The weird & wonderful F1 cars.

[mixxer]

Snap

[andy97]

Tyrrell did a few innovative things over the years, despite being permanently underfunded - the "X-Wings" first appeared on Tyrrell 025 & they also tried wishbones completely filled in as aerodynamic apendages.

[IL LEONE]

Tried to fish out a few pics of some of the cars previously mentioned:

The Brabham BT46 B fan car


The Brabham BT34 lobster claw


Found this Brabham BT24 with double ended wings?

[mixxer]

I reckon that wing has collapsed, I don't recall any car having a wing like that.

Cheers for he pics everybody

[John Turner]

Great pics, IL LEONE. The last one looks like its acquired a roof blown off of an old garden shed.

Mixxer, this is IL LEONE's thread, so since it is not ours, I think we can vote for it. I'm now about to try!

[mixxer]

Done

[John Turner]

Snap, again. Vote works, too!

[John Turner]

Lancia D50. Distinctive side tanks but a wonderful look and sound. Pretty competitive, too.

[mixxer]

A more recent Brabham was the BT-52B with the heat exchanger cooling system, Gordon Murray, ever the innovator

[mixxer]

From a time when F1 cars looked like F1 cars, 1977 Ferrari 312t2
Not the best chassis performance wise but from a looks point its hard to beat

[429CJ]

About six wheeled cars - didn't knew even Ferrari considered a six-wheel car, 312T6, their version was at least original to the max.

Model car version

Reutemann testing T6

[neil_davidson2]

Going back to six-wheelers March produced one as well; the 240/771 which was only used in practise and never raced. Like the Williams, the March had the 4 wheels at the back rather than at the front like the Tyrrell.

[neil_davidson2]

And a quick google produced this info on six wheelers... here

[andy97]

Roy Lane purchased the 6 wheel March & won several hill climbs in it. It had awesone traction, particularly in the wet, but tended to break transmissions in the dry.

As an aside, when March first ran the car for the press, one of the rear 2 axles were only free wheeling as they hadn't got the transmission sorted (I think this story is told in "The March Story" by Paul Lawrence??)!!!

[macca]

Mike Lawrence...........'Four Guys and a Telephone'.

They had just made a longer diff casting and couldn't afford the bits to make it a runner...........so they told the driver at the wet Silverstone unveiling not to spin the wheels under any pretext - and all the journos went home raving about its traction!

Robin Herd said it was a very profitable car...........because Scalextric paid them a royalty for doing a slotcar version which sold well.


Paul M

[mixxer]

And a quick google produced this info on six wheelers

Interesting site
The 'Pat Clancy Special was a new one to me , ta

[IL LEONE]

Originally Posted by mixxer

From a time when F1 cars looked like F1 cars, 1977 Ferrari 312t2
Not the best chassis performance wise but from a looks point its hard to beat

A run through google and I found this amazing picture of the
FERRARI 316/T2 from the perfect angle.

Then this one on a similar thread with some strange additions to the front wing over the wheels:


And this Brabham looks impressive, John Watson in the BT42, with an aggressive perforated front wing and scaffolding for the mirrors:

[mixxer]

Maybe I have the model wrong #
The version I remember had a high mounted airbox, maybe the T4 ?

[Lotusonpole]

Hi John
"I don't think the BT46B fan car was actually banned - see my post earlier!"

You are right. It is commonly reported as being banned though.
Probably Brabham pulled it before the rest ganged up and got it banned.

And I agree with the garden shed wing quip...well it looks like my old shed anyway...

And yes Williams did do a 6-wheeler, but I tink it had 4 rear wheels rather than like the tyrrell's 4 fronts.

Isn't age a wonderful thing...


Cheers...
Great thread for the ole memory box...pre-electronic paddle shift.
Peter

[Rennen]

The 4 wheel drive cars from Costin and McLaren were weird...neither raced if I recall? Any one got a picture of them?

[IL LEONE]

Originally Posted by mixxer

Maybe I have the model wrong #
The version I remember had a high mounted airbox, maybe the T4 ?

Not the T4, could have been just the 312T, 75 Lauda's championship winning car. The car changed in 76 obviously losing the big air intake and then Lauda had his big crash allowing James Hunt the title in a McLaren. ( I think)....could well be wrong.

[IL LEONE]

Originally Posted by Rennen

The 4 wheel drive cars from Costin and McLaren were weird...neither raced if I recall? Any one got a picture of them?

This is a mock version of the Cosworth you are talking about:



Mr Hill in his Lotus Cosworth 4WD complete with portable high jump.



Double poster, who me

[R59]

Wasn't the Lotus Gas Turbine 4wd too.

I remember reading about it, and the terrible lag that the engine suffered compared to a conventional plant. First one into the corner, last one out.

[runshaw]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but the March 711 was very weird and wonderful. It had a circular front wing! It finished second in the 1971 F1 championship with Ronnie Peterson, despite not winning a race.

[Louis B.]

Great thread indeed and thank you all for the pics and fine comments.

More recently (unfortunately, I missed the show in the seventies and eighties), the pingouin winglets next to the cockpit and which were first introduced by Tyrrel in 98 or 99 were also another imaginative but weird looking device. On one occasion, Alesi then driving for Sauber entangled one of those with the air hoses of the next pit station. If I recall correctly, it was banned for esthetical reasons.

Another Tyrrel invention was this single aerodinamicly shaped pillar holding the front wing on one of their last cars (if not the last). It looked pretty cool.