An American company named DeltaWing has introduced a brand-new concept to illustrate its vision of what the eco-friendly sports car of the future will look like. Dubbed simply GT, the science fiction-esque concept debuted as a complete car that previews a street-legal model, and as a bare chassis developed to underpin a race car.
The most striking aspects of the DeltaWing are its triangle-shaped body and its wrap-around windshield. With a low drag coefficient of 0.26, the GT is a careful evolution of the experimental, Nissan-powered DeltaWing racer that competed in the 2012 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Pictures of the interior haven’t been published yet. All we know about the cockpit at this point is that DeltaWing aims to ultimately develop both two- and four-seater models.
The DeltaWing GT is designed with efficiency and simplicity in mind. Thanks in part to its aerodynamic shape and its low weight, it is capable of returning 74 miles per gallon on the highway and 57 mpg in a mixed cycle if it’s equipped with a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine tuned to make 138 horsepower. DeltaWing notes the GT can also be fitted with an all-electric drivetrain, a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, a turbodiesel engine, and even an engine that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG). The possibilities are seemingly endless.
DeltaWing is moving forward with the development of the GT with the help of Panoz, an American engineering firm that’s well known for building sports cars like the Esperante as well as race cars. The company will begin testing the first prototypes before the end of the year, and the production model could be introduced in the next few years if everything goes according to plan.
While DeltaWing has previously announced its intention to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it stresses the bare chassis displayed next to its street-legal model is merely a design study, not a preview of its next racer.
