Force India has stolen a march on its rivals by becoming the first team to unveil its 2014 contender, thereby giving fans a preview of how the new rules will affect the aesthetics of the sport.

The car will be officially at Jerez next week, but today's sneak preview also allows the Silverstone-based outfit to show off its new livery which introduces black alongside the traditional colours of saffron, white and green.

"The VJM07 looks stunning and the new livery reflects the way Sahara Force India is evolving," says Vijay Mallya. "I've always believed our cars have been the most eye-catching, but adding black as a main colour gives us a fierce new look."

Key to the new look is the introduction of several commercial partners. The logo of telecommunications brand, Claro, appears on the engine cover and signals the start of a multi-year deal with the famous Mexican brand. There will be prominent Claro branding on the drivers' suits and team kit.

The rear wing end plate now includes branding from Roshfrans, the lubricant oils specialists, following last week's announcement of a multi-year partnership with the team.

The new livery also sees branding from Astana, a foundation that supports sporting initiatives by promoting the capital city of Kazakhstan. The Astana logo is positioned on the side of the VJM07's nose.

"It's been a busy winter for us on the technical and commercial front," Mallya continues. "When I founded the team my first ambition was to launch the first Indian team on the grid, but the next stage in our evolution is to develop a global brand. I think that ambition is reflected in the partners we are working with and our world class driver line-up. It certainly feels as though there is the potential for 2014 to be our strongest season yet."

As well as new colours, the changes beneath the skin of the VJM07 are even more extensive due to the new technical regulations. "The new rules have presented us with a huge challenge, but I'm very proud of the approach we have taken and the direction of the technical team," says Vijay. "It will be fascinating to see how different teams have interpreted the rules and at this stage it's impossible to predict who has done the best job."

"Almost every single part is a new design, from the front wing right back to the diffuser," said Technical Director, Andrew Green. "The genetics of the VJM07 still lie in the 2013 car, but we've had to achieve the same results in a slightly different way."

Green says accommodating the power unit was the biggest challenge: "It's been a massive job to accommodate all the changes to the power unit - it's the biggest change I've witnessed in the sport since I started in 1990. Cooling has been the biggest challenge with most of last summer taken up trying to understand the cooling requirements of the power unit, and how best to optimise it in the chassis."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Kkiirmki, 22/01/2014 19:17

"I like it, can't understand why a lot of teams liked the white biased colour scheme anyway. I'm interested in getting a better look at the nose (and the other teams') too, very pronounced slope to the front wing."

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2. Posted by Mechanical, 22/01/2014 15:46

"Let hope for their sake it goes as well as it looks."

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3. Posted by White Lightning, 22/01/2014 11:39

"Love the livery from this angle - not sure if it's because it's nice or that it slightly reminds me of all those mishmash mid-90s crapboxes that trundled round with the likes of Badoer and Moreno at the wheel.

Certainly better than the white one, which had gone a bit stale."

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Force India first to reveal 2014 car

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