Upon first inspection, GP cars seem to be the automotive embodiment of modern thinking. Extreme aerodynamic development, lightweight materials of almost unimaginable strength, mind-boggling precision in both design and manufacture — they’re an astounding technological showcase on every level. But like all highly evolved organisms, the four-wheeled missile you see today is merely the way-point on a journey from the past to the future. In the most fundamental way, today’s F1 cars’ trace their lineage back to the very first GP cars.
Though crude compared to today’s machines, the first GP cars were not what you’d call underpowered. Consider the power-to-weight ration of the 1954 Maserati 250F. The Maser weighed in at around 630 kg (1389 lbs.). It holstered a 2.5-liter in-line six cylinder engine with three carburetors and an alloy block. The powerplant produced roughly 240 horsepower @ 6500 rpm. Conceptually, the 250F was kin to the cars that had been raced since the turn of the century: front engine, rear-wheel drive with narrow tires and a basic (leaf) suspension. The cars’ dynamics necessitated a drastically different driving technique than that used by today F1 pilots. In this era, drifting was king.
Because of the high polar moment of inertia inherent in a car with a significant portion of its weight located near its ends, maintaining momentum was the key to speed, rather than stopping and accelerating. To that end drivers used power-induced oversteer to swiftly navigate the sweeping turns of the race courses of the day, such as Monza and AVUS. Though the Maser was extremely successful, carrying many drivers to wins across several years, it was to be the last, best GP car of its type.
As racing bloomed across post-war Europe, the sport was ripe for mechanical innovation. Mercedes showed the way forward. In 1954, the German automaker introduced the W196, which incorporated several innovations taken directly from the aircraft industry. The car had a slippery, wind-tunnel tested all-inclusive shell; an aerodynamic design unlike anything GP had ever seen. To keep the frontal area low, the car’s straight eight engine was tilted on its side– a set-up made possible by the introduction of fuel injection (also borrowed from airplane technology). And if that wasn’t enough to bury the competition (it was), the W196 also ditched racing’s traditional ladder frame chassis for a stronger yet lighter space frame.
But it was the British Cooper team who created the sport’s greatest leap forward. The team had its roots in the insignificant 500cc Formula Three junior series. To facilitate relatively cheap racing, F3 cars were powered by motorcycle engines. Because motorcycle engines deliver their power via chain drive, it’s natural to position the engine as close to the driven axle as possible (in this case, the rear). By positioning the powerplant ahead of the rear axle (but behind the driver), the resulting car had an optimum weight distribution for changing direction: 50 – 50. And there you have it: the mid/rear-engine layout.
When Cooper began to understand the inherent advantages provided by the mid-engine layout, it was only a matter of time until bigger engines and more money thrust John Cooper and his revolutionary design into the limelight. That said, the idea wasn’t initially popular. Enzo Ferrari famously derided the mid-engined layout, saying that the “horse should pull the cart, not the other way around.” Cooper scored their first victory in the 1958 Argentinean Grand Prix with a T43 driven by Stirling Moss. With this surprise success– a privateer team besting the [admittedly small] field of six snarling, front-engine Ferraris and three Maseratis with a relatively inexpensive mid-engined race car– the way forward had become clear.
The Cooper T43 and T51 produced similar power levels to the front-engine beasts of the previous generation: about 240 hp. But the Coopers weighed almost 170 kilos less, and their drastically superior dynamics provided a quantum leap in performance. In fact, the Cooper cars provided the basic foundation of the modern F1 car: mid-engine layout and light-weight design with fully independent front and rear suspension; complete with hydraulic disc brakes.
The Coopers were the blue print for the next generation and their DNA permeates modern GP cars. Excluding the space frame chassis, which was soon to be replaced with monocoque construction, these cars are fundamentally the same as the ultra-modern cars that fill today’s F1 grid. The Cooper can be called the first F1 car of the modern sort – all of the designs that have followed have been extensions of the lowly Cooper F3.
Yes, but they haven’t been pretty since the 60s.
Agreed.
I’ll third that. I worked as an illustrator for a newspaper syndicate for four years, drawing auto “legends”. I loved the old Lotus, BRM, Brabham cars and would spend hours looking at photos. Modern F1 cars don’t hold the same appeal, although I must say the Le Mans cars still do.
To me, the 60’s cars were the peak. I think that the best examples of the breed are the cars that were raced immediately before wings were introduced. They almost look like they hang below those spider-like suspensions… those are beautiful machines.
You shouldn’t only look at Formula One history. There were predecessors to Formula One.
Look at the Auto Union Type A-Type D racing cars for example. They were competing from 1934-1939 and were the first mid-engine racing cars. Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, these cars were technical masterpieces.
The Type C for example already had 520hp at 824 kg.
From whence came the supposition that grand prix racing began after world War II? Renault started GP racing in 1906, the ’07 GP Fiat was one of the greats, ’12 GP Peugeot L76 was precedential, Bugattis, Alfas, Auto-Unions, all the Prewar Mercs…
Formula 1 is the subject here, not Grand Prix racing in the broader sense. While the prewar cars are certainly very interesting, they are not F1 cars, as the F1 world championship didn’t start until 1955.
The Auto Union (now Audi) C-type was a masterpiece; mid-engine, 520 horses, and a tested top speed of 252mph, I believe. But despite the fact that it was mid-engined, it was not configured in a way that took advantage of the dynamic advantages provided by the layout. The car still ran on narrow rear tires (dual rears for hill climbs, interestingly enough) and was designed for straight-line speed, rather than maneuverability. While the C-type was the first mid-engine GP car, it really bore little resemblance, in terms of performance capabilities and intent, to our idea of a mid-engine vehicle.
This was however not a failing by Auto Union, but a reflection of the type of racing GP cars were asked to do. Long straights, banked corners, etc – the emphasis was on speed and the design of the cars reflected that.
Another great racing car is the Blitzen-Benz of 1909. It had 200 hp, 4 cylinders and a displacement of 21500 ccm !!!
In 1911 it set the land speed record at 141,7 mph that lasted for 8 years. The car already implemented basic knowledge of aerodynamics.
The Benz Tropfenwagen (Teardrop) of 1923 was also a great achievement. Unfortunately it wasn’t developed any further because of the economic crisis of that time in Germany and because of the fact, that Benz was about to merge with the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft which was leading the motor sport department from then on. The Teardrop already had a mid-engine and had a perfect aerodynamic shape. Look at these pictures and compare them with other cars of that era:
http://www.solitude-memorial.de/04race/23_27/img/24BenzTropf.JPG
http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/media_library/hq/hq_mpc_reference_site/passenger_cars/passenger_cars_world/heritage/history/racing/chronology/1921-1932/history_racing_chronology0.object-Single-MEDIA.tmp/1923_TeardropCar_380x200.jpg
Formula 1 is the subject here, not Grand Prix racing in the broader sense. While the prewar cars are certainly very interesting, they are not F1 cars, as the F1 world championship didn’t start until 1955.
But you still can’t disconnect the development of Formula One from previous achievements. The first F1 cars were the next logical step from pre-war racing cars.
Formula 1 existed well before 1955. The world championship of F1 was the only difference, not the cars. There’s a quite direct line of evolution from the purpose-built, non-endurance-racing, two-seat grand prix cars of the early 1900s to the monopostos of the 1920s and early ’30s to the supercars of the late ’30s, then the innovative open-wheel single-seaters of the late 1940s and early ’50s and straight on into what is referred to in the article as “F1 cars.” I’m sure you know this, it’s just that as written, some people could come away from reading it thinking that Real Racing began in 1955.
Stephan,
You’re absolutely right. The evolution of the cars didn’t begin with the creation of the championship. In fact, the early European racecars are fascinating, in my opinion largely due to the type of racing during the period. The great city to city races of the 20’s and 30’s were the cornerstone of everything that came afterward. Paris-Rouen, the Mille Miglia, etc… these races were endurance and performance tests unlike anything that followed.
As for where I chose to begin the evolutionary timeline, my point was to choose the ultimate evolution of the previous era. The 250F was fundamentally the same as most of the cars that preceded it. Certainly it incorporated the technological and materials advances of the day, but its layout and concept were extremely similar to the Bugattis and such that were cutting edge 30 years before. As a symbol, the 250F was the last great front-engine GP car, the development of the breed ended with it.
They are technical marvels all right, but man they have too many lady’s aids on them.
It seems to me, that when Lotus was involved in F1 that’s when its influence also led to revolutionizing Indy cars. I don’t know all the specifics, but outside of the engines, it seems that Lotus Indy racecars of the early and mid-Sixties and Lotus F1 cars shared a lot. This was also around the time that America had its last American constructor/team/driver win a F1 race: Dan Gurney in Belguim. The American Eagle F1 cars were so classic, they are still made as model cars, sold through C/D.
Perhaps if F1 cars looked as good as they once did, more Americans might be interested in F1 racing – of course, that’s a big “might.” It would also help if there was an American team again; which doesn’t seem likely, near term.
Spelling correction to last post: Belgium.
Yes, but they haven’t been pretty since the 60s.
Oh, I don’t know. Modern F1 cars have a certain, brutal, “form is function” beauty about them.
Is a dirty, grimy, sledge hammer any less beautiful because of the job it does?