CATHERAM FI, FORMERLY known as Team Lotus and Lotus Racing, has become the first team to unveil their competitor for the 2012 Formula One World Championship.
They are heralding the Renault-powered CT01 as a leap forward from their 2011 competitor, which came close to scoring their first points in the series.
The more aggressive design features a nose that many are fearing may become common across all F1 teams. New regulations have added design elements that create an awkward step in the middle of the nose.
Caterham chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne told PlanetF1 that “because of the 2012 regulations I think you’ll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year.”
This nose is probably why the pictures are so dark. If the car is quick, we can forgive the appearance. Caterham has more photos of the interesting design on their website.
The CT01 is the first car out of the team to feature the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that provides an approximate 80 horsepower boost at the driver’s command. It is not unlimited; the stored energy can only be used for about seven seconds each lap to aid overtaking and defending.
Caterham believes the new design and the addition of KERS will result in four tenths of a second quicker laps and a legitimate shot at the occasional points paying position this season. Team Owner Tony Fernandes told PlanetF1 that the team’s target for this year is to score that elusive first point.
We’ll see just how well it does when the 2012 season kicks off on March 18th in Australia.
Here is what it looks like from behind:
