Sintura S99 GT1 1999

[RACECAR]

Prior to the 1999 season, a man named Richard Austin bought out the Harrier company from Lester Ray. Due to the contractual obligation of the Harrier being owned by Ford and only leased, the name would be changed to Sintura (An anagram for R.Austin). The first and only car born out of this venture was the Sintura S99 GT1. Designed in-house by Phil Bourne and built on a Lola made Composite Chassis Tub, the car featured push-rod suspension and a 4 Liter Judd GV4 V10, which revs to 11,000 RPMs and produces 700 Horsepower (200 more then the Harrier it replaced), while connected to a Lola six-speed sequential Gearbox. While the car only had one whole season of competition, the car produced some positive results, including 2 poles and completing
5 of the 8 races it entered (with four podiums, including a win in at Round 8 of the Britsh GT Championship at Silverstone). Including this car in GT would add the Sintura Name to the series as well as one of the more obscure GT1 cars from 1999.

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Engine: Naturally Aspirated 4.0L Judd GV4 V10
Horsepower: 700
Transmission: Six-Speed Sequential
Weight: ----
Drivetrain: Rear Wheel Drive

​

 

[Kingofweasles]

I had a chance to see this car race at the 1999 ALMS race at Laguna Seca in and boy, the old-school Judd V10 really could really scream compared the other cars... It ended up in 9th place overall and suffered from tire degradation (As it's Dunlops weren't really tough enough for the high heat of that day), but I think it would be close to the pace of cars like the Mercedes CLK-LM, Panoz Esperante GTR-1 and Nissan R390 GT1.

 

[CORRUPTEDDISC]

Very nice motor.

 

[RACECAR]

Only thing I hate is there is no video of this car so anyone who wasn't there in person to see it will never know what it sounds like for themselves.

 

[Scuderia Paul]

Never heard of the Sintura S99 GT1 to be honest. It looks great though and GT7 could do with boosting the quantity of GT category cars.

The chances of seeing a car which is not well known and whose company is long gone are slim. We are far more likely to see the Maserati MC12 GT1 for example.

 

[Kingofweasles]

Only thing I hate is there is no video of this car so anyone who wasn't there in person to see it will never know what it sounds like for themselves.

It ran a bog-standard 4-Litre Judd V10 with silencers; Quite a few customer LMPs up to 2003 ran that engine... Like, say, this one:




But yeah, I HATE that there isn't video footage of this car...

 

[Scuderia Paul]

It ran a bog-standard 4-Litre Judd V10 with silencers; Quite a few customer LMPs up to 2003 ran that engine... Like, say, this one...

But yeah, I HATE that there isn't video footage of this car...

That is why I think V10 engines are special. There is a shriek to them you don't get with either V8 or V12. Beautiful sound.

The nearest I could get to footage of the Sintura S99 GT1.

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Here is another of it in action in it's only international appearance at an ALMS race at Laguna Seca.

 

[RACECAR]

Update: Found this when I did a search on Google:

Abit on the small side, but thought it was interesting. Curious as to if that old building is still there.

 

[Kingofweasles]

Found scans from a magazine that track-tested the Sintura S99 GT1 back in the day.

*WARNING: HUGE IMAGES AHEAD!*

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> ...

Update: Found this when I did a search on Google:

Abit on the small side, but thought it was interesting. Curious as to if that old building is still there.

^ I'd like to know more about this Road Car example.

 

[BunBunMaru]

-> ...

^ I'd like to know more about this Road Car example.

Isn't that just the race car shown in the OP but without the livery?

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ But with a license plate.

 

[RACECAR]

To be honest, I get the feeling they more or less ARE the same and only had it like this just to get around the GT1 rule.

 

[Kingofweasles]

To be honest, I get the feeling they more or less ARE the same and only had it like this just to get around the GT1 rule.

From what I read, the Sintura was a one-off and the team got around the required "Road Car" rules through some Toyota GT-ONE levels of chicanery.

 

[RACECAR]

Well its taken long enough, but I've finally found footage of this car in action: