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Lola T400
After the great success of the T332 in the 1974 Formula 5000 season (18 out of 21 top 3 finishes in the US), much was expected of the new high-tech Lola T400. Described by development driver Frank Gardner as "the most sophisticated Formula 5000 to be built so far", the T400 was a completely new design, strikingly different from its T300, T330 and T332 predecessors. Description Built with a heavily revised aerodynamics and suspension system the T400 baffled and perplexed teams. The radiators were mounted in front of the rear wheels, as part of the mandatory deformable structure, so the aerodynamics could be significantly cleaner. However, the key difference was designer Eric Broadley's adoption of rising rate suspension, with rocker arms and inboard springs, both front and rear. This would, eventually, prove very successful but at first nobody really understood how to make it work. Shock absorbers This design was not only the first to move the shock absorbers inside the bodywork ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lola T400
After the great success of the T332 in the 1974 Formula 5000 season (18 out of 21 top 3 finishes in the US), much was expected of the new high-tech Lola T400. Described by development driver Frank Gardner as "the most sophisticated Formula 5000 to be built so far", the T400 was a completely new design, strikingly different from its T300, T330 and T332 predecessors. Description Built with a heavily revised aerodynamics and suspension system the T400 baffled and perplexed teams. The radiators were mounted in front of the rear wheels, as part of the mandatory deformable structure, so the aerodynamics could be significantly cleaner. However, the key difference was designer Eric Broadley's adoption of rising rate suspension, with rocker arms and inboard springs, both front and rear. This would, eventually, prove very successful but at first nobody really understood how to make it work. Shock absorbers This design was not only the first to move the shock absorbers inside the bodywork ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V8 Engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and used in cars and speedboats but primarily aircraft; while the American 1914–1935 ''Cadillac L-Head'' engine is considered the first road going V8 engine to be mass produced in significant quantities. The popularity of V8 engines in cars was greatly increased following the 1932 introduction of the ''Ford Flathead V8''. In the early 21st century, use of V8 engines in passenger vehicles declined as automobile manufacturers opted for more fuel efficient, lower capacity engines, or hybrid and electric drivetrains. Design V-angle The majority of V8 engines use a V-angle (the angle between the two banks of cylinders) of 90 degrees. This angle results in good engine balance, which results in low vibrations; however, the downside is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1973 In British Motorsport
Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. * January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Nixon is the only person to have been sworn in twice as President (First inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1969, Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1973) and Vice President of the United States (First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, Second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957). * January 22 ** George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship. ** A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teddy Pilette
Theodore "Teddy" Pilette (born 26 July 1942, in Brussels) is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, the first on 12 May 1974 with Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team. Son of André Pilette and grandson of Théodore Pilette, he followed the family path. He started his career by winning many go-kart races before being sent to England to the talent-spotting Jim Russell Racing School. This experience created the opportunity for him to be part of the cast for John Frankenheimer's movie Grand Prix, and later on Le Mans with Steve McQueen. On the circuit, Pilette raced for Carlo Abarth in 1963 and 1965, and in 1967 he started racing for the Belgian VDS team. He won the European Formula 5000 Championship in 1973 with a Chevron B24, and again in 1975 with a Lola T400. He also competed in the US in Formula 5000. He also made 3 attempts at the Indy 500. He attempted to qualify for the 1977 Indianapolis 500 but failed to m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vel's Parnelli Jones
Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, commonly referred to simply as Parnelli or VPJ, was a motor racing constructor and team from the United States. The team was formed in 1969 by former USAC racer Parnelli Jones and his business partner Velko "Vel" Miletich. Parnelli was initially solely concerned with USAC racing, where success came quickly; their driver Al Unser won the Indianapolis 500 race in 1970, driving a VPJ Colt, after leading 190 of the 200 racing laps. Unser went on to win the USAC championship. Unser repeated the Indy 500 win in 1971 with a new Colt built without the left side chassis offset that had been made illegal by 1971 rules, ending the season in fourth place in the USAC drivers points while teammate Joe Leonard won the championship. Racing Parnelli secured the services of ex-Team Lotus designer Maurice Philippe and driver Mario Andretti for USAC racing in the early 1970s, and in 1974 decided to move into Formula One racing, with financial support from tire manufac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Haas
Carl A. Haas (February 26, 1929 – June 29, 2016) was an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the Champ Car and IndyCar Series with Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A. Haas Motorsports, which competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, as well as the Haas Lola Formula One team. Early life Haas was born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. He emigrated to the US in March 1938. He was of Dutch Jews descent. His father fled Germany in the 1930s. Career Haas grew up in Chicago and sold gearbox parts from his parents' home. He used the proceeds to begin racing sports cars in 1952 and won numerous races driving Ferraris, Porsches, MGs, and Jaguars. He retired from driving in the early 1960s in order to focus more on team ownership and other racing-related businesses. In 1967, he became the exclusive American importer for Lola Cars and helped the company attain national prominence in the racing world. His own company, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Gardner (racing Driver)
Frank Gardner OAM (1 October 1931 – 29 August 2009) was a racing driver from Australia. Born in Sydney, he was best known for touring car racing, winning the British Saloon Car Championship three times, and sports car racing driver but he was also a top flight open wheeler driver. He was European Formula 5000 champion, and participated in nine World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 July 1964. He scored no championship points. Gardner also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races and his results included a third placing at the 1965 Mediterranean Grand Prix at the Autodromo di Pergusa in Sicily, fourth in the 1965 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and third in the 1971 International Gold Cup at Oulton Park. He participated each year in the open wheeler Tasman Series held in New Zealand and Australia during the European winter, and shared the grids with the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt and won the New Zealand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lola T332
The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. The T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. The Lola commonly used the 5.0-litre Chevrolet V8 engine, though some competitors in Australia and New Zealand used the slightly cheaper and less powerful Australian made 5.0-litre Repco Holden V8. Race history The alloy/steel tub of the T332 followed standard Lola design practice with twin bulkheads and utilised a semi-stressed engine and transmission. Twin side radiators were mounted in front of the rear wheels which were located by upper and lower links and radius rods. Driven through a Hewland DG300 five-speed transmission, a Chevrolet powered T332 was once timed at at the now closed Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. The T332 dominated the last three years of the US F5000 championship, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manual Transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch (which is usually a foot pedal for cars or a hand lever for motorcycles). Early automobiles used ''sliding-mesh'' manual transmissions with up to three forward gear ratios. Since the 1950s, ''constant-mesh'' manual transmissions have become increasingly commonplace and the number of forward ratios has increased to 5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions for current vehicles. The alternative to a manual transmission is an automatic transmission; common types of automatic transmissions are the hydraulic automatic transmission (AT), and the continuously variable transmission (CVT), whereas the automated manual transmission (AMT) and dual-clutch transmis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hewland
Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particularly successful in electric vehicle transmission supply. Hewland are currently supplying into Formula 1, Formula E, DTM, LMP, RallyCross, Prototype and GT Sportscar. History Mike Hewland ran a small engineering business at Maidenhead in the UK with the speciality in gear cutting. In 1959, Bob Gibson-Jarvie, the Chief Mechanic of UDT Laystall racing team running Cooper F2 cars, sought help from Hewland as gearbox troubles were experienced. The result of this request came out as six successful gearboxes being designed and built in 1959, and Hewland was in the gearbox business. The first transaxle product, the Hewland Mk.I of 1960, was a minor modification of the Volkswagen Beetle 4 speed transaxle used upside-down with custom made differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Repco Holden
Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialized manufacturing, for which they gained a high reputation. It is now best known as a retailer of spare parts and motor accessories. The company gained fame for developing the engines that powered the Brabham Formula One cars in which Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme won the 1966 and 1967 World Championship of Drivers titles respectively. Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers in the same two years. Repco currently runs a series of stores across Australia and New Zealand specialising in the sale of parts and aftermarket accessories. The company was founded by Robert Geoffrey (Geoff) Russell in 1922 and first traded under the name Automotive Grinding Company, from premises in Collingwood, Victoria. It currently has over 2,000 employees in almost 400 stores. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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