked for other opportunities to prove their concept.