Rondeau's sixwheeler for Le Mans ! ! !

[aerogi]

My first post here, so hello everybody!


Source: AUTOhebdo n°76, August 18th, 1977

While Tyrrell announced to give up it's sixwheeler idea, Frenchman Jean Rondeau still believed in the concept and was planning to enter a sixwheeler for the famous 24hour race in 1979! The project was pretty advanced, the article had a whole 'fiche technique' with details like engine, wheelbase, etc.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later, the FIA announced new regulations for F2, F3 and Gr. 6 racing cars (from which this car would have been part of), that from 1.1.79 onwards, these cars cannot have more than 4 wheels... (For F1, it was forbidden somewhere in 1982, after the very successful tests of the Sixwheeler Williams car)

Rondeau, who invested allready a lot of money in this project, had to stop his dream of entering a sixwheeler for the Le Mans race... but continued with 'fourwheelers' and eventually won this race!

The people at Auto Hebdo where also dissappointed, and they even asked their readers to send letters to the FIA headquarters to ask to revise these new regulations..

Really a pity I think.... should have been quite a sight, seeing this monster on the long straight of Hunaudières...





If interested, I can scan the full articles, but it is in French...

if interested in more bizarre racing cars, check the 'weird' section of my racing website: Aerogi's racing page

[skycafe]

Welcome aerogi! Thanks for bringing this one up, I had never heard of it. By the way, that is one really ugly looking beast!

robert

[Antrodemus]

That looks like something you'd expect to see in Thunderbirds or another one of those Supermarionation shows...

Obviously one was at least half-build - any idea what happened to it?

[Fab]

Welcome Aerogi

I think this belongs to the "Cool sites" forum, where I move the thread...

[Aysedasi]

Very nice site Aerogi - welcome from me too!

[Truckosaurus]

Would there have been much (aerodynamic) advantage gained by a closed wheel 6-wheeler? I can see the benefit of having smaller wheels in an open wheeled F1 car but not in an endurance racer, especially at Le Mans where you'd be changing tyres regularly.

The vehicle above might look pretty nice once liveried up.

[Adam43]

I agree that maybe the aero advantage isn't as much for a closed wheel racer, but perhaps the gains of mechanical grip are big for that car (increased front tyre contact patch).

[pirenzo]

I remember reading in Motorsport mag that the P34 reportedly stuck to the road like a leech. I don't think the P34 actually gained any aero advantage though, it still had those enormous rear wheels to cause plenty of drag.