Silverstone, Feb 1: Sahara Force India unveiled their 2013 challenger Friday as Paul Di Resta pulled the covers off the VJM06 at the Silverstone circuit here.
The VJM06 is the third car to be overseen by technical director Andrew Green, and builds on the strengths of the 2012 car. With stable technical rules, the car is more evolution than revolution with the removal of the 'step' nose being the most obvious visual change.
"The VJM06 doesn't look massively different to its predecessor, but beneath the skin we've looked at every detail to try and find more performance," said team principal Vijay Mallya in a statement.
"I've followed the development of the car closely and I'm proud of what we have achieved. The objective now is to make sure we build on the promise of last year and have a strong start to the season."
Summing up the approach to the design of the VJM06, Green said: "It's a brand new car from the ground-up - everything is new. We discussed carrying over big chunks of last year's car, including the chassis, but decided not to. There were still some gains to be had with the chassis, so we elected to take the performance benefits. The biggest change that everybody is going to notice this year is the fairing on top of the nose to hide the 'step'. It's neutral as far as the car's performance is concerned but tidies up the flow over the top of the chassis."
The car will be powered by Mercedes engines with the gearbox supplied by McLaren Applied Technologies for a fifth season.
The team is yet to name a partner for Paul di Resta, who has driven for the team since 2011.