Motorsports Trivia Thread!

  • Thread starter Cap'n Jack
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Pete05
I watched a video recently that has Tony Rudd pondering a thought, asking what would've happened had Colin Chapman & Ford liked his H16 and invested in it instead of the DFV?
How different would F1 history have been had that have happened?
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Simple...it would not have worked. The main reason the DFV worked was that it was a structural part of the car which allowed for simplified and lighter monocoque tubs. All H-16s dropped into engine bays from which the rear suspension was hung. All DFVs bolted to the tub and the rear suspension hung from the engine per Colin Chapman's design. It was revolutionary. AND light.
 
GTP_Nail
Simple...it would not have worked. The main reason the DFV worked was that it was a structural part of the car which allowed for simplified and lighter monocoque tubs. All H-16s dropped into engine bays from which the rear suspension was hung. All DFVs bolted to the tub and the rear suspension hung from the engine per Colin Chapman's design. It was revolutionary. AND light.
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The H-16 had two crankshafts, upper and lower, geared together at one end. It was said that harmonic vibrations would travel from one crankshaft to the other in such a way that the linking spur gears would soon disintegrate in a catastrophic engine failure. I also heard that the main reason for the H-16 was an economy drive to utilize all those pistons, rods, valves and other leftover bits from the 1.5 V-8. The men behind the BRM story (Raymond Mays, Peter Berthon, et al) were really quite mad, if their biographers are to be believed.

On the other hand, I have heard the Cosworth DFV referred to as the "Sistine Chapel" of racing engine architecture. A zenith of achievement as never before or since, powering fast and reliable racing cars for parts of 3 decades. And together with the Hewland transaxle, enabling the highly competitive "kit car" era in F1, as the factories languished on the sidelines.
 
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GTP_Nail
The main reason the DFV worked was that it was a structural part of the car which allowed for simplified and lighter monocoque tubs. All H-16s dropped into engine bays from which the rear suspension was hung.
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Not quite true, the P75 engine in the Lotus 43 was used as a stressed member just like the DFV in its far more famous successor. In many ways the Lotus 49 was little more than a 43 with a DFV in the place of the BRM behemoth.
 
Greycap
Not quite true, the P75 engine in the Lotus 43 was used as a stressed member just like the DFV in its far more famous successor. In many ways the Lotus 49 was little more than a 43 with a DFV in the place of the BRM behemoth.
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In consulting Anthony Pritchard's Lotus All the Cars, I confirm that the BRM H-16 was a stressed member of the Lotus 43. But Pritchard states the forward monocoque and front suspension were more related to the Lotus 33 then in service than to the Lotus 49 which was still in the design phase.
 
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What is this thing and who is the idiot driving it.

And...are you shure they wanted stereo? and who is this fool.
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Sure is! And the Can am car is the Hollman and Moody "Honker II" driven Mario Andretti.

And who are these two
F1 drivers...
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and
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GTP_Nail
View attachment 644085

What the hell is this and who built it...and was it ever raced
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This my friends is, the 1968 Shelby Turbine Indycar.
I should know this as it's one of my nominations in the Gran Turismo Suggestions thread :D
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With a reputed 1,325bhp, it was tested by New Zealanders, Bruce McLaren & Denny Hulme but, never actually raced due to increasing restrictions placed on Turbine-engined cars.
 
Pete05
This my friends is, the 1968 Shelby Turbine Indycar.
I should know this as it's one of my nominations in the Gran Turismo Suggestions thread :D
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With a reputed 1,325bhp, it was tested by New Zealanders, Bruce McLaren & Denny Hulme but, never actually raced due to increasing restrictions placed on Turbine-engined cars.
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Actually, Parnelli Jones lead the race with it for something like 198 laps in 1967 until a minor failure put it out.
 
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LeMans is correct...and you are probably correct on track location. Hint... one of the drivers is a racing journalist and both drivers are German.
 

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