Description:

1997 Swift-Ford 007.i #003

Offered Without Reserve.

RM Sotheby’s

The House that Newman/Hass Racing Built

29th October 2022.

Bill of Sale Only.

• he first IndyCar chassis developed by Swift Engineering
• One of six 007.i chassis developed exclusively for Newman/Haas Racing 
• Finished in its period-correct Michael Andretti Havoline/Kmart/Duracell racing livery
• Equipped with its low-drag superspeedway aerodynamics package

A CHANGE COMES ALONG; NEWMAN/HAAS AND SWIFT ENGINEERING

For the 1997 rendition of the CART series, Newman/Haas Racing was a team in flux. Entering their fourth year removed from their most recent series championship in 1993, the team felt compelled to try something new. Co-owner Carl Haas had just pioneered a chassis supply deal with Swift Engineering, which would mark the company’s first foray into CART.

Unlike all other chassis suppliers utilized by the series, Swift was a US-based company based near California’s burgeoning, high-tech mecca of Silicon Valley. Their new chassis were to be developed exclusively for Newman-Haas, with a close collaboration between team operatives and Swift directors.

Swift already boasted a stellar reputation in open-wheel racing’s minor leagues, and so the team eagerly signed onto the deal. Their first collaborative effort, the 007.i, decidedly pushed the envelope for both IndyCar chassis, and aerodynamic, development.

THE 007.i

Design of the new model fell onto the shoulders of Swift co-founder David Bruns, Newman/Haas Chief Aerodynamicist Dr. Mark Hanford, and team Race Engineers Brian Lisle and Peter Gibbons. The extensive development program, begun by Bruns in 1994, resulted in an exceptionally capable platform which introduced several novel features; these were quickly adopted as de rigeur components of future IndyCar chassis production.

Along with heavy use of CAD for several key components, never before had a CART entry utilized such a tightly nested exhaust system, elevated transaxle mounts, or “moving plane” diffusers mounted behind the car’s wheels to extract even more downforce from moving air. At 240 mph, the 007.i’s equipment provided loads of newfound grip, and progression of the 1997 season saw almost every other team rapidly develop their own aerodynamics in close approximation of the Swift-Newman/Haas machine.

Despite the all-American chassis change, the team continued their respective running gear deals with English firms Ford-Cosworth Racing and Hewland Engineering. During the preceding 1996 season Ford’s 2.65-liter turbocharged all aluminum XD V-8 engine and Hewland’s six-speed sequential transaxle had powered Newman/Haas driver Michael Andretti to a series-leading five victories.

Swift and Newman/Haas truly shocked the CART world when Andretti marched to a dominant victory in the 007.i’s debut race, the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead International Speedway on 2 March 1997. Despite nearly three years of painstaking development, it took the 007.i fewer than two hours of real-time competition to earn Swift Engineering their first CART victory as a constructor.

Newman/Haas Racing records show that at least six examples of the 007.i were produced for the team’s entry in the 1997 CART season, four of which are now offered for sale directly from the team’s headquarters in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

This Swift-Ford 007.i, chassis 003, is presented today in the period-correct Havoline/Kmart/Duracell livery of Michael Andretti. It wears a high-speed, low drag superspeedway aerodynamics package as detailed by its exceptionally small nose ailerons and elongated spoiler which is cantilevered far backwards into the car’s slipstream. Andretti would have used this particular 007.i configuration at tracks such as Homestead, Michigan, Milwaukee, and Fontanta.

Not presently fitted with an engine, 007.i would be a splendid addition to any collection of open-wheel racing cars, particularly those of American manufacture.

For details on how to bid please follow the link below.

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