Arrows A8
 Thierry Boutsen driving the A8 at the 1985 European Grand Prix | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Arrows | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Dave Wass | ||||||||
| Predecessor | A7 | ||||||||
| Successor | A9 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Aluminium and carbon fibre monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, push-rod dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, push-rod dampers | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,778 mm (70.0 in) Rear: 1,651 mm (65.0 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,794 mm (110.0 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | BMW M12/13, 1,499 cc (91.5 cu in), Straight 4, turbocharged, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland 5-speed manual | ||||||||
| Weight | 545 kg (1,202 lb) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Barclay Arrows BMW | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 17.  Gerhard Berger18.  Thierry Boutsen17.  Marc Surer17.  Christian Danner | ||||||||
| Debut | 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Arrows A8 was a Formula One car which the Arrows team used to compete in the 1985 and 1986 Formula One seasons. It was powered by the BMW M12 turbocharged engine looked after by Swiss engine guru Heini Mader.
The A8 placed 8th in the 1985 Constructors' Championship on 14 points which included a podium finish for Thierry Boutsen at Imola where he placed 3rd but was later moved to 2nd when winner Alain Prost's McLaren was disqualified for being underweight. Boutsen himself was lucky to finish the race having run out of fuel within sight of the flag, though he had enough momentum to be able to coast over the line still in third place. This proved to be the A8's high point as it was never again driven to a podium finish.
Arrows and the A8 could only place 10th in the Constructors' Championship final standings in 1986 with Christian Danner scoring a point for 6th place at the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix.
While Heini Mader did a good job in maintaining the team's BMW engines, they lacked the power of the same engines powering the Brabham and later Benetton teams as those particular engines were continually maintained by BMW, giving them access to new parts, information and factory backed development that Mader did not have. This was shown in the results as the Arrows-BMWs rarely out-qualified or out-raced the Brabhams or Benettons.
References
- ^ "1985 - 1986 Arrows A8 BMW - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
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