The "I can't believe they raced it!" Thread.

Well the first picture is rather interesting. Is it a breadvan-esque rally SM? The rear end is definitely not styled like a production SM, if anything...

 

I believe it was restyled due to it's shorter wheelbase, which made it a bit nimbler.

Looks like it may have seen some circuit action too:

 

So essentially it had its arse cut out, that's an interesting idea... After all, the SM wasn't exactly a short car, far from it. And the engine stayed the same?

 

Kamm-tailed and the rear axle moved forward. It's essentially a Maserati engine, so i'd imagine so!

 

Like a French Alfa Romeo TZ3 from the '70s...

Well yes, but Maserati could also be difficult to manage in rally racing with their... er, "difficult character", for the lack of a better term. It has the pedigree, I know, but still...

 

There's more of these SM'S....wow.

 

Hon hon hon

 

The dirtiest in motorsport history!

 

REEEE normie rally cars get out

 

Surely a French hatchback would be more 'normie' than quite a few other rally/raid cars.

 

It's a flying cowpat!

 

Chevrolet Corvair raced by Frank Gardner. Looks epic.

 

Well it's not your average death trap, that's a given...

What class was it entered in? GT? And was the engine still in the place that Ralph Nader loves so much...?

 

It ran in the Australian Sports Sedan series, and it was mid-engine. A lot of it was Lola T-332. There was also Bryan Thomson's VW fastback. Mid-engine Chev V8 with a lot of McLaren M-10 under the body. One cannot imagine the handful these were. Check out the short wheelbase on this one:

 

Quite the mismatched pair of rims, too. Work Equips on the front, Watanabe-esque rims on the rear... And of course, leave it to Australia to bend the rulebook on sedan racing. Usually sedans don't come with Can-Am bases...

 

There was one that raced in Britain at a similar time by a guy called Ian Richardson. It didn't look as wild but it used the engine/gearbox/suspension from a ex-Can-Am Mclaren M8. It was thought to be the quickest 'Super Saloon' in the country and when the opportunity arose, was bought by Gerry Marshall as he reckoned it was the only car that could regularly beat his factory supported Baby Bertha. In '77 my dad and uncle went to have a look at it on a farm where he stored it, with the idea of buying it. They even drove it around some of the farm tracks, at a much reduced pace obviously before it overheated. They didn't buy it in the end, i don't think he really wanted to sell it. Sources say it's now back as an M8.

 

My lord. What beautiful machine.

 

Sports Sedans have always been like that.

Kinda like John McCormack's mid-engine Valiant Charger with a right hand shifter.

 

That looks like a Camaro.

 

It's a Valiant Charger.

 

Looks like an Australian Charger to me


This is a Camaro raced in the same time frame.

Don't see the camaro other than the general shape of the cars in that period, but even then the most similar two were the charger (aussie) and perhaps the Falcon of the 70s.

 

Well I guess that further proves my point, then. But why the right-hand shifter? Even right-handed people would be using left-hand shifters, as it is norm... But is an impressive setup, no doubt.

 

McCormack was used to driving F5000 cars which had the shifter on his right.

Plus, if you look at the interior shot, there's no room to put the shifter on the left, lol.

Re: Sports sedan racing, it's always been a very liberal rules series, all over the world. Similar cars were run in the UK in the 70's/80's as "Thundersaloons" for instance.

 

That is legitimately the coolest thing ever.

 

More vintage Thundersaloons/Sports Sedans














Article on Speedhunters of one of the more wilder Sports Sedans from back int he day:
http://www.speedhunters.com/2016/03/circuit-outlaw-addis-charger/

 

Ok, so it had historical precedents, fair enough...

Haha, I guess that's the best answer to my question. There is truly not much you can do about shifter positions when the engine is literally next to you on the car.

In the end, it definitely proves these weren't really your run-of-the-mill racing sedans. They're more comparable to Japan's Super Silhouette cars, as in vehicles which could pass as Can-Am cars if it weren't for their bodies, which weren't really comparable to real road-going sedans and coupes either way...

 

Yes, but they're called Sports Sedans.

Short history of the series in Oz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sports_Sedan_Series

Japan's Super Silhouette cars were Group 5 cars. SS's are a cross between Group 5, Can-Am, and 80's and up IMSA GTO/U and SCCA Trans-Am cars.

 

>camaro

 

Obviously a Camero.

 

Come off it, you lot. I didn't know what it was.