Few mechanical objects inspire as much curiosity and affection as the automobile. This may be the consequence of some longing for freedom, speed or danger that is prevalent in this culture, where much of life revolves around the use of cars. And if there is one event that epitomizes America`s relationship to the automobile it is the one described as ”the greatest spectacle in sports”: the Indianapolis 500.
Much of the attention again this year will focus on the people involved in the race: the owners, the drivers, and the teams of mechanics, whose exquisite choreography will be on display during every pit stop. So before the race begins, it seems appropriate to linger over the machine that is the centerpiece of the event. In his book, ”Responsibility and Culture,” L.P. Jack wrote, ”Industrial civilization must either find a means of ending the divorce between its industry and its `culture` or perish.” The Indy car, one of the most sophisticated and beautiful machines ever constructed by man, represents a coming together of industry and culture in its highest form.
Its sleek shape is as refined as any piece of modern sculpture and the handicraft involved in producing it is often as tireless and intricate. The Indy car is a hybrid of old-fashioned handicraft and 20th Century mass-production, where industry and art meet. Like many seminal works of modern design, its simple geometry must fulfill its function perfectly. Otherwise it could not exist in the Darwinian environment of the Speedway.
The Indy car, then, is a fine example of the modernist tenet that ”form follows function.” The form of an object, in other words, has a direct and rational relation to the function of the object. A skyscraper by Mies van der Rohe is a building whose form follows its function. Its reliance on right angles and simple geometic forms, as the optimal shapes for dividing the interior space of the structure, is reflected in the overall design of the building. The modern architect Le Corbusier once referred to his houses as
”machines for living,” and considered from that perspective, the Indy car could be considered a machine for driving, perhaps the ultimate land speed machine.
The ruling imperative of the racetrack is speed, not style, but the resulting design of today`s cars, with their clean and elegant lines, possesses an almost sculptural grace. The design of the cars is governed by the laws of physics, not the principles of esthetics, and yet decisions about materials, color and finish are made by craftsmen which make the cars appealing to the eye. Nothing that is created by man is devoid of aesthetic judgment.
The Indy car is the most rational of automobiles, engineered from top to bottom for performance. It must go faster, stop more quickly and handle better than its competitors. Every feature of the car is evaluated in terms of how it will affect performance, and the slightest change can make the difference between victory and defeat.
This one-dimensionality of the car`s function-the pursuit of speed-only enhances the beauty of these machines. They are constructed with none of the extraneous concerns that go into the design of a passenger car, such as space for a family, the ability to maneuver through rain and snow, a storage trunk for luggage, and even a style that is capable of impressing the owner`s neighbors. The Indy car is an automobile in its purest form, and this is the ultimate source of their appeal.
Compare it, for a moment, to other racing machines. The stock car of the NASCAR circuit is clumsy and ungainly. The European Formula 1 car seems pieced-together, a jumble of mismatched parts. Next to them, the Indy car possesses an unusual austerity of form. Its unified appearance is the result of an object carefully conceived as a whole. The large wheels and the front wings are the only protruding elements. The wheels are attached to the chassis by skeletal-like axles. The roll bar slopes gently up from the body and the applied wing in the rear is admirably integrated to the overall design. Even the cockpit, or tub as it is called, which limits most drivers to a height of no more than 5` 10” and 140 lbs., conforms to the minimal, high-tech appearance. Finally, there is the chassis itself, which most closely resembles a projectile, a bullet on four wheels.
Like those who have designed and engineered many of the great technological icons of the 20th Century (or the anonymous craftsmen who labored for centuries on the design and construction of the world`s great cathedrals), the men who design these machines are for the most part unknown to the race-going public. They work year-round on developing the chassis, refining it, fine-tuning it, in their unending search for greater speed. At the same time, another group of designers and engineers create the monstrous engines that power the cars.
To the average spectator there is little variation in the appearance of the cars (except for the applied decoration, described in an accompanying article). This is the result of competition rules governing the machines and the adoption of successful designs by other teams. (The chassis are produced by four different companies. The most common this year is the British Lola, sold independently to a number of teams. The others are produced for their own teams by Penske, Galmer and the American-produced Truesports.)
All of today`s chassis are made of Kevlar, a complex material of carbon fibers which is strong and incredibly light. The chassis covers the intricate inner mechanism of the car like a tight skin pulled over a drum. The shiny, high-gloss surface gives the bodies a liquid-like sheen, and this surface is as smooth as possible to reduce drag. The attached chassis permits the car to carve smoothly through the air while creating enough downforce to assist handling.
Reducing resistance is only one way in which aerodynamics dictate the design. Equally important are the stabilizing, road-hugging effects created by air rushing over the wings and the body. In the early 1970s, the competition rules were relaxed to allow for the installation of independent rear wings on the race cars. This opened the door for the sophisticated use of what are known as ”ground effects.” In the late `70s, these effects began to play a major role in the automobile`s design.
Jim Hall, an engineer, designer and current team owner, is given much of the credit for the way the contemporary Indy Car looks and for their increasingly sophisticated use of aerodynamics. In 1980 Johnny Rutherford won the Indianapolis 500 in a Hall-designed Chaparral. The bright yellow car was a radical departure from previous designs, and is the precursor of all contemporary Indy cars. Hall`s car was low and sleek with subtle unbroken curves that covered the engine and surrounded the intake ducts.
Think of today`s race car as an airplane in reverse. It doesn`t lift off the ground, it presses close to it. Downforce created by today`s design is particularly important in the turns, when the driver must maintain control without sacrificing speed. Without the downward pressure, speeds in excess of 230 m.p.h. would not be possible. Handling is further enhanced by a chassis that hangs very low to the ground, creating a ”venturi” or constricted passage, which speeds up the air moving under the car to produce a vacuum effect.
The average Indy car weighs about 1,550 pounds, but at speeds of 200 m.p.h., a downforce of approximately 1,200 pounds effectively doubles the car`s weight. The rear wing alone can add 500 to 700 pounds of pressure. The front wing and other elements can be modified to create almost 3,500 pounds of downforce.
Speed, however, is not the sole criterion governing a car`s design. The other factor is safety, and this creates an obvious dilemma. The lighter the car the greater the speed, the greater the speed the greater the danger. During the 1980s, designers worked hard to create a car that disintegrates on impact. The extended wheels and suspension, front wings and chassis are now designed to absorb much of the blow, leaving the driver relatively safely encased in a rigid capsule constructed of Kevlar and strong, honeycombed aluminum. Until last week`s death of driver Jovy Marcelo, a racer had not been killed in an Indy car since 1982.
The overall appearance of the contemporary Indy car projects an unmistakable aggressiveness, a machismo, appropriate to the character of the sport. The car also boasts gentle, sensuous lines that appeal to the eye. Like many machines designed to speed through air or water, Indy cars have no rough edges or awkward elements to distract the eye from the handsome silhouette. The subtle curves appeal to the sense of touch as well and the purity of form and simple geometry of the car are what is immediately perceived.
In an essay accompanying a Museum of Modern Art exhibition titled ”8 Automobiles,” Arthur Drexler, director of the architecture and design department, wrote: ”Automobiles are hollow rolling sculpture.” With this introductory sentence he hoped to explain why an art museum would exhibit mass-produced automobiles. In a show scheduled to open on Nov. 5 at the same museum, the public will have the opportunity to see that this is still valid, particularly for the Indy car.
Since the inception of the Indy 500 76 years ago, the cars that race at the Speedway have undergone almost constant redesign. Today`s car is the apex of that process, whether it is judged in terms of performance or of esthetics. The Indy car, then, is the embodiment of a principle enunciated by Plato, who said things that possess a certain truth are beautiful, just as things which are beautiful are also true. Beauty, in other words, is truth, and truth is beauty. And that, if you are a specatator at this year`s race, is all you need to know.
