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Interesting point.
The whole idea behind Baretzky's universal motor was a block and internals which could be shared across platforms, not necessarily identical motors.
An F1 block, rods, crank, and oil pan with a different front cover to allow camshaft drive, different heads to hold mechanical valve gear, maybe pistons with a little more clearance, and a different transmission with takeoffs for an alternator and A/C would be a lot cheaper than a completely new motor because most of the heavy engineering would have been done to produce the F1 motor.
Timing and valve gear for a DOHC head shouldn’t be too hard to design. The intake and exhaust might get design-intensive, but at least there would be a baseline design and whatever test results from the development of the F1 motor.
Honda builds and leases endurance-racing motors. Maybe their 2015 offering will be based on their F1 engine. Maybe they have though ahead and are doing the design work simultaneously.
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