CD SP66
The CD SP266 , also CD SP266, was a sports car prototype that was used in sports car races in 1966 and 1967.
After separating from René Bonnet , Charles Deutsch founded his own automotive company in 1962. The SECA-CD focused on the development of sports cars in small numbers. After the vehicles were equipped with Panhard engines at the beginning of the 1960s , a vehicle with a Peugeot engine was developed in 1966 . With Deutsch, the vehicle designer and aerodynamicist Robert Choulet also left Deutsch & Bonnet and designed a new prototype that was to be used primarily at the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
The CD SP66 had an extremely aerodynamic, round shape, with two standing rear fins and covered rear wheel arches. Although the car with a 1.2-liter 4-cylinder in-line engine from Peugeot had a rather weak engine, the car reached a top speed of almost 300 km / h on the straight. The vehicle received two different chassis, with the long-tail version being used primarily on the fast routes.
The car made its debut at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1966 . Three SP66 were at the start, none of them reached the finish. The crews Claude Laurent / Jean-Claude Ogier (start number 51) and Johnny Rives / Georges Heligouin (start number 53) each had accidents. The car with number 52, driven by Pierre Lelong and Alain Bertaut , broke down with a damaged clutch. In 1967 Deutsch came to Le Mans with two revised SP66s, now referred to as SP66C . Again both cars failed. Claude Ballot-Léna and Denis Dayan failed due to an overheated cylinder, the second car - where Alain Bertaut was again at the wheel - failed due to damage to the power transmission. Bertaut's sixth place in the 1966 Coupé de Salon in Montlhéry was the best place for an SP66.
For financial reasons, the concept was not pursued any further. Choulet switched to Matra and built the MS640 there , which was a further development of the SP66.
literature
- José Rosinski: Matra, La Saga . ETAI, Boulogne 1997, ISBN 2-7268-8301-X .
