Today’s hot news, tomorrow’s chip wrappers

[redshoes]

Rather a strange title I know but let me explain. I was thinking back the other evening about what forums we have here at 10-Tenths and how we occasionally get requests for new forums. One such request about 12 months was for a Premier1 GP forum. At the time it was being touted as the ‘next big thing’, a true rival to F1, and other such nonsense. As I recall it was a controlled chassis/engine single-seater formula much like F3000, the big difference was that each team would be sponsored by a major European football team. [Before TimD starts breaking out in a cold sweat I’ll skip over the issue of mixing footie fans and motorsport ]. Last I heard the whole thing had been put on hold until 2003, and as I’ve heard nothing much since I assume it’s never going to happen.

Anyhow, that got me thinking about some of the other new formulas that never quite made it to the starting grid.

EUROC
This was a German based European series proposed a few years ago. The STW Touring Car series was heading downhill and the new DTM hadn’t been thought of yet, this would have filled the gap. As I recall the cars were V8 powered, possibly tubular frame chassis, with a open top roadster bodywork. At least 2 cars were built and featured in an Autosport track test. Unusually the cars were already in sponsors livery – one was in Hasseroder yellow, the other possibly in Jagermeister orange.

Supercars
Andy Rouse built tube frame chassis, Lotus V8 engine and saloon car bodywork. The prototype was based around the Peugeot 406, although the chassis would have been available in 3 different wheelbases to suit a variety of makes. Originally planned to be introduced in 2001 it was a rival to the BTCC, which itself was about to be re-born. BMP, who had just taken over the running of the BTCC, took on promotion of the series and promptly announced it hadn’t been cancelled but simple put on hold for 12 month.

Formula Classic
Brainchild of Tom Wheatcroft – a modern recreation of pre-war style Grand Prix cars. At least one prototype was built, possibly more, which featured on a Top Gear test driven by Tiff Needell and I believe now lives in the Donington Park GP Collection. Did this series ever run, even for just one race ?

I could add Interactive Sportcars Championship but since they did run at least one race, even if not in the intended format, that’s a subject for a different thread.

Does anyone remember any more?

[El_Gibleto]

Formula Clasic ran for at least 2 events at Donington Park, I think one was as a support to the btcc and was a much better race.

[Barbazza]

Premier1 has been delayed even longer they are now looking at 2004 althpough it looks distinctly unlikely ever to happen. Their website (www.premier1grandprix.com) is updated every six months with promises which never come true. On the subject of phantom championships, I was reading in Motorsport about Formula S - seemingly the insides of an F1 car cloaked in the body of a roadcar. Alfa were the only ones to build a car and it died - anyone know any more about it? Sounds like a dangerous idea to me.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by Barbazza
I was reading in Motorsport about Formula S - seemingly the insides of an F1 car cloaked in the body of a roadcar. Alfa were the only ones to build a car and it died - anyone know any more about it? Sounds like a dangerous idea to me.

Wasn't this a Bernie E thing? I think it was developed to use up those Cosworth V8s which had become obsolete.

As to dangerous? Take a look at the special saloons of the era. They were running the same sort of equipment.

[Barbazza]

Think it was a Bernie money spinner although I'd not thought of the Cosworth bit - I thought the only engine ever to appear in a Formula S car was an Alfa. Don't know much about special saloons of the late 80s - were they really F1 cars dressed up as road cars? Considering F1 cars with wings and serious downforce were a bit hairy I'd love to have seen overpowered saloons flung around.

[redshoes]

Don't recall the Formula S name but that sounds like PROCAR. I'd forgotten about that one. F1/Sportcar style chassis powered by 3.5 litre V8 F1 engines clothed in saloon bodywork. Ridiculous solution to a question no one asked. Only car built was an Alfa Romeo which was built by Brabham, then owned by Bernie E.

The Formula S name has reminded me of Group S rally cars, like Group B only quicker. Lancia produced a prototype Delta Integrale, no doubt other had work in progress. The Group S proposal died when Group B got banned so being just too dangerous.

[Craig]

Yes, Formula S = Procar. S stood for Silhouete.

The Alfa 164 car was indeed built by Motor Racing Developments (or Brabham as it was better known) but the company was, at that point, owned by FIAT who had bought it especially to design and produce a chassis to carry the new Alfa 3.5-litre V10.

The car they produced was said to have a 0-60 time of a little over two seconds! As we all know the series was stillborn and MRD was sold to the Swiss financier Joachim Luhti and Brabham returned to the F1 grid in 1991.

I seem to recall a topic abouit Procar on this forum previously.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by Barbazza
Think it was a Bernie money spinner although I'd not thought of the Cosworth bit - I thought the only engine ever to appear in a Formula S car was an Alfa.

Fair enogh. Although it was a Bernie money thing.

Originally posted by Barbazza
Don't know much about special saloons of the late 80s - were they really F1 cars dressed up as road cars? Considering F1 cars with wings and serious downforce were a bit hairy I'd love to have seen overpowered saloons flung around.

Well Tony Sugden sometimes brings his Skoda out to play. This is a single seater chassis with big engine in the back. And that was the point. The skoda was built as a rear engined car so the confirguration suits the layout because the regs state that the engine must be located in the same place as the production car.

[ss_collins]

There was a good article about it in motorsport a few months back.

[alfasud]

Picture of Alfa Romeo 164 Procar:
http://www.alfisti.net/media/motorsp...ge/procar1.jpg

Picture showing engine in car (rear cover removed):
http://www.conceptcarz.com/img/alfa%20romeo/procar1.jpg

Alfa Romeo 3.5L V10 engine:
http://www.alfisti.net/media/motorsp...e/procar11.jpg

Alfa Romeo 164 Procar article (in German) with more pictures:
http://www.alfisti.net/german/motors...uge/procar.htm

[racer69]

The worst thing about Procar was that it pretty much killed off the World Touring Car Championship, European Touring Car Championship and Group A as a whole.

Bernie probably knew that Procar/Formula S wouldn't suceed, but as Group A had big interest from the manufacturers, much like Group C Sportscars did also later on, some of which weren't in F1 and he wanted them (How else do you explain the 3.5 litre Sportscar regs, which conveniently had the likes of Mercedes, Peugeot and Jag (though Ford owned) competing in that rather than F1). Also the way Group A was then, with plenty of strong local series, the theory went that one day it could rival F1, especially with Strathmore in charge of the WTCC. Bernie though took care of that

On Group S rallying, quite a few cars were built. Audi built a car, Skoda had a car, Opel were working on the Kadett. This was meant to replace Group B going by the 'Motorsport' article from October 2000. This was canned because FISA (read Balestre) didn't want to deal any longer with the manufacturers involved in rule making, which stretched back to the problems with the Monte Carlo rally being dropped initially from the 1985 WRC.

There's also been some ill-fated revival's. The WTCC was talked about returning in 1989 as an F1 support, but didn't happen, and the ETC was talked about for 1993, but a suitable formula couldn't be found due to every country doing their own thing Touring Car wise.

[Dave Brand]

Originally posted by Peter Mallett
Well Tony Sugden sometimes brings his Skoda out to play

I'd say often, rather than sometimes. The Europa Engineering sports/saloon championship wouldn't be the same without & few other equally silly cars; I love silly cars!

[Jonny Apex]

As I recall, the Alfa was demonstrated by Riccardo Patrese at Monza during one Italian GP weekend ...