Virgin Racing unveiled a new breed of F1 car at Silverstone on Wednesday as the VR-01 is designed entirely in the digital domain using CFD.
One of the four newcomers to F1 this season, Virgin Racing was officially launched in December when it was confirmed that Manor GP had teamed up with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand to embark on this F1 adventure.
But it wasn't until Wednesday that the team's first challenger, the VR-01, was unveiled to the world with its distinctive red and black livery.
Designer Nick Wirth revealed that the car was designed entirely using Computational Fluid Dynamics computer modeling. And although this new to F1, Virgin have relied solely on it rather than using a windtunnel.
"Today is a very proud day for everyone involved with Virgin Racing, however on this occasion, where the car is the star, I want to pay tribute to all the amazing people at Wirth Research who deserve so much of the credit for the VR-01," said Wirth.
"I have been fortunate to have worked with the very best designers in F1 and I am well aware of exactly what it takes to be successful in this sport.
"When you see what the existing teams have achieved using the conventional but proven design approach, it is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach. But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with today's harsh economic realities.
"Under resource restriction, convention will become too costly and necessity really will be the mother of invention. I have absolute belief in the digital design process and the opportunity to put the all-CFD approach to the test at the highest level - to demonstrate that this could be the way for the future of F1 - is very, very exciting."
Team boss John Booth admitted he was proud of the car, which will be powered by Cosworth and raced by Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi.
"Not only do we have a great bunch of people at Virgin Racing, we also have a great-looking car," he said.
"We are delighted with our fantastic new livery which provides a fitting integration of our racing brand with our important commercial partnerships. All in all, we have a lot to look forward to as we progress towards our racing debut in Bahrain next month."
Pictures to follow...
