The development of racecars has historically been a closed-doors practice, conducted with a level of secrecy that even the NSA would be jealous of. But this is 2014, and things are different now.
For the first time in history, a team of engineers will build a Le Mans prototype car designed using open source development. This will allow pioneering Internet users across the globe to contribute their input on anything from aerodynamics, to liveries, to driver choices.
Nicholas Perrinn, an ex-F1 engineer from the UK, is the mastermind for this project. He founded the myTeam open source program as a way to attract the funding necessary for a Le Mans car. This summer he will campaign a model of the car around Europe to raise the estimated $14 million needed, but development online is set to begin before that.
Perrinn’s end-goal is to snatch the title from Audi, Porsche and Toyota in the LMP1 class. He’ll need more than a few mechanical engineering majors to contribute if he intends to win, but what a story that would be.
RELATED: Nissan 24 Hours of Le Mans Team Lineup
RELATED: The Viper is Finally Returning to Le Mans
[via Motor Authority]
