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3 Jul 2005, 23:28 (Ref:1346445) | #1 | ||
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The weird & wonderful F1 cars.
Thinking of some of the strange things that teams have done to their cars, the Tyrrell P34 driven by Jody Shektar is probably the most famous <below> . Can anyone find some more for discussion? Tyrrell did a weird version with a triangular rear wing but can't find any pics of it, as did Williams with a six wheeler but again no details.
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3 Jul 2005, 23:41 (Ref:1346450) | #2 | ||
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The Alfa Fan Car was an interesting concept aswell - before my time of course
Did williams try a 6 wheeler aswell, or was it just Tyrell? [edit 2: just re-read the post, cut the part about the tyrell] Last edited by Kidzer; 3 Jul 2005 at 23:43. Reason: Bad Spelling - Too late at night! |
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4 Jul 2005, 00:07 (Ref:1346454) | #3 | ||
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Williams did build a six-wheeler in the early 80s. I think it's in the museum at Grove, but six-wheelers were banned before it could be raced. I'm fairly sure it appeared in Saudair livery, which should give some idea of date.
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4 Jul 2005, 00:45 (Ref:1346463) | #4 | ||
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the main problem with the 6 wheelers was the relative lack of decent rubber, as they required special small tyres.
brabham fan car lotus twin chassis cosworth 4 wheel drive car. BRM v16 1.5litre supercharged, crazy! yet to anyone who has ever heard one at fullchat absolutely beautiful and some funny *******s but the engine in the rear of a car in the late 50's, that idea never caught on did it..... |
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4 Jul 2005, 01:01 (Ref:1346467) | #5 | ||
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Just bought a model of the Tyrell 6-wheeler. Will be enjoying that and glue fumes over the rest of winter.
I guess the first rear-engined Cooper would be considered weird and certainly wonderful in it's context. I loved the old 'teapot' airboxes. And the early wings on long stalks were certainly weird, but far from wonderful with their habit of breaking and sending cars flying. |
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4 Jul 2005, 02:21 (Ref:1346487) | #6 | |
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I would like to think F1 would see more crazy developments but with such tight regulations its kind of hard.
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4 Jul 2005, 02:40 (Ref:1346500) | #7 | |
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The 1990 Tyrrell - the first high nosed f1 car was certainly weird at the time.
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4 Jul 2005, 08:54 (Ref:1346619) | #8 | ||
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Well the Bugatti 251 was weird and wonderful ....... and incredibly slow! I think the innovative oddballs really added interest to F1 grids but I agree with mclaren_fanatic, it's unlikely that we will see any new ones.
I think my favourite has to be the Gordon Murray designed Brabham BT46 'fan car', which won the 1978 Swedish GP in the hands of Niki Lauda but did not race again. The other drivers complained about it showering dust and gravel over them and the function of the fan (cooling, said Brabham; ground suction effect said everybody else) was challenged. Although it was not officially banned, one Bernie Ecclestone (Brabham owner at the time) decided it would be politically astute not to test the water further and withdrew it from further GPs. |
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4 Jul 2005, 09:08 (Ref:1346628) | #9 | ||
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2004 Williams was a wierd one!
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4 Jul 2005, 09:20 (Ref:1346641) | #10 | ||
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Quote:
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4 Jul 2005, 09:56 (Ref:1346666) | #11 | ||
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indeed. the word 'dire' comes to mind. or 'embarrasing'. Whoever the Einstein was who thought of that needs to be shot pronto.
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4 Jul 2005, 10:02 (Ref:1346675) | #12 | ||
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What about the ugly 1995 Mclaren MP4/10 - what a weird car that looked at the beginning of the season. On top of that, Mika could barely get into it and Nige, not at all. It had to be redesigned during the early part of the season to become the MP4/10B but was still a pretty poor car. Nige had done it all and was no longer motivated enough to await development into a competitive car and left, leaving the still young and hungry Mika to be joined by Mark Blundell. However, it wasn't until the second half of the season that revised engine and rear suspension geometry made the car more competitive. So it ended the season not quite the lemon it had started - definitely a weird and wonderful car!
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4 Jul 2005, 10:09 (Ref:1346683) | #13 | ||
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Another few candidates for the weird file...
Lotus 58 Turbine Basically a F1 version of the 57 Indy car. The turbine was a helicopter motor I believe. I remember Rienne Wiessel (if I've spelt it right) spinning it past the pits at Oulton Park. No harm done. Brabham BT34 Lobster Claw of 1971 The Fan-car was the BT46B which raced and was then banned. There was another fan-car in development, the BT 47, which was scrapped due to the ban. Cheers Peter |
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4 Jul 2005, 10:20 (Ref:1346692) | #14 | ||
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...plus of course last season's Williams Tusker.
Peter |
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4 Jul 2005, 11:49 (Ref:1346762) | #15 | ||
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Yep confirmed that williams did indeed build a six wheeler, found this interesting link when researching. It didn't race, the Tyrrell P34 above did and actually won one race. Also there has been a recent development of a supercar based on the six wheel tyrrell!
Eventually managed to track a pic down of the other Tyrrell, the modified 012 source is unsure wether this actually raced. Very strange rear wing: |
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4 Jul 2005, 12:23 (Ref:1346800) | #16 | ||
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Eifellund's modified version of the March chassis had some very strange wings and other aerodynamic modifications - and it looks as if the driver's view would have been obscured by them. On a techncial level the W12 engine Life built was unique as well, although superficially the car looked like any other slow F1 car of the era.
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4 Jul 2005, 12:35 (Ref:1346817) | #17 | |||
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I don't think the BT46B fan car was actually banned - see my post earlier! |
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4 Jul 2005, 12:59 (Ref:1346837) | #18 | ||
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Keeping in the 6 wheel vein
Think back to a time when the drivers where real men and raced in short sleeves What about the Auto Union V16 Type C/D's and Merc W's from the 30's (actually its probably OT as I think they were Hill climb versions) |
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4 Jul 2005, 13:07 (Ref:1346841) | #19 | ||
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Yes, mixxer, I think they were hillclimb versions when fitted with twin rear wheels. Not off topic though since the Auto Union was both weird and wonderful; the W125, just wonderful, with or without the extra wheels!
What about the Bimotore Alfas - engines in front and rear - fearsome! |
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4 Jul 2005, 13:10 (Ref:1346844) | #20 | |||
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Hmmm.... I wonder who will be the first to remind us what the "M" in March stands for.... but while I was looking for March 711 pictures I found the Eifelland... isn't she a beauty? |
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4 Jul 2005, 13:19 (Ref:1346853) | #21 | ||||
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Most of the design was based on the same princible as the Chapparal "sucker" sports car from the early 60s ('61 I think) Quote:
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4 Jul 2005, 13:31 (Ref:1346861) | #22 | |||
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4 Jul 2005, 13:36 (Ref:1346866) | #23 | ||
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Actually, I'm going to correct myself; it was actually banned subsequently by the CSI, the technical commission of the sports governing body despite the fact that they agreed with Gordon Murray's contention that the fan was for 70% cooling and 30% suction!! In fact, Henry's book contradicts itself here. Fascinating - must read up about it, in detail.
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4 Jul 2005, 13:45 (Ref:1346871) | #24 | ||
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I've just thought of another - the 1961 Ferguson - Climax P99. Front engine when all other F1 cars had gone over to rear engine, it had 4WD - Moss won a non-championship race with it at Oulton Park (I think)
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4 Jul 2005, 13:45 (Ref:1346872) | #25 | ||
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NP mate
Good thread (Hey mods we need a thumbs up smiley) |
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