Piper Design, a leading British design engineering company with a pedigree of Sportscar design and development, is set to enter Le Mans 2003 24 Hour race with a new prototype Sportscar.

Earlier this year Piper Design embarked on an initial concept project with International Racing Management (IRM), a company that planned to compete at this years event. A series of unforeseen circumstances at IRM led to the original plans not being taken forward and an opportunity for Piper Design to review the programme.

John Piper, Managing Director, Piper Design, explains, Although our client was unable to pursue the development of the PO1 LMP900 Sportscar, we are committed to taking the project forward. We have invested a considerable amount of talent and resources into this new car and we are confident that it will be a significant and successful addition to the LMP900 grid. The
groundwork has been done, the development programme has been identified, and we just need to create a commercial opportunity to complete it. There is interest from within the industry and were pursuing the options open to us. The most important factor is the product itself we know that this Sportscar will be fast, reliable, practical and, above all, competitive.

Piper Design has developed a Prototype design that uses the extensive expertise within the company. Founder, John Piper, is a respected designer with many Championship winning cars under his belt, including the Panoz GT1 Sportscar, Jaguar XJR14 Group C car, Le Mans Jaguar V12. Chief Designer, Nick Carpenter, has been involved with the successful Reynard Champ Cars, the 2KF Reynard Chrysler and the new 02S LMP675 Reynard Sportscar. Ben Woods, Aero Engineer, brings Formula 1 aerodynamics experience to the programme with his previous experience including work with the Minardi,
Ferrari, Tyrrell and Prost F1 Grand Prix teams.