Lotus Under Scruntiny for Car Design

The new Lotus team, headed by been-around-the-block Mike Gasgoyne, finds itself under the microscope this week because the initial designs of its car resemble that other another team.

And that’s a big no-no, although one that Lotus only will be officially bound by once it signs the Concorde Agreement.

But I think we all will agree that’s not the big news here. The big news: the team that Lotus is accused of parroting.

Red Bull? No.

Brawn GP? After all, it just won both championships. Not it.

McLaren? Try again.

OK...Ferrari? I mean, the car was kind of hopeless there at the end, but surely it has a solid base to begin with, right? No.

The Lotus wind-tunnel design looks, apparently, an awful lot like Force India’s car.

I know, I know, this might be a bigger sign of Lotus’ unlikelihood of making the grid than USF1’s unpainted HQ.

As a bit of a Force India fan, even I wouldn’t look to those cars for my model. Of course, Gasgoyne is an old Force India employee, so you can see where the issue starts.

Here’s a bit more from Autosport :

"

Force India is keeping a close eye on the progress of the Lotus Formula 1 team’s 2010 design, with team sources saying it is concerned about the similarities between its old car and the new Lotus.

Lotus recently published photographs of the wind-tunnel model that will form the basis of its new car. At the time, there was discussion about how similar it looked to the Force India – especially because Force India’s former Aerolab wind tunnel and technical chief Mike Gascoyne are now working together on the Lotus project.

Sources suggest that there were details on the wind tunnel model that have become a cause for alarm for Force India’s senior management. These relate to the design of the front wing assembly, which Force India believes is virtually identical to that which it started last season.

Furthermore, the team is concerned by the fact that the Lotus was fitted with wind-tunnel tyres that featured hand-writing from Force India staff – meaning they could only have come from the Silverstone-based team.

[snip]

“Obviously our wind-tunnel model was designed for us by Fondtech in Italy,” Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT.

“It is based around a 2010 chassis, because there is a big fuel volume in it, it has a Cosworth engine, an Xtrac gearbox, our suspension, and other stuff designed by us. The Fondmetal guys put some generic bodywork on [for the tests].

“Some of the staff had been working on different projects. And whereas you cannot copy anything or take anyone else’s IP, you can use your expertise – and you will base that on what you know and what directions you know have been happening. That is what has happened.”

"

Gasgyone’s argument is that Lotus is working with designers who know how the cars are put together, and so they put together a car that looks like the cars on the grid.

Sounds a bit fishy, though, given the connections to Force India. Plus, Gasgoyne drops this whopper: “Gascoyne added that because Lotus sub-contracts its design work to Fondtech, then any complaints Force India has should be directed to it – not Lotus.”

That sounds like he knows they’ve done something wrong to me—and not just picking the wrong car to mirror.

Oh, and there’s that whole “signed tires” issue. Sounds like the case is coming together pretty solidly.

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