"Does Chip Ganassi have one for sale?’ - Fans react as IndyCar begins wind tunnel testing for 2027 car

IndyCar will be introducing the new chassis and engine for the 2027 season. The series currently uses the Dallara DW12 chassis which was introduced over a decade ago in 2012.

The engine used by them is a 2.2L Twin Turbo V6 with a mild hybrid system. For 2027, a new chassis with better aerodynamics and an upgraded hybrid system for the power unit will be introduced.

As per the latest update, IndyCar has begun wind tunnel testing of the new chassis in collaboration with the Italian manufacturer Dallara. In October, virtual renderings of the proposed 2027 chassis were shown to the IndyCar stakeholders. The chassis was then built to a scale model and most recently began wind tunnel testing.

The financial troubles of IndyCar and the restricted fund flow meant that the series has had to run with the same Dallara chassis for 13 years now. The DW12 chassis comes with three different aero packages. The low downforce package features a single element on the front-rear wing and the high downforce package has three elements.

However, the teams, drivers, and fans have come out in recent years and complained about the current chassis. With the introduction of the aero screen, hybrid system, and other safety measures, the weight of the chassis increased, but the aerodynamics performance remained the same causing balance problems. The age of the chassis has also been brought up as an issue.

Fans have now come out and reacted to the reports about the new chassis.

"Does Ganassi have one for sale?", wrote a fan on X.

"Too little to late.", mentioned another.

Another user wrote, "This is the perfect opportunity to move to a 2 chassis model. A new one for road courses, and keeping the DW12 for ovals. #IndyCar will miss the chance. I'm betting the car will be overweight and clumsy again."

Fans pointed out the delay from IndyCar's side in introducing the new chassis. The DW12 chassis with the extra weight struggles around road courses the most, and some advised to solely focus the new chassis for road and street races.

"Welp doesn’t seem like it’s gonna be changing much from the team owner feedback haha", said a fan on X .

Although the new chassis is expected to improve over the current one, fans aren't sure how big of an improvement it'll be.

"900 hp, 1300lbs, 250mph machine of violence!! Forward thinking and the ability for a driver to suck up so close they can lick the rain light!!!!", said a user.

"Interesting….", mentioned another user.

However, despite the concern, some fans were excited about the prospect of the new chassis and power unit.

“We wanted feedback”: IndyCar parent company's CEO reacts to team owners’ opinion about the new chassis rendering

The rendering for the 2027 chassis was shown to the team owners recently and many owners asked the IndyCar's parent company, Penske Entertainment to further modernize it and make bigger improvements. Penske Entertainment’s CEO Mark Miles came out and advised that the rendering shared with the teams wasn't the final one and that changes would be made based on their feedback.

AUTO: JUN 23 NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

Mark Miles said (via Racer):

“The number one priority isn’t to see how inexpensively we can do it, but cost is going to be a consideration as things get developed more narrowly. Dallara is on point to develop the chassis with lots of other supplier partners, and it is very much work in progress.”

“So from my perspective, we were not looking for a referendum the first time we put renderings of the car forward. We wanted feedback. And it continues to be. It is changing. It will change.”

Arrow McLaren CEO Zak Brown offered the McLaren engineers and simulation and design staff to help IndyCar and Dallara with new ideas for the 2027 chassis. Brown claimed that his team along with other F1 teams helped FIA with the new 2026 F1 cars.