It is often difficult to keep secrets for long in motorsports, as manufacturers and drivers alike will do everything they can to get every possible iota of power out of the gearbox, engine, aerodynamic bodywork and other components within the regulations.
Sometimes, motorsport teams will step out of those regulations as well and work in the grey areas to create some truly dominant machines.
One of the most famous examples of a one-hit wonder in motorsport was the Penske PC-23 that raced in the 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, but more specifically the specification that raced in the Indianapolis 500 of that year.
The Indy 500 is one of the most famous single races in the world alongside the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours At Le Mans, but unlike the latter two races it was for many years run under a rather unusual set of rules.
The Great American Race was not sanctioned by CART, the governing body for the rest of the Indy Car World Series, but instead was sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC), which had slightly different technical regulations at the time.
This meant that they could develop a special one-off Indy 500 engine with the help of Mercedes-Benz and Ilmor, known as the Mercedes-Benz 500I.
It was slightly lighter and slightly longer than the Ilmor Indy V8 used for the rest of the season, but it notably featured a pushrod engine that meant it was allowed to use an extra 10 inches of boost and an extra 650 cubic centimetres of engine size.
This meant that it was at least 150 horsepower ahead of the other conventional V8 engines it was up against, and the Penske Cars routed the entire race.
Its greatest weapon was surprise; it was only revealed in late April, days before Indy’s opening on 1st May 1994, and because of this it simply could not be banned in time.