Tag Archives: F5000

Super Bug – Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle

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After successfully racing super saloons that included a race winning Jaguar powered Ford 105E Anglia called “Janglia”, a championship winning Gurney Weslake V8 powered Boss Ford Capri and championship winning 6 litre / 366 cui Capri Mick Hill turned his attention briefly to racing a Formula 5000 March in 1975.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

On May 9th 1976 Hill announced his return to Super Saloon racing with today’s featured liberal interpretation of a Volkswagen Beetle body which sits atop a chassis fitted with Trojan T102 Formula F5000 front suspension and rear end including a 530hp 5 litre / 302 cui Formula 5000 Chevrolet motor in the back.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mick raced the car for two seasons with sponsorship from fellow Super Saloon Competitor Tony Hazelwood’s Templar Tillers business.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

At the end of 1977 Doug Niven bought the Super Bug who went on a winning rampage recording 47 Super Saloon victories up until the end of 1979 when it was sold on to Jeff Wilson.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mick went onto race the ex Tony Hazelwood Can Am powered Jaguar XJ8 before building a championship winning Skoda known as Phoenix using the Can Am engine from the Jaguar and a chassis of his own devising, his last project was a race winning BMW M1 again powered by the Can Am engine now fitted to a Lola T400 Formula 5000 chassis and with a BMW M1 clone body.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The Super Bug, seen in these photo’s at Goodwood Festival of Speed in it’s original colours in the top three photos and in Doug Niven’s colours in the bottom 2 photos is currently owned and looked after by Dave Taylor who has started a facebook page for the car linked here.

My thanks to Mr Taylor for inadvertently giving me the courage to go with this months Super Saloon Saturday blogs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Super Bug” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Mini Cooper Panda Car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Chevrola – Race Retro 2015

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A couple of weeks ago I found myself at the wheel of a seventeen seat minibus full with friends and acquaintances from the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club headed for Race Retro at Stoneleigh Park.

Cooper Mk V, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

One of the racing highlights of my 2014 season was the 500cc Formula 3 race at the Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe the series with cars like the 1951 Cooper Mk V above, will be returning to Castle Combe on Saturday October 3rd, more dates can be found under “Circuits” on this link.

Lola T332, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Like 500cc Formula 3 the sound of old skool Formula 5000 cars is not to be missed the ex Chuck Jones 1974 Lola T332 belonging to Steve Farthing should be out at some of the HSCC events on this link follow the column DBT, for details on the seven Derek Bell Trophy events.

Chevron B1, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Chevron is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary this year above the 1965 Chevron B1 was designed to beat the ubiquitous Lotus Seven in ‘Clubmans’ events. Current custodians of the Chevron marque Helen Bashford-Malkie & Vin Malkie announced at Race Retro that they will be working with Lola Heritage to supply parts for the rival brand which dates back to 1958.

Steady Special, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

MotorSport Magazine unveiled the recently restored Steady Special based on a 1934 V8 powered Lancia Astura modified by Ronald “Steady” Barker for VSCC competition after the ’39/’45 war.

Datsun 240Z, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

As ever there was a selection of rally cars in the shed next to the exhibition halls, while I was admiring this 1972 Datsun 240Z a chap in a wheel chair came flying over asking if it was one of the 77 “real” Samuri 240Z’s prepared by Spike Anderson of Samuri Conversions at Silvestone. I never did find out if the the car above was “real”, but it turned out that the enthusiastic chap in the wheel chair was the “real” Win Percy who drove Samuri 240Z’s and later Samuri Celica’s to many race victories back the mid 1970’s.

Leyton House CG901, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Vintage Racecar Magazine always seems to pull a cool Formula One Car out of the hat for this event and this year they brought along the 1990 Leyton House CG901 chassis #003 which Ivan Capelli drove to a season best 2nd place finish in the 1990 French Grand Prix. The car was designed by Adrian Newey who the following year helped design the 1992 World Championship winning FW14 model and most recently designed the Red Bulls with which Sebastian Vettel has won four consecutive World Championships.

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

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Wider Longer Lower – Chevron B28 #B28-74-01

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Like Lola’s Eric Broadley a year earlier, Chevron Cars founder Derek Bennett decided that the way to go with the Chevron B28 1974 Formula 5000 challenger was wider, longer and lower.

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

Unlike Eric, Derek did not have such a good time convincing his customers that the B28 was a step forward they should invest in, with the VDS team being the only takers of two new B28’s, despite the fact that the previous years Chevron B24 had been successful winning the British F5000 title with Teddy Pelitte at the wheel and the Tasman F5000 series with Peter Gethin at the wheel, while Lola cars had not won any F5000 championships since 1971 !

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

With works support and Swiss Morand tuned fuel injected Chevrolet motors the VDS teams B28’s with reigning champion Teddy Pelitte and newly crowned Tasman Champion Peter Gethin raced exclusively in the 18 round Rothmans sponsored European F5000 championship.

Chevron B28, Simon Taylor, Silverstone Classic

By the season’s end Peter Gethin’s four victories were only good enough to secure 2nd place in the championship to Bob Evans driving an almost ubiquitous Lola T332 model while poor Teddy Pelitte driving what is believed to be today’s featured chassis only completed 7 laps of the opening two races before his season started getting any momentum.

Teddy managed several second place finishes, to Peter at Monza and wound up a distant fourth in the final championship standings. Interestingly the last race of the European Championship season was won by Vern Schuppan driving a Chevron B24 with the B28 suspension modifications.

Today’s featured chassis #B28-74-01 appears to have remained in the UK, with Tony Dean driving the car with Rockerfella’s, discotheque, sponsorship for most of the 1975 season before entering it for Brazilian Ingo Hoffman for the last four races of the season while he sorted out some problems with Her Majesties government regarding the import of cigars from the USA, said to have been smuggled in to the UK inside a spare car called the KEC Special, KEC denoting King Edward Cigar.

In 2012 present owner Simon Taylor, seen driving the car at Silverstone in these photo’s, had #B28-74-01 painted in the blue Thursday’s, discotheque, livery that was seen on the sister chassis #B28-74-02 in 1975 when it was driven by Australian F1 refugee Dave Walker for RAM racing.

Thanks for joining me on this “Wider Longer Lower” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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