A force to be reckoned with, Roger Penske will team up with Chevrolet for the makers return to the IndyCar series in 2012.
With its balance sheet back in the black, General Motors appears to be finding some significant ways to spend some of its newfound loot – like getting back into the premier IndyCar racing series.
The maker’s global product operations chief said today that an all-new performance model will be making its way back onto the track in 2012, with Chevrolet teaming up with racing legend Roger Penske.
“In this particular case, it’s so much more than racing,” Stephens tells The Detroit News.
The GM Vice Chairman argues that the maker will use the racing program to help it improve not just its track technology but deliver spin-off systems that can advance the capabilities of its street machines – though such arguments have long been made and often disputed.
GM last participated in the Indy series in 2004, pulling out as its financial situation continued to worsen.
When it hits the pavement in 2012, the new race car will feature an E85-powered twin-turbo direct injection V6. The race car will be developed in a joint venture between GM and Ilmor Engineering, the source of a long stream of winning race cars.
The decision to partner with Penske renews a relationship that goes back decades. Penske has, over the years, claimed four Indianapolis 500 wins in Chevy-powered cars, and 31 victories, overall, in the Indy series.