Randy Bernard’s ICONIC committee decided the next engine formula will be open to anything up to six cylinders with a maximum displacement of 2.4 liters.

“I think our guys are impressed with Randy’s leadership and where he wants to take things and Ford still sees value in the Indianapolis 500,” said Ford spokesman Kevin Kennedy.

“What was announced today was pretty broad and it’s too early to say, ‘yea or nay’ but our position is that it’s worth listening to more of what they have to say.”

Bernard met with Jamie Allison, the director of Ford North American motorsports in April and also had a conversation with Edsel Ford last month.

“I had a telephone conference with many manufactures on the phone. It was Chevrolet, Citroen, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, Ford, and of course, Audi. They're all were fascinated about it and participated very much in defining the rules. This was last year. And it was huge agreement; it was not really a discussion, it was not really a dispute, not a disagreement. We discussed about small items but never about the basics, never. It was agreed by everyone from the beginning. It was strange!"

“This is not a one-make engine, it's far from that. It's not an engine where all dimensions are defined, no, no. In terms of the layout, basically, we have agreed to be smart, to not allow anyone to waste big money on things, to make exciting engines that will have the DNA of each manufacturer, so what we did altogether, we designed some minimum or maximum dimensions in some parts. Let's say minimum weight for con rods. A minimum diameter for main bearings to avoid excessive development.

“We looked at the block, and decided it was 84 mm bore for example + or - 3 mm, so you could start with an 82 mm bore or you could go up to 87 mm bore. This already shows that you have freedom to make your own type of engine. But this was the main point that we all brought our common sense and knowledge together to this or that, the right dimensions was the discussion. This was a fantastic process; everybody contributed his ideas to make the best out of it, and we believe new manufacturers will find this concept something they will enjoy.”

The next logical step in the equation – who will start building GREs – didn’t take long for Baretzky to answer. After their teleconference and the set of rules and dimensions were agreed upon, three manufacturers – including one American marque who has expressed an interest in returning to open-wheel racing – initiated the production process.

“There are three manufactures that have already done this engine or are just about to do it. One is Ford, the other is BMW, and the third one is Citroen. They had started to work on this engine months before the rules had really been set up. The rules have now been set up, just in March this year from the FIA. They have adopted the rules that we have designed. And BMW and Citroen, Citroen even more so because they really started with a white sheet of paper and started to make a real global race engine completely free from any production engine. This completely started in July or even earlier last year. They have been so convinced about this idea. So these engines really exist. And others will follow soon.”