Tuesday 26 October 2010

Panel beaten with the Ugly Stick

9 of the ugliest F1 cars




Widely acknowledged as the most unusual, and for some the least attractive Formula 1 car of all time was Ken Tyrrell’s P34 6-wheeler of 1976. (I for one, however, have always loved this car, long before I was into the sport). When ribbed about it’s appearance, Ken reportedly retorted “The best looking car is the one that crosses the line first”. And so it did in a 1-2 finish in Sweden.

However, in terms of looks, Derek Gardner’s design is Marilyn Monroe compared to others that have made it off the drawing board. Here are a some of the Susan Boyles that have graced the race track and disgraced F1.


1971: March 711
The great Ronnie Petersen (orange car) suffers the indignity of sitting in this Thunderbirds inspired balloon car.


1972: Eifelland MkI, MkII, MkIII
Just as you can’t polish a turd, it would seem you can’t develop one either. The car is based around a March 721, and they have managed to make it even less appealing. It should come as no surprise to learn that Eifelland are a company that make caravans.


1973: Ensign N173
Part Batmobile, part submarine, all ugly. The JPS-style pin striping only accentuates the awful shape.


1975: Maki Engineering F101-02
Perhaps more suited to snorkelling than racing. How it fit under the tunnel at Monaco is a mystery.


1975: March 751
Presumably the tray at the back is for carrying the mechanics’ tea and biscuits.


1976: Ligier JS5
I know ground-effect skirts were the order of the day in the 70’s, but did they need to make an airbox that big just to accommodate the skirt of the lovely lady emblazened on it?


1978: McLaren M26
James Hunt tests a mid-wing configuration in Spain on the already clunky looking McLaren. Inversely proportionate to the looks of its driver.

The subsequent M27 tests a very unusual rear wing but the car never appeared on track. In fact the next McLaren raced was the M28.

The Arrows A5 of 1982 revisits the M26’s mid wing, with similarly ugly results.


1979: Ensign N179
The cockpit’s so high they had to bolt a ladder on the front to allow driver access.


1983: Tyrrell 012
The piece-of-shit de resistance! Tyrrell pull out all the stops, seemingly fabricating this abomination from plywood and an oversized boomerang. If it looks fast, it is fast, but if it looks this ugly it should have stayed in the garage.


6 Wheels on my Wagon
Tyrrell’s P34 was not the only car to play with the idea of superfluous wheels. A few others have tried and tested similar ideas.


1982: Williams FW08
Like the P34, this configuration really worked. So well and so fast in fact that the design was ruled illegal before it could race, and the regulations amended to limit wheels to four only.


1977: March
No doubt following in Tyrrell’s wheel tracks, and stealing a March on Williams’ later design, this car was tested but never raced.


1977: Ferrari 312T6
Tested by both Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann, but never raced, this configuration had double wheels on a single rear axle. As far back as the 1930s Alfa Romeo had employed such dual wheels in hill climb events with some success.


1976: Ferrari 312’T8’
Seemingly pushing the design envelope beyond destruction, this very rare spy shot shows an 8-wheeler 312 being tested by Clay Regazzoni. It later transpired that this was mocked up to wrong foot Ferrari’s competitors, and draw attention away from the real project of the time which was an Indycar for Mario Andretti.

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