F3 Americas car revealed, incorporates Halo

The all-new F3 Americas Championship car was revealed Thursday at Circuit of The Americas, site of this weekend's finale rounds of the F4 U.S. Championship.

The new series, which was first announced last month, will feature a Ligier Crawford chassis developed by Onroak that incorporates a version of the halo cockpit protection device, and is 270-horsepower Honda Performance Development version of the new Honda Civic Type-R turbocharged K20 motor (a non-turbocharged version of this engine is used in the F4 U.S. Championship).

The Formula 3 Americas Championship Powered by Honda will debut April 27, 2018 at Virginia International Raceway, running on the same weekend with its partner series, the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda. The F3 Americas Championship continues the evolution of affordable, competitive, and technologically advanced open-wheel racing that was established by the F4 U.S. Championship that debuted in 2016. F3 Americas meets the demands of racers and teams looking to grow their capabilities into more sophisticated and powerful machinery.

The series will feature at least two 30-minute races per weekend with 30-minute practice and qualifying sessions. In addition to the debut race at VIR, there will be five race weekends at tracks around the United States. There will be two series-supported season tests, one to be held prior to the first race, and the other during the season.

Featuring an all-new F3-FIA spec Ligier Crawford JS F3 racecar chassis that is made in North Carolina and developed by Onroak Automotive, the F3 Americas teams will race a chassis the meets the most current global FIA safety specification, including the first North American application of a halo. Compared to the F4 U.S. Championship car, the F3 chassis features more configurable aero components, increased impact safety structures and more sophisticated data acquisition.