Tag Archives: race cars

Force India VJM01

Posted on by
Reply

2008 Force India VJM01

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | July 2024

Photo – Bonhams

The Midland F1 team was what Jordan Grand Prix became for the 2006 season. At the end of ’06, they sold out to Spyker, who produced one car for F1: the Spyker F8-VII. During the 2007 season, Spyker was bought by Vijay Mallya, who was going to rename it Force India for 2008.

The first Force India race car chassis were actually slightly updated Spykers from the year before. They built a couple of chassis on their own too, which is what this is, apparently (chassis VJM01-05). It would’ve been powered by a 2.4-liter Ferrari V8 making 750 horsepower. Now it’s just a rolling show car with a Dexter Brown “art car” livery that was created for a 2011 charity auction.

The actual competition history for this chassis consists of:

  • 2008 Australian Grand Prix – 21st, DNF (with Giancarlo Fisichella)
  • 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix – 12th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix – 12th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Spanish Grand Prix – 10th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Turkish Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 French Grand Prix – 18th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 British Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 German Grand Prix – 16th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix – 15th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 European Grand Prix – 14th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Belgian Grand Prix – 17th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Italian Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Singapore Grand Prix – 14th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Japanese Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Chinese Grand Prix – 17th (with Fisichella)
  • 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix – 18th (with Fisichella)

The estimate here is $100,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

The First Lotus F1 Car

Posted on by
Reply

1957 Lotus-Climax 12

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Lotus’s track-focused cars built prior to this were mostly of the sports racing/prototype variety. The 12 was unveiled at the 1956 London Motor Show but wouldn’t hit the track until 1957. That first year it contested three F2 races, one each at Silverstone, Goodwood, and Oulton Park. Drivers Henry Taylor and Graham Hill split driving duties.

After a few more F2 outings in 1958, the car was ready to step up to F1. It was Lotus’s – and Graham Hill’s – first Formula One appearance when the car appeared at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix. The competition history for this chassis, 353, includes:

  • 1958 Monaco Grand Prix – 9th, DNF (with Graham Hill)
  • 1958 Dutch Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Hill)
  • 1958 Belgian Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Hill)

Then it was back to F2 for some events in 1958 and 1959. And don’t think the 12 was an F1 dud. Hill’s teammate in ’58 was Cliff Allison, and Allison finished 6th, 6th, and 4th, respectively, in the same outings Hill had.

Power in the car is from a Coventry Climax inline-four. The car was purchased by its current owner in 1991 and was later restored. Quite the specimen of F1 and Lotus history, the car could fetch between $310,000-$420,000. You can read more about it here.

McLaren M19A

Posted on by
Reply

1971 McLaren-Ford M19A

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

McLaren’s M19 was used in three different seasons of Formula One, with the A variant in use in 1971 and the C variant raced for ’72 and ’73. The team’s main drivers in 1971 were Denny Hulme and Peter Gethin, with Peter Revson taking Gethin’s place in 1972. Jody Scheckter would also debut for McLaren in 1972, and he currently owns this car.

Power is from a Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 that displaced 3.0 liters. McLaren built four M19 chassis, two of which were M19A spec. This car, chassis M19A-1, has the following competition history:

  • 1971 South African Grand Prix – 6th (with Denny Hulme)
  • 1971 Spanish Grand Prix – 5th (with Hulme)
  • 1971 Monaco Grand Prix – 4th (with Hulme)
  • 1971 Dutch Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Peter Gethin)
  • 1971 French Grand Prix – 9th (with Gethin)
  • 1971 British Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Gethin)
  • 1971 German Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Gethin)
  • 1971 Austrian Grand Prix – 9th (with Jackie Oliver)
  • 1971 Canadian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Mark Donohue)
  • 1971 United States Grand Prix – 10th (with David Hobbs)
  • 1972 South African Grand Prix – 3rd (with Peter Revson)
  • 1972 Spanish Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Hulme)
  • 1972 French Grand Prix – 9th (with Brian Redman)
  • 1972 British Grand Prix – 3rd (with Revson)
  • 1972 German Grand Prix – 5th (with Redman)
  • 1972 United States Grand Prix – 9th (with Jody Scheckter)

I mean. Look at those names. It’s no wonder there is an estimate of $800,000-$1,100,000. The car was also used in the 1974 F5000 championship, and in F1, it was a Team McLaren AND a Team Penske car at different points. Read more about it here.

Tyrrell 007

Posted on by
Reply

1975 Tyrrell-Ford-Cosworth 007

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Here’s another Tyrrell Formula 1 car. This sale also has a re-creation of the team’s famous six-wheeler. The 007 was actually the car that was used right before the P34 (the six-wheeler) debuted. The 007 was on the F1 grid from 1974 through 1977 with various teams.

Power is provided by a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth DFV V8. This car, chassis 007/06, has the following competition history:

  • 1975 French Grand Prix – 9th (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1975 British Grand Prix – 3rd (with Scheckter)
  • 1975 German Grand Prix – 14th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1975 Austrian Grand Prix – 8th (with Scheckter)
  • 1975 Italian Grand Prix – 8th (with Scheckter)
  • 1975 United States Grand Prix – 6th (with Scheckter)
  • 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix – 5th (with Scheckter)
  • 1976 South African Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1976 United States Grand Prix West – 13th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1976 Spanish Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Scheckter)

After that, the car was purchased by privateer driver Otto Stuppacher, who managed to not qualify or start three races later in 1976. It went hillclimbing in 1979 and 1980 and later made it’s way into the collection of Jody Scheckter. It now has an estimate of $700,000-$950,000. Click here for more info.

Wolf F1

Posted on by
Reply

1977 Wolf-Ford-Cosworth WR3

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Walter Wolf made money in the Canadian oil business and later came to know Frank Williams, whose first F1 team was struggling. Wolf bought in. Then he bought Hesketh. Then he bought bits of Graham Hill’s former team. At the end of 1976, Wolf forced out Williams, who went on to found Williams Grand Prix Engineering, which is still on the grid.

Walter Wolf Racing first appeared in F1 in 1977. They ran a single car all season for Jody Scheckter, who currently owns this, a derivative chassis of their first entry: the WR1. They would upgrade the car throughout the year as the WR2, WR3, and WR4. This car is chassis WR1/3 (aka WR3, which debuted in March 1977), and it’s competition history includes:

  • 1977 Belgian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1977 French Grand Prix – 15th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 Austrian Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 Japanese Grand Prix – 10th (with Scheckter)
  • 1977 United States Grand Prix West – 13th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1978 German Grand Prix – 10th (with Keke Rosberg)
  • 1978 Austrian Grand Prix – 11th, DNF (with Rosberg)

The car features a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 and a Hewland gearbox. After Wolf got their WR4 and WR5 cars ready in 1978, they sold WR3 and WR3 to Theodore Racing, who used them with Keke Rosberg. The car ran in F5000 in Australia in 1979 and then in the 1980 Aurora AFX British F1 Championship with the likes of Kevin Cogan and Desire Wilson.

This car was rebuilt under Scheckter’s ownership and now has an estimate of $480,000-$695,000. More info can be found here.

Chevallier Bol d’Or

Posted on by
Reply

1930 Chevallier 1100 Bol d’Or

Offered by Osenat | Paris, France | April 2024

Photo – Osenat

In 1922 a race was organized in France called the Bol d’Or. It was a 24-hour event for cars and motorcycles, with a maximum displacement limit of 1,100cc. The race still exists, though for a long time it has been for motorcycles only.

Well Frenchman Paul Chevallier wanted to win this race. So in 1930 he started work on this car, which features a 1.1-liter inline-four and front-wheel drive. He ended up running the car in the race in 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, and 1935. He was declared co-winner in 1934.

Three decades later, he put his car up for sale, when it was snatched up by a collector. It now has an estimate of $130,000-$160,000. Click here for more info.

Ferrari 312 T4

Posted on by
Reply

1979 Ferrari 312 T4

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari’s 312T line of cars participated in Formula 1 from 1975 through 1980. Variations won 27 races and three driver’s championships, including in 1979 when the Scuderia entered this car, the 312 T4. It is the car that Jody Scheckter used to win his only F1 championship.

It is powered by a 3.0-liter flat-12 that made somewhere around 500 horsepower. This chassis, 040, has the following competition history:

  • 1979 Belgian Grand Prix – 1st (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1979 Monaco Grand Prix – 1st (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 French Grand Prix – 7th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 German Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Austrian Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Dutch Grand Prix – 2nd (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Italian Grand Prix – 1st (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 Canadian Grand Prix – 4th (with Scheckter)
  • 1979 United States Grand Prix – 10th, DNF (with Scheckter)

Another Monaco Grand Prix-winning chassis. Scheckter was the only person to have raced this chassis and is the only person to have driven it since the season ended. It’s a big deal, and it has an estimate of $5,600,000-$7,000,000. Click here for more info.

McLaren M21

Posted on by
Reply

1972 McLaren-Cosworth M21

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The M21 was a Formula Two race car built by McLaren for the 1972 season. Jody Scheckter, who owns this car, won a single race in the M21 in London, but the car largely struggled with technical issues.

The original M21 was wrecked in the 1970s. There were two Formula Atlantic versions of the car in existence, so a couple of guys realized they had enough parts to build three M21 cars in the 1990s. One of which used a spare monocoque and the other two used existing cars, one of which was privately owned and one that was owned by McLaren.

None of them had chassis plates, but McLaren offered up some new ones that identified the cars as M21s. This is one of the three and it was sort of built for Scheckter in the ’90s. It has a Cosworth inline-four and an estimate of $140,000-$215,000. More info can be found here.

Toyota TF102

Posted on by
Reply

2002 Toyota TF102

Offered by Bonhams | Monaco | May 2024

Photo – Bonhams

Toyota announced they were heading to Formula One in 1999, but they didn’t appear on the grid until 2002. The TF102 was their first F1 car, and this is chassis #03. It was used as a test car for the team throughout the year, seeing seat time with both of their drivers: Mika Salo and Allan McNish. It was also driven by Stephane Sarrazin and Alan Briscoe.

The team was both a chassis constructor and an engine manufacturer, and this chassis retains a 835-horsepower, 3.0-liter Toyota V10 (though, some electronics are missing). The TF102 peaked early, earning Salo a 6th place finish in its debut in Australia. Salo would achieve a 6th-place finish two rounds later in Brazil, and it was all downhill after that.

Toyota left F1 after the 2009 season, never having won a race. This chassis was purchased by its current owner in 2020 and has a pre-sale estimate of $320,000-$430,000. Click here for more.

McLaren M23

Posted on by
Reply

1973 McLaren-Cosworth M23

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monaco | May 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Turns out former F1 champion Jody Scheckter has quite the collection of old F1 cars, including this, his McLaren M23. The M23 was a helluva car, appearing on the grid in races beginning in 1973 and ending in 1978. Could you imagine someone running a five-year-old F1 chassis in a race today?

This car is chassis M23-2, and it is powered by a Cosworth V8. In period, the 3.0-liter DFV made about 465 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1973 Spanish Grand Prix – 4th (with Peter Revson)
  • 1973 Belgian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Revson)
  • 1973 Monaco Grand Prix – 5th (with Revson)
  • 1973 Swedish Grand Prix – 7th (with Revson)
  • 1973 British Grand Prix – 1st (with Revson)
  • 1973 Dutch Grand Prix – 4th (with Revson)
  • 1973 German Grand Prix – 9th (with Revson)
  • 1973 Austrian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Revson)
  • 1973 Canadian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Jody Scheckter)
  • 1973 United States Grand Prix – 18th, DNF (with Scheckter)
  • 1974 South African Grand Prix – 19th (with Dave Charlton)
  • 1975 South African Grand Prix – 14th (with Charlton)

It also competed in F5000 and Can-Am races through 1980! It remained part of McLaren’s collection before being traded into Scheckter’s. It now has an estimate of $1,860,000-$2,400,000. More info can be found here.