GM has pulled the wraps off its Silverline Chevrolet team’s 2011 cars, with which it will campaign in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship [BTCC]. The two Cruze racers enter the 2011 season with a new livery, consistent with that of the WTCC cars, and featuring prominent sponsorship from Silverline, as well as a series of other sponsors including Dunlop, Holiday Inn, Auto Express and Evo.
Chevrolet will continue with the same driver line-up as in 2010, with driver’s champion Jason Plato and 20-year old Alex MacDowall. The first race of the season is on Sunday April 3 at Brands Hatch, Kent.
In the beginning of March, Chevrolet also revealed its 2011 Cruze racers for the World Touring Car Championship [WTCC]. As the 2011 series inaugurates a new set of technical rules and moves to 1.6 turbo petrol engines, Chevrolet had to design and build a new powertrain for its cars.
According to the company, the fitment of the smaller in size, but with increased power and torque, 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, lead to several changes on the engineering of many other elements, from cooling and ancillary systems to front suspension, brakes, aerodynamics and the overall weight distribution of the car.