IRL: Indy 500-Aurora V8 Wins Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Rick Voegelin/408-761-2201

INDY AURORA V8 WINS SCHWITZER AWARD

Indianapolis, Ind.; May 15, 1997 -- The team of General Motors engineers who designed and developed Oldsmobile's Indy Aurora V8 racing engine was awarded the 31st annual Louis Schwitzer Award today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The award, which recognizes excellence and innovation in race car design and development, is presented annually by the Indiana chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

"We applaud the efforts of General Motors in bringing a competitive engine design to fruition, for over half the field, in a compressed time period," said Steve Roby, spokesperson for the Louis Schwitzer Award Committee.

Ed Keating, lead development engineer for the Indy Aurora V8, and Roger Allen, lead design engineer, accepted the award on behalf of GM Motorsports and Oldsmobile. "We feel honored that the Indy Aurora V8 was chosen for this prestigious award," said Keating. "It has taken a tremendous effort by everyone involved in the program, including our development partners, component suppliers, engine builders, and racing teams, to produce the Indy Aurora V8 in volume while working under the constraints of a tight deadline and a price target."

In January, 1996, Oldsmobile announced its plans to design and develop a racing version of the Aurora V8 to compete in the Indy Racing League. The Indy Aurora V8 made its competition debut one year later at the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World -- the first race contested under the Indy Racing League's new 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine formula.

The Indy Aurora V8 has a perfect record going into the Indy 500. In the two preceding rounds of the Indy Racing League series in Orlando and Phoenix, Aurora racers won both poles, won both races, and led every lap. On May 10, Arie Luyendyk qualified Treadway Racing's Aurora-powered Indy car on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a speed of 218.263 mph, and Oldsmobile engines swept the first five rows. Nineteen of the 23 drivers who qualified in the first weekend of time trials used Indy Aurora V8 engines.

The Indy Aurora V8 racing engine is based on the production 4.0-liter DOHC 32-valve Aurora V8 that is available exclusively in the Aurora, the flagship of the New Oldsmobile. The street and racing versions share similar technology, including lightweight aluminum construction, dual overhead camshafts, multi-valve combustion chamber design, and advanced electronic engine management.

The Louis Schwitzer Award, named after automotive pioneer Louis Schwitzer, has been presented annually since 1967.

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E-mail from: Rick Voegelin, 15-May-1997