With every new car launch in 2008 comes another explanation from Team ‘X’ of the intricacies of their ‘revolutionary’ aerodynamic developments. Press releases and technical analysis from trade journalists are the stuff that only a PhD in physics could truly understand or appreciate. To the casual observer or even a long time follower of the sport, the placement of tiny winglets and computer designed aero-foils is about as interesting as Grade 9 calculus.

“Does it have an extra wing? -No…”

“Is it turbo-charged with an afterburner? - No…”

“Does it have an engine for each wheel? - No…”

“Then what makes it different?”

Probably nothing as far as anyone outside of F1 is concerned.

It’s often been said that if the paint schemes on modern F1 cars were stripped off, most fans would not be able to tell the difference between a Ferrari and a BMW. New ideas are quickly copied (or stolen) by the other teams’ designers and eventually car design becomes a very homogeneous genetic soup. Nowadays, its more evolution through cloning than by innovation.

It wasn’t always so stale. In the 60’s and 70’s there was an explosion of new ideas and ‘outside the box’ thinking. Lotus designer Colin Chapman introduced both the monocoque chassis and ground effects to grand prix racing. The designs proved so successful that they are de rigueur to F1 design more than a quarter century later. However, equally creative ideas like four-wheel drive, and dual chassis’ proved to be evolutionary dead-ends and were abandoned. Darwin would be proud.

Standing out as the ultimate in new thinking was a car so wildly different from what had come before that it is, even today, an instantly recognizable icon of 70’s racing - the Tyrrell P34. Designed by Derrick Gardiner, the idea of four small front wheels instead of the normal sized two was envisioned as a way to reduce the drag on the car (smaller tires created a smaller frontal area) while maintaining the same amount of rubber making contact with the track.

The car’s unveiling in 1976 was greeted with gasps of astonishment by the press and it is still regarded as one of the most radical cars ever produced in the history of Formula 1. More astonishing is that this apparent albatross in design was competitive and successful straight away.

Building on a string of points scoring finishes and podiums, the Tyrrell Team quickly achieved the perfect race result when teammates Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depallier finished 1-2 in the 1976 Swiss Grand Prix. Sadly, this early glory was the high water mark for the car and it never won another race. Tire development on the car’s tiny 10-inch wheels proved too costly for the Goodyear Tire Company and the entire concept eventually had to be abandoned in 1977. The FIA killed the 6-wheel concept for good in 1983 when it mandated that race cars could only have four wheels.

Still, the P34 has remained an icon to F1 enthusiasts. It’s a testament to the adventurous thinking F1 used to embrace. Sadly, it also a reminder that as the rules have become more comprehensive and restrictive, innovation has slowly been squeezed out of the sport.

The P34 is not the last word on radical experimentation however. Before the door was shut on 6-wheel race cars, two other notable attempts were made to harness the power of six; the March 2-4-0 and the Williams FW07B/08B.

Stay tuned for Success on 6 Wheels Pt II

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Tags: 6-wheeler, Colin Chapman, Derrick Gardiner, F1, FIA, Formula 1, Jody Scheckter, March, P-34, Patrick Depallier, Tyrrell, WilliamsF1

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Formula 1, Grand Prix Legends, Vintage Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.