Classic Formula 1 Cars to Switzerland - Classic Car Transport

Classic Car Transport - Classic Formula 1 Cars to Switzerland.

Four classic cars including a 1966 Mclaren M3A, a 1966 Cooper T-82, a 1964 Brabham BT11 06 and a Porsche 917 have been transported down to Altburon in Switzerland for the weekend for a  memorial event in memory of the late Swiss racing driver Jo Siffert using covered classic car transport supplied by Russells Transport - Russells Vehicle Management and Towing

The event took place at the Race-Inn, the longest and most professional indoor karting race track in Switzerland, often hosting events for up to 2,500 people.

2011-08-19   

Jo Siffert: Live Fast - Die Young

Joseph Siffert (July 7, 1936 – October 24, 1971) was a Swiss Formula One racing driver.  Born in Fribourg Switzerland, Jo "Seppi" Siffert was laid to rest on November 1st, 1971 a week after after dying when his car hit a bank at and burst into flames at Brands Hatch.  His death prompted racing chiefs to demand drivers wore more fire-retardant overalls.  His funeral, held in his hometown of Fribourg, Switzerland, was attended by 50,000 fans and the procession was led by a Porsche 917 like the one he began his career in.  Porsche 917 driver Jo Siffert gave movie actor Steve McQueen advice on driving Porsches at the Sebring race whilst they were filming the 1971 film 'Le Mans'.  Up until today, Jo Siffert is considered to be one of the ten best racing drivers ever.  In 2005 a film depicting the life of Jo Siffert as a racing driver was made - called 'Live fast - Die young'.  By the early 1970s, race organizer had only just begun to think about how they might make the sport safeHowever, they had failed to take many steps until the end of the 1960s, a decade that saw 14 F1 drivers die.  In 1968, Jo Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.

The 1966 Mclaren M3A

The 1966 Mclaren M3A, also known as a 1966 Mclaren Oldsmobile was designed by Robin Herd for Mclaren.  The McLaren M3A was intended for use in Formula Libre events but also starred as a camera car in John Frankenheimer's movie Grand Prix.By the early 1970s, race organizer had only just begun to think about how they might make the sport safe. 

After the success of McLaren's M1A sports cars, Bruce McLaren was persuaded that the basic design could equally be used for a single-seater. The resulting McLaren M3A used Traco Oldsmobile or Shelby Ford engines and was used mainly in libre and speed events.  McLaren M3A production would amount to just three cars, making the McLaren M3A exceedingly rare.  cLaren was seemingly open to the idea, christening it the `Whoosh-Bonk' car. In his book `McLaren' (1984), Doug Nye describes how the Grand Prix winner had insisted "You can take the suspension off the sports car - Whoosh - knock up a chassis and - Bonk - there's the car". 

Harry Zweifel (Glarus, Switzerland) bought the first McLaren M3A.  The Mclaren M3A were powered by 4.4 litre Traco Oldsmobile V8 engines allied to ZF five-speed transmissions. With some 360bhp on tap to propel just 495kg, they boasted a power to weight ratio of 727bhp per tonne (Harry Zweifel also took delivery of a 5.0 litre Traco Oldsmobile unit in August 1966 which he later fitted.)  Today only the McLaren M3A used by Patsy Burt remains while the most evocative memories produced by the car can still be admired in Grand Prix.  Patsy Burt,one of the first truly successful female racers, campaigned the McLaren M3A in sprint events all around England between 1966 and 1970, scoring numerous class and outright victories. In 1970 she became the RAC British Sprint Champion.

The 1966 Cooper T82

The 1966 Cooper T82 Chassis number F2/2/66 was built in 1966 as one of two Type T82 cars to run in that year's European Formula 2 Championship.  The Cooper  T82 (F2) was produced from 1966 to 1966. The Cooper T82 was fitted with a BRM project 80 engine was the Works car run and entered by Jo Bonnier and his Ecurie Suisse Team along side his Cooper Maserati F1 car. The car was predominantly driven by Jo Siffert and occasionally, by Jo Bonnier.  The Cooper T82  was returned to the Cooper factory at the end of the year and sold to an American owner/driver, Tom Jones, who wanted an F1 car and so fitted a 1.5-liter Climax V8 and Colotti T34 six-speed gearbox.  The Cooper T82 was eventually sold, without engine, to Rick Kolher of Ohio who ran the car in FB events with a BMW engine.

The 1966 Cooper T82 rolling chassis was purchased from Fort Lauderdale in 1993, and returned to the UK for restoration and reuniting with its BRM engine by the current owner to restore the chassis to correct 66 F2 form. The restored 1966 Cooper T82 still retains some of its F1 features: 1-inch wider wheels, up to four fuel tanks and LH gear change shaft guides. The  1966 Cooper T82 is shown regularly in the UK and Europe at historic automobile events by owner /mechanic / driver Paul Busby.

The 1964 Brabham BT11 06

The 1964 Brabham BT11 06, Brabham set about developing a customer version to be launched in 1964, Encouraged by the on-track performance of the BT7.  Named the Brabham BT11, it was the only competitive car available for privateers. The Brabham BT11 was different in detail only from the BT7, with a wider track as the only major change. Three chassis were sold to the likes of Rob Walker and Jo Siffert, while two were retained for the Works team. Two of the Brabham BT11's were powered by a BRM V8 engine and managed to score the odd podium finish in 1964. In the Works hands, the Brabham BT11s were only slightly more successful with Dan Gurney taking three third and then two second place finishes in a row in 1965. It was enough to end the season in third again.

Porsche 917

In 1971 Jo Siffert raced an open-top Porche 917PA Spyder (normally aspirated) in the 1971 CanAm series.  There are at least eleven variants of the Porche 917.  The Porsche 917 is a race car that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971.

The original 4.5-litre engine, which had produced around 520 bhp in 1969, had been enlarged through 4.9-litres (600 bhp) to 5-litres and produced a maximum of 630 bhp.  The Porche 917K models were generally used for the shorter road courses such as Sebring, Brands Hatch, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps.  The Porche 917 is one of the most iconic sports racing cars of all time, largely for its high speeds and high power outputs, and was made into a movie star by Steve McQueen in his 1971 film Le Mans.

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