Tag Archives: 2

Multi Formula Open Wheeler – Lotus 69

For the 1970 season Lotus used the catch all Lotus 69 type number for cars designed, by Dave Baldwin, to compete in four different open wheel Formula.

Namely Formula Ford which used prescribed narrow tyres and 95 hp single carburetor Ford Kent 4 cylinder engines, Formula 3 which used heavily modified 1 litre / 61 cui production block 4 cylinder motors in 1970 and modified 1600 cc / 97.6 cui production block motors in 1971, Formula B with 1600cc / 97.6 cui motors tuned somewhere between Formula Ford and Formula 3, and finally Formula 2 which ran with the most powerful 200 plus hp 1600 cc / 97.6 cui motors with production blocks of which at least 5000 copies had been made.

Today’s featured car, seen at Dyrham Park and belonging to Tony Wallens, is a 1971 Formula 3 spec Lotus 69 with a modified 1600 cc / 97.6 cui production block motor, the space frame chassis is derived from the Lotus 59 open wheelers and it shares many components with it’s Lotus 69 siblings, although the Formula 2 Lotus 69 was built around a monocoque to meet the requirements for a bag fuel tank.

In 1971 Dave Walker flew and swept the board in his Gold Leaf Team Lotus 69 winning 25 races Formula 3 races from 32 starts.

Despite these successes, Emerson Fittipaldi also won three races in his Formula 2 Lotus 69, while in Formula Ford Stan Matthews placed forth in the 1971 British Oxygen Formula Ford championship with his 69, Lotus took the decision to withdraw from the customer racing car market and focus on works Formula 3, and Formula 1 efforts in 1972, Formula 2 and Formula 1 campaigns in 1973 and solely Formula One campaigns from 1974 on.

Thanks for joining me on this “Multi Formula Open Wheeler” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a day at the races. Don’t forget to come back now !

Three Continent Veteran – Ferrari Dino 166/246 #0004

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Last week I looked at a FIAT Dino Spider that was part of a programme to homologate (legitimise) Ferrari’s V6 Dino engine, which had impressed many when fitted to the 166 P sportscar in 1965, for the second tier European Formula 2 Championship which mandated 1.6 litre / 97.6 cui motors with a maximum of 6 cylinders based on production blocks of which at least 5000 examples had been cast.

Today’s featured car is the second of seven Ferrari Dino 166’s, that were built to compete in the European Formula 2 Championships from 1967 to 1969. It was first raced in 1967 by Chris Amon at the Hockenheimring in a Formula 2 race in which it did not finish. #0004 was then used by Chris in the Tasman series run in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania where engines of up to 2.5 litres / 152 cui were mandated.

(Chris Amon, Ferrari 166/246 #0004, Longford, Tasmania, March 4th, 1968, Copyright Rod Mackenzie 1968)

Ferrari sent two motors ‘down under’ one a 2.4 litre / 146 cui V6 with three valves per cylinder and the second with 4 valves per cylinder. Amon won the first two races of the 1968 Tasman series in New Zealand and scored two further second place and two 4th place finishes to be in with a mathematical shot at the championship going into the final round but Jim Clark was not to be denied and Amon finished second to the Scotsman in the final championship standings. Chris is seen in Rod Mackenzie’s photo above driving to a 7th place finish in the last race of the season at Longford, Tasmania. Without doubt this photo represents the furthest point south in a photograph ever published on ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’.

Back in Europe #0004 was returned to Formula 2 specification with a longer wheel base and an upgraded 225 hp 1.6 litre / 97.6 cui motor with four valves per cylinder in place of the original F2 spec 3 valves per cylinder. On October 13th 1968 Ernesto “Tino” Brambilla scored a memorable victory, from an 8th place start, at the Hockenheimring by putting all four wheels on the grass as he overtook his team mate Derek Bell and Henri Pescarolo driving a Matra on the last lap. Brambilla’s greatest moment was also Ferrari’s first Formula 2 victory since Wolfgang “Taffy” von Trips class win in the 1960 Italian Grand Prix.

Brambilla then drove chassis #0004 to two further consecutive victories at Vallelaguna in Italy and Buenos Aires, Argentina where the #0004 was being used in the South American Temporada F2 series. Andrea de Adimich driving another Dino 166 took three victories in the remaining ’68 Temporada Series races to win the Championship while Tino recorded three DNF’s (Did Not Finish). Tino drove the car four more times in Europe in 1969 recording a best 4th place at Jarama in Spain.

Chris Amon often considered by everybody except himself to be the unluckiest man in Grand Prix racing went back to compete in the Tasman championship with 166/346 chassis #0008 in 1969. Taking five wins from ten races along with four podium finishes Chris sealed the deal with the Dino at the second time of asking. Fellow New Zealander Graeme Lawrence repeated the Tasman Championship winning feat in 1970 using the same #0008 chassis Chris had used the year before.

(Rob Hall, Ferrari 166/246 #0004, Eastern Creek International Raceway November 2010, Copyright Rod Mackenzie 2010)

Everett Anton Singer owned #0004 from the mid 1980’s to the late 1990’s during which time the car won it’s class twice in Concours d’Elegance events at Atlanta (’89) and Watkins Glen (’90). #0004, now owned by Graham Adleman has revisited the Antipodes twice since it’s heyday. With Rob Hall drove #0004 to win the 2008 Tasman Revival meeting at Eastern Creek International Raceway just outside Sydney Australia and just getting pipped by a a 3 litre 183 cui Lotus 49 in 2010 Tasman Revival meeting at the same venue. The Tasman Revival will be taking place again this year further details of the event can be found on this link.

My thanks to Rod Mackenzie for the use of his photographs and to everyone who contributed to the “1968 Ferrari Tipo 166 Dino Formula II” thread at The Nostalgia Forum where more photo’s of #0004 have been posted, particular thanks to Alan Cox for identifying #0004 and ellrosso of the OldRacePhoto.com website which gives viewers a fascinating insight into racing down under over a period spanning several decades.

Thanks for joining me on this “Three Continent Veteran” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Wobbly Web Wheels – Lotus 12

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Despite only being fitted with mock up engine and all new rear transaxle made of wood the Lotus 12 with a chassis made of Reynolds 531 tubing looked sensational to the select members of the press lucky enough to it in the stable block at the back of a hotel in Hornsey in October 1956.

Lotus 12, Goodwood Festival of Speed, June 2011

The space frame chassis had independent wishbone suspension on the front and was to be powered by a 4 cylinder Coventry Climax motor built to meet the then second tier Formula 2 regulations. The gearbox mounted to the rear transaxle was to feature a sequential shift as used on motor cycles.

Lotus 12, Goodwood Festival of Speed, June 2011

Typical of designer Colin Chapmans maxim to add lightness the magnesium ‘wobbly web’ wheels, inspired by a design Colin had seen on a US military aircraft, were fitted with six wheel nuts instead of the more common central knock off nut because Formula 2 races did not, as a general rule, require pit stops to change tyres and the six small wheel nuts weighed less than the one knock off nut.

Lotus 12, Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2011

Colin Chapmans first foray into open wheel racing under his own Lotus banner while innovative was not as successful in 1957 as had been the Vanwall for which Colin had designed the chassis, but this did not prevent him from fitting the 12 with an oversize version of the Formula 2 Coventry Climax engine and running two examples at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1958 for Graham Hill and a second F2 spec car for Cliff Allinson to mark Lotus first entry into the top Formula One tier of the sport.

Lotus 12, Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2011

The first two Lotus 12’s featured de Dion suspension but Chapman refined his design by fitting his own version of the Macpherson struts fitted with universal joints that became known as the Chapman strut, a system also used on the Lotus Elise. In Formula One races the Lotus 12 scored some promising sixth place finishies and a remarkable 4th place in Belgium but the most important Colin Chapman was now playing on the big stage where he would leave an indelible mark right up until his untimely demise im 1982.

Thanks for joining me on this Wobbly Web edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow when we will be looking at a big cat. Don’t forget to come back now !

Poor Mans Roller – Rover P5 Mark II 3 Litre

Rare Side Vents – Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 #1815GT

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Despite the Haynes International Motor Museum having a room full of red vehicles only one of the Rosso Corsa cars is a Ferrari.

The Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 was launched in 1959 featuring a Pinin Farina designed body that was simpler than the Series 1, in part was due to the intention of the Series 2 to be made for series production rather than to order.

This 1960 left hand drive model with a 3185 cc / 194 cui V12 was orginally exported to the USA and in 1987 was sold by Coy’s of London with the registration ‘Q 999 EGC’.

It is thought around 212 Series 2 models were manufactured as against just 36 of the Series 1 model.

While the Series 2 is known as a model manufactured in series this particular example has extremely rare, for the model type, side vents.

Thanks for joining me on this slightly tardy Ferrari Friday edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you’ll join me for a stretch limo edition tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring