GTP Cool Wall: 1970 Chaparral 2J

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jahgee
  • 65 comments
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1970 Chaparral 2J

  • Total voters
    149
  • Poll closed .
Love it to death. Seriously Uncool because race car.
 
Best classic race car ever. Lets give the 787B and the 917 something to think about.
 
Crazy in a good way. Sub zero.
 
It's a genius car. It sounds insanely awesome. It was also so unreliable it didn't finish many races in the only season it was allowed to race. The fact that it was the first car in almost 5 years to not only stop McLaren from dominating the series, but embarrass them terribly saves it from being seriously uncool. Maybe if Chaparral had more than one season they could have worked the bugs out, but IMO a car that was only good at qualifying because it couldn't finish the actual races is pretty far from cool.
 
Sub-Zero just for it's racing history.
 
One of the most insane race cars ever made!
Sub Zero
 
Love it for it's maverick left field engineering. SUBRC.
 
I'm one of those people that didn't know about this car before GT4, but I've loved it ever since.
 
Ken Koios
Sub-Zero just for it's racing history.
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What racing history? It had one season before being banned. It entered four races, retired from three and finished 6th in the other. Source.

This car is not only seriously uncool because it's a race car, it was rubbish as a race car. As a pioneer in engineering however, it is undeniably one of motorsport's most interesting and famous machines.
 
Liquid
What racing history? It had one season before being banned and its only finish in that one season was a 6th place.
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Perhaps he was talking about it's Gran Turismo racing history as the troll car? :sly:
 
Liquid
What racing history? It had one season before being banned. It entered four races, retired from three and finished 6th in the other. Source.

This car is not only seriously uncool because it's a race car, it was rubbish as a race car. As a pioneer in engineering however, it is undeniably one of motorsport's most interesting and famous machines.
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It got banned. Enough said. Well, maybe not.

McLaren argued that if the 2J were not outlawed, it would likely kill the Can-Am series by totally dominating it — ironically, something McLaren had been doing since 1967.
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That may not be success, but it is serious coolness in my book.
 
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@Ken Koios

I love the 2J. It's an awesome vehicle, fantastic engineering and oddly curious to look at. But, for whatever reasons, it sucked as a racing car during its actual period of competition. Just like the Toyota 7. Yes it was banned but we can't undo that; four races, three DNFs, one 6th place. Fact.

More of a spin-off for the motorsports thread, but yeah McLaren were cross / worried about the 2J so lobbied to get it banned to maintain their dominance. Sadly, even though McLaren's lobbying was a tasteless move in regards to the spirit of motorsport being about reaching the zeniths of engineering, the 2J is not a successful race car.

And it's seriously uncool because race cars shouldn't be polled here.
 
@Liquid; wasn't the reason it wasn't successful because it was plagued by mechanical failure?

Nonetheless, I think it's cool.

But I do agree that race cars shouldn't be polled.
 
Ken Koios
@Liquid; wasn't the reason it wasn't successful because it was plagued by mechanical failure?
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I do think that was a big factor in those four races. Understandable because it was one of the first with such technology, and then they never had the opportunity to iron out those gremlins due to it being banned.

If anything, the Chaparral 2J is a very interesting motorsport What If? question, if not a GT troll car.
 
I'd normally abstain from voting on race cars, and I was tempted to do so again here. But it's such an oddball machine without looking profoundly ridiculous, it was always going to be either SZ or SU.

As far as race cars are concerned, I voted Sub Zero based how radically offbeat it was compared to the competition. A truly mad (though unsuccessful) kitchen appliance, but mad in the best possible way.
 
Liquid
And it's seriously uncool because race cars shouldn't be polled here.
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Is this why race cars are automatically voted uncool by some? I've never understood why.
 
It was terrible in the few races it competed in, awful and tasteless.

Sub-zero for sure. :p
 
Uncool. While it was an engineering feat that prevents it from being seriously uncool in my opinion, it failed to achieve anything on track before it was banned.
 
I think it's the imagination and creativity to make a race car out of a vacuum cleaner. :p Sub Zero, funny how it got banned!:lol:
 
I hate it... because Gran Turismo troll car. But being all honest, I have to accept this is a very cool car.
 
Leggy1
Is this why race cars are automatically voted uncool by some? I've never understood why.
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Because it can never be used in a situation where coolness applies.(eg. Driving down the street)

They're not road legal, you can't own one, and many no longer exist outside of private museums. Even if you somehow did manage to get one on the street or anywhere else, you'd look ridiculous and then stupid when the car overheats at a stop-light.

This also applies to concept cars and similar ultra rare rides.
 
Hey now... The 2J gets to drive around the museum every few months :sly:
 
They shouldn't even be polled. Keep it to the motorsports forum, this is cars in general which despite the 'general' name is arguably for production cars or at the very least, cars intended for production. Not race cars or motorsport cars.
 
Zenith
Because it can never be used in a situation where coolness applies.(eg. Driving down the street)

They're not road legal, you can't own one, and many no longer exist outside of private museums. Even if you somehow did manage to get one on the street or anywhere else, you'd look ridiculous and then stupid when the car overheats at a stop-light.

This also applies to concept cars and similar ultra rare rides.
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Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense.
 
Skython
It was terrible in the few races it competed in, awful and tasteless.

Sub-zero for sure. :p
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Exactly
 
I love this car. It's just a fantastic example of what was great about racing during the 60s and 70s.

But. It's a race car without a homologated street version, and it looks like it was built by the students of a high school shop class. Uncool.
 
Lister_Storm
I think it's the imagination and creativity to make a race car out of a vacuum cleaner. :p Sub Zero, funny how it got banned!:lol:
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There's an easy GT joke right there. Right there!

SUBRC.
 
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