Interesting comments. If it is a rip-off design then I hope whoever designed it originally takes some action against the rip-off merchant.
I do love the comments about there being nothing new, and race cars reaching an optimum design. That will never happen. There are rarely any ground-breaking designs because the Rules make that impossible. There is always some things that come back from the past because no one thing is ever out of date. Whatever the case, there will never be such a thing as an optimum design that never changes, only an optimum design at one given point in time. Move time on and the design moves on.
Race cars are very complex beasts. Things change all the time - execution of past designs, materials, manufacturing techniques, motors, cells, tyres, tracks, shells, etc. - within the Rules. So, things that didn't work before on a particular combination may work now in another combination. Nothing really ever goes out of fashion, it's just that certain combinations work in one set of circumstances and then, when those circumstances change, other combinations of designs work.
One thing that never changes are the sayings of two of the world's great designers, Colin Chapman and Keith Bontrager.
Chapman said "Just add lightness."
Bontrager said "Strong, light, cheap - pick two."
All great designs follow those two 'rules' IME
