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DeltaWing unveils new GT race car, paves way for street version

The DeltaWing has been one of the most innovative motorsports stories in years, proving that you don't need silly horsepower numbers to be fast. That car competes in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in the prototype class, as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

But this weird looking creature isn't just a flash in the pan; Don Panoz and his team have today unveiled new plans to expand, eventually leading to a DeltaWing sports car you can actually buy for your driveway.

The first step in the expansion arrives in the form of a GT-style race car, designed to compete against the likes of the Corvette, Ferrari 458 Italia and others in the booming GT class. Once again, the ideology is the simple: utilize a narrow front track to reduce drag and weight, therefore requiring a smaller, far more efficient engine for propulsion. The GT car is expected to appear in 2015, and will run alongside the team's current car.

Photo courtesy of www.deltawingracing.com
Photo courtesy of www.deltawingracing.com

With acceptance of this concept gaining traction to the point where onlookers can see past the oddball design, the road to public consumption has been laid out. The next step is to create a prototype two- and four-seat production vehicle, and prove that it's a legitimate alternative to your traditional sports car. According to journalist Marshall Pruett, the four-seat sports car should retail for around $27,000 to $30,000 and get 70 mpg. That puts it squarely inline with the Subaru WRX and BRZ/Scion FR-S twins. Road & Track reports that the two-seater will cost roughly $60,000 and boast a 350 hp 4-cylinder.

For the DeltaWing Technology Group to eventually succeed in the public market, the old saying rings true: Only when they can win on Sunday will they sell on Monday.