A Field Guide To Open Wheel Race Cars

This website is dedicated to comparing and contrasting the different Open Wheel categories run throughout the world. Being an avid bird watcher I have decided to emulate the format of a field guide for birds.

[Formula One] [CART] [IRL] [Toyota Atlantic] [F-3000] [Barber Dodge] [F3] [Formula Nippon]

[Formula Star Mazda] [Formula de las Americas] [ChampCar F6000] [More Soon]

Formula One
FIA World Championship

Grandprixus Equuspotentia

Identification:

Large prominent Airbox above and behind the drivers head (A). High nose (B). Skidboard under the car sometimes visible (C). Flat bottomed with a rear diffuser. High narrow sidepods. Looks slim and nimble for a big car. Always seen at the track with an Identical twin. Each team builds their own cars usually with an exclusive engine deal from a major manufacturer.

Specifications:

Engine: 3.0 L V10 normally aspirated

Horsepower: 750+

Wheelbase: 118in. / 300cm

Overall Length: 173in. / 438.7cm

Overall Width: 71in. / 179.5cm

Overall Height: 38in. / 96.1cm

Minimum Weight: 1100lb / 500kg

Habitat:

Only seen on Road Courses. Ranges from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Feeding:

High Octane Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

Unmistakable high pitched scream.f1.wav (216kb)

CART
Championship Auto Racing Teams

Campeador Americanus

Identification:

Low nose (A). No Airbox with a prominent roll over bar (B). Pop off valve limiting turbo boost protrudes from the back (C). Variable wing designs dependent on track type (D&E). Low wide sidepods. Visible Air inlet for the Venturi Tunnels (underwing ) beneath the car. (F). Sleek. Teams purchase chassis from Lola and Reynard and Lease engines from Ford, Honda, and Toyota.

Specifications:

Engine: 2.65 L V8 turbo

Horsepower: 850+

Wheelbase: 124in. / 314.7cm

Overall Length: 195in. / 495.3cm

Overall Width: 79in. / 200.7cm

Overall Height: 38.2in. / 97cm

Minimum Weight: 1550lb / 703kg

Habitat:

Seen on Oval, Road, and Street courses. Mainly seen in North America but migrates yearly to Australia, England, Germany, and Japan.

Feeding:

Methanol. Safer fuel than Gasoline but worse mileage and smaller tanks necessitates feeding more often than F1 cars.

Voice:

Muffled high pitched hum. cart.wav (191kb)

IRL
Indy Racing League

Circulus Artifex

Identification:

Prominent Airbox, larger and less sleek than on F1 cars (A). Low nose (B). Highly placed rear wing (C). Low wide sidepods. Has Venturi Tunnels (underwing) like CART cars. Impact attenuator strapped to the back of the gearbox (D). Deceptively heavy and ponderous looking, like the love child of a F1 and CART car that needs to go on a diet. Teams buy cars from Dallara, G-Force, and Riley & Scott and either build or lease engines constructed from Oldsmobile or Infinity produced parts.

Specifications:

Engine: 3.5 L V8 Normally Aspirated

Horsepower: 650+

Wheelbase: 122in. / 309.9cm

Overall Length: 193.74in. / 492.1cm

Overall Width: 79.55in. / 202.1cm

Overall Height: 37.3in. / 94.7cm

Minimum Weight: 1585lb / 719kg

Habitat:

Seen only on Oval courses in the United States. Their main roosting place is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Feeding:

Methanol.

Voice:

Trumpeters playing on a Freight Train. irl.wav (160kb)

Toyota Atlantic

Campeador Magister Atlanticus

Identification:

Slightly raised nose with a full width wing beneath (A). Prominent Roll Bar (B). Venturi tunnels clearly visible (C). Asymmetrical sidepods. Left sidepod radiator inlet, Right smaller opening for engine air intake (D). Seen with and without "Shark fin". (E). Visibly smaller and slower than Indy Lights cars. All teams use the same Swift chassis and purchase engines from independant builders.

Specifications:

Engine: 1.6 L Inline 4 Normally Aspirated

Horsepower: 240

Wheelbase: 104in. / 264.2cm

Overall Length: 166.9in. / 423.9cm

Overall Width: 77in. / 195.6cm

Overall Height: 37in. / 94cm

Minimum Weight: 1260lb / 572kg

Habitat:

Oval and road courses of North America. Never seen far from CART cars except in Canada.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

A Toyota Camry with a broken Muffler.

F-3000

Grandprixus Magister

Identification:

Generally less sleek looking than F1 cars. High nose (A). Prominent Airbox (B). Skidboard under the car visible (C). All teams run the same Lola chassis Visibly smaller and slower than Formula One cars. All teams use the same leased engine.

Specifications:

Engine: 3.0 L V8 normally aspirated

Horsepower: 470

Wheelbase: 111in. / 281.9cm

Overall Length: 165in. / 420cm (Approximate)

Overall Width: 80in. / 203cm (FIA Maximum)

Overall Height: 38in. / 96cm (FIA Maximum)

Minimum Weight: 1378lb / 625kg

Habitat:

Except for the season opener in Brazil, exclusively seen on European road courses. Never seen far from F1 cars. Some countries like Italy use older cars for local Championships.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

High Performance Sportscar.

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Emptio Magister

Identification:

Slightly raised nose with a full width wing beneath (A). Prominent forward tilted roll bar. (B). Air inlet for the Engine visible in top of the car (C). High & wide head protecting cockpit side (D). All teams run the same Reynard chassis which are owned and maintained by the series. Flat bottomed with no ground effects. Slower than similarly sized Toyota Atlantic cars.

Specifications:

Engine: 3.2 L V6 normally aspirated

Horsepower: 265

Wheelbase: 103in. / 262cm

Overall Length: 172in. / 427cm

Overall Width: 70in. / 178cm

Overall Height: 41in. / 104cm

Minimum Weight: 1400lb / 635kg

Habitat:

Found on Road & Oval courses in North America.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

A Dodge Intrepid with a broken muffler.

F3

Orbis Terrarum Magister

Identification:

High nose (A). Prominent roll hoop (B). Ellipse shaped air inlet/restrictor mounted high on one side of the car (C). Low narrow sidepods (D). Flat bottomed car. Different series around the world generally conform to the same rules, but may vary them to a degree. Many car and engine manufacturers participate world wide in individual series. A few series have a proprietary spec engine manufacturer. Smaller and slower than F3000 cars.

Specifications:

Engine: 2.0 L in-line four

Horsepower: 250

Wheelbase: 103.5in. / 262.8cm

Overall Length: 158.1in. / 401.5cm

Overall Width: 68.9in. / 175cm

Overall Height: 36in. / 91.5cm

Minimum Weight: 1190.5lb / 540kg

Habitat:

Found in national series' worldwide.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

Muffler-less road car.

Formula Nippon

Grandprixus Asiaticus

Identification:

High nose (A). Prominent Airbox (B). Skidboard under the car visible (C). Essentially the same Formula as F3000, but open chassis and engine competition, plus the ability of individual teams to modify their cars, make them much faster. Chassis built by G-Force and Reynard.

Specifications:

Engine: 3.0 L V8 normally aspirated

Horsepower: 540

Wheelbase: 113in. / 287cm

Overall Length: 174in. / 441cm

Overall Width: 79in. / 200cm

Overall Height: 37in. / 95cm

Minimum Weight: 1378lb / 625kg (with driver)

Habitat:

Exclusively race on Japanese road courses.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

High Performance Sportscar.

Formula Star Mazda

Vilis Rota

Identification:

Low nose (A). Prominent roll hoop (B). Humpbacked engine cover (C). Low, narrow sidepods (D). Engine air inlets visible on the sides of the car above the sidepod (E). Space frame spec chassis built exclusivly by Star Cars, sealed spec engines from independant builders.

Specifications:

Engine: Mazda 13B Rotary (sealed and rev-limited)

Horsepower: 170

Wheelbase: 95 in. / 241.3 cm

Overall Length: 162 in. / 411.48 cm

Overall Width: 69 in. / 175.3 cm

Overall Height: 41 in. / 104.1 cm

Minimum Weight: 1140 lb / 517 kg (without driver )

Habitat:

Road courses in the United States at club and pro events.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

Rotary engine burp.

Formula de las Americas

Campeador Mexicanus

Identification:

Low nose (A). Prominent airbox with the roll bar protruding above at the front (B). Low, wide sidepods (C). Exhaust headers visible ahead of the rear tires. (D). Lola built chassis' used in Indy Lights from 1993-1996 modified to accept big American pushrod V8s. Cars in the series are identical, and engines are sealed to ensure equal competition. They bill themselves as the 8th fastest racing series in the world.

Specifications:

Engine: 5.85 L V8

Horsepower: 490

Wheelbase: 117 in. / cm

Overall Length: 185 in. / cm

Overall Width: 77.7 in. / cm

Overall Height: 39.5 in. / cm

Minimum Weight: 1430 lb / 650 kg

Habitat:

Road courses in Mexico.

Feeding:

Gasoline (Petrol).

Voice:

American muscle car V8 Rumble.

ChampCar F6000

Campeador Canadianus

Identification:

Slightly raised nose with a full width wing beneath (A). Prominent Roll Bar (B). No Airbox but visible air intake on top of car (C). Flat Bottomed (D) with Rear diffuser (E). All teams use the same Lola chassis, or Formula de las Americas style cars, and buy V6 engines from a single builder. See Formula de las Americas for the optional car and engine spec allowed.