Aurally, the change was welcome. The normally-aspirated V8s of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar 1997-2011 era, at high revs, tended to sound as if 20-plus Canada geese were locked in one’s tympanic cavities and never needed to draw breath. This could have a near nausea-inducing effect when the sound was bouncing off the concrete walls and buildings around a street course.
The arrival of the 2.2-litre V6 turbos smoothed off that edge, and while still loud – particularly when going along the echo chamber of the back straight at Long Beach – it’s no longer unbearable.
