Formula V

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Formula Vee 1965-08-01 (1) Nürburgring.jpg
Formula Vee 1965-08-01 (2) Nürburgring.jpg
First Formula Vee race on the Nürburgring on August 1, 1965

Formula V is a brand formula whose heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s. Essential components (engine, gearbox, wheel suspension) had to come from the VW Beetle built at the time . It is the largest brand formula to date. The American Hubert L. Brundage, a businessman and amateur racing driver from Florida, is considered to be the originator of the idea of ​​building formula racing cars on the basis of the VW Beetle. For drivers for whom the performance with 1200 and 1300 cm³ engines was not sufficient, Formula Super V was launched in 1970/71 , with engines based on the VW 411/412 .

Formula Volkswagen should not be confused with this formula , which was created in the late 1990s and used components from the then current VW model series.

Formula Vee in Europe from 1965 to 1973

Beginning with almost standard VW parts

Porsche race director Huschke von Hanstein brought the first ten Formula Vee cars from the USA to Germany in 1965 and presented them to the public on May 16, 1965 as part of the hill climb in Eberbach , after they had previously been presented to the press at the Porsche factory. These first cars came to Germany as kits and were assembled by Porsche fitters. On July 4, 1965, the first race on European soil with the small monopostos took place at the Norisring . Four weeks later, on August 1, 1965, Formula Vee drove for the first time at the Nürburgring. The race ran over ten laps on the start-and-finish loop . There was another presentation at the Roßfeld .

In 1966 there was the first German Formula Vee championship.

The manufacturers of the vehicles imported from the USA were Beachcar and Formcar .

The racers were initially powered by the 1.2-liter engine from the VW Beetle, which had a maximum output of 45 hp and a top speed of around 150 to 160 km / h. Like the standard Beetle, Hanstein's first copy only had 34 hp. After Formula Vee Europe was founded in 1966 , the still near-series 1300 VW engines were allowed, which enabled up to 60 hp. A change in the regulations, which mainly released the type of camshaft , enabled an output of 75 hp from 1969.

Exciting races with higher performances from 1969

Olympic Formula Vee with Hannelore Werner at the Nürburgring in 1969

One of the most exciting Formula Vee races in 1969 was the six-lap run for the German Cup on the Nürburgring- Nordschleife as part of the supporting program for the German Grand Prix . The winner was Helmut Marko on McNamara in 59: 47.8 minutes, which corresponds to an average speed of 137.4 km / h, ahead of Niki Lauda on Kaimann. The American Bill Scott in McNamara, one of the most popular Formula Vee drivers, spun right after the start and was fourth behind the Austrian Peter Peter in an Austro V. 49 cars started, 39 of which reached the finish. Helmut Marko set the fastest lap in 9: 51.7 minutes or 138.9 km / h, the best Formula Vee time at the Nürburgring to date. The magazine auto motor und sport commented on this performance as “a time that has to be registered as very excellent for a 65 hp car, even if the Formula Vee weighs only 375 kg.” However, Volkswagen Motorsport speaks of an engine output “around 80 hp ".

One of the most spectacular races in Formula Vee was the last round of the 1970 European Cup on September 27th at the Salzburgring. In the fourth of 30 laps over a total of 127.14 km, four vehicles collided on the start-and-finish straight, but the drivers were only slightly injured. At the end of the race Manfred Schurti on Austro V tried to overtake the leading Erich Breinsberg on Kaimann out of the slipstream. The cars touched immediately before the finish line, Breinsberg rolled over twice and got into the guardrails, but only got a graze on his hand. It was impossible to tell who was the first to cross the line. The timekeeping confirmed Schurti as the winner with a time of 47: 40.33 minutes or 159.73 km / h and a tenth of a second ahead of Breinsberg. A target photo published later, however, showed the longer snout of Breinsberg's Kaimann at the front, while the front wheels of both cars were at the same height. Bror Jaktlund drove the fastest lap on the Salzburgring in 1: 33.3 minutes and a speed of 163.51 km / h. Erich Breinsberg won the Formula Vee European Cup.

Formula V 1300 at its peak

When it was possible to drive with airflow cooling with a dual carburetor system and without a cooling fan from 1973, around 100 hp were achieved. In addition, there was dry sump lubrication and a modified VW Beetle front axle with internal shock absorbers. In addition, light alloy wheels and slicks were now permitted. Keke Rosberg drove the Nürburgring lap in 8: 56.2 minutes with such a car, which corresponds to an average speed of 153.3 km / h.

Winner of the European Cup Formula Vee 1300

Front suspension of
a Formula V 1300
year Surname country vehicle
1966 Michael Walleczek A. Austro Beach
1967 Günther Huber A. Austro Beach
1968 Werner Riedl A. Austro V
1969 Alfred Vogelberger D. Olympic
1970 Erich Breinsberg A. Kaimann
1971 Bertil Roos S. RPB
1972 Tommy Brorsson S. Hansen
1973 Keke Rosberg SF Hansen
1974 Kalle Jonsson S. Kaimann
1975 Kalle Jonsson S. Kaimann
1976 Dan Molin S. Hansen

Source: powerslide , special edition Formula Vau , Petrolpics, Bonn 2011, p. 16.

Formula V 1300 technology

The engine, 4-speed gearbox and the front and rear axles come from the VW Beetle. These components are built into a single-seat tubular space frame. In addition, there is a thin body made of GRP or aluminum. A minimum weight of just 375 kg without driver and petrol ensures impressive driving performance.

The original Formula Vee was characterized by the use of many series parts from the VW Type 1 or VW Beetle at the time. This ensured a tight performance density and therefore exciting races. For example, the standard crank arm front axles from the Beetle 1200 or 1300 had to be used, as well as the steering gear, braking system, 15 "wheels and engine.

Then as now, only slight modifications were permitted, e.g. B. Valve springs and engine compression at your own discretion, flywheel relief, balancing of all moving parts, removal of the air filter and modification of the fuel nozzles, polishing of the intake and exhaust ducts and an exhaust system with individual pipes running horizontally to the rear. The frame had to be made of tubular steel and only a trailing arm construction with coil springs was permitted as the rear suspension. The vehicle cladding made of metal or plastic could largely be designed freely, but the body had to completely enclose the engine. Nowadays, the provisions of Appendix K for historic racing vehicles (safety regulations, e.g. belts, fire extinguishing system, bracket, tank, lighting) also apply.

In the modernized set of rules, sashes at the front and rear are allowed, the width of which must not exceed 1100 mm. The type and design of the steering is optional. Wheels and tires are free, with a maximum diameter of 15 inches at the front and rear. The width must not exceed six inches at the front and seven inches at the rear.

Formula Super V

Formula Super V 1975 at the Nürburgring
Kennerth Persson in 1975 in the Kaimann Formula Super Vee

In 1971, Formula Super V was introduced in Europe with the air-cooled 4-cylinder boxer engines of the VW Type 4 (411/412) with 1,600 cc. The performance of these engines, for which two Solex double carburettors were approved, could be increased to around 110 kW (150 hp), which made the units extremely prone to failure. From January 1, 1978, the regulations stipulated the water-cooled 1.6-liter in-line engine from the Passat / Golf / Scirocco series, which had an output of up to 81 kW (110 hp) as standard. In the racing car it was up to 132 kW (180 PS) at 8000 rpm, which brought a top speed of around 250 km / h with the longest gear ratio. The minimum weight of the cars was 400 kg without fuel and without a driver.

Further regulations were: Except for the roll bar, no part of the body was allowed to be higher than 900 mm, and the cockpit opening had to be 600 mm long and 450 mm wide. The material of the body could be chosen freely. The design of the chassis was also free, with axle shafts, constant velocity joints, steering knuckles, wheel hubs and brake systems from VW being used. The lubrication system of the engine, camshaft and gearbox were not required, so that the car manufacturers only used Hewland racing gearboxes.

The most noticeable externally recognizable differences to Formula Vee were the wheel suspensions, which consisted of wishbones at the top and bottom instead of the front crank arm axle of the VW Beetle and the rear wing, which had to be mounted on the sprung part of the car and not on the wheel suspension. The maximum height of the wing was 800 mm and the maximum width was 950 mm.

Technical specifications

Parameters Kaimann Super V (1977) Kaimann Super V (1978)
engine 4-cylinder four-stroke boxer (Kaimann) 4-cylinder four-stroke inline (Heidegger)
Displacement 1588 cc 1588 cc
Bore × stroke 87.5 x 66 mm 79.5 × 80 mm
Power at 1 / min 110 kW (150 PS) at 7200 132 kW (180 hp) at 8000
Max. Torque at 1 / min 165 Nm at 6200 246 Nm at 6200
Valve control underlying camshaft overhead camshaft
Mixture preparation 2 Solex oblique-flow
double carburetors		 Puffer Injection
cooling air water
transmission Hewland four-speed gearbox (differential without lock)
Track width front / rear: 1455/1500 mm 1475/1425
wheelbase 2185 mm 2240 mm
Front tire size 180/500 × 13 180/540 × 13
Rear tire size 205/540 × 13
Dimensions L × W × H 3750 × 1640 × 905 mm 3990 × 1680 × 860 mm
Dry weight (excluding fuel and driver) 402 kg 422 kg
Top speed
(at longest gear ratio)		 240 km / h 255 km / h
Prize (1977 or 1978) approx. 30,000 DM approx. 33,000 DM

Data according to racing and sports car catalog 1977 and 1979 , Vereinigte Motorverlage, Stuttgart

Many racing teams and drivers switched to the 1971 new formula, which initially offered 115 hp vehicles that were significantly better than the Formula V 1300. The problem was the large starting fields with a mix of experienced people such as Helmut Bross or Erich Breinsberg and beginners who did not have enough Can tried to balance through arrogance and recklessness. The result was serious accidents, some of them collisions with up to eight cars. The jumping hill at the airfield, the slope in the mine area and the high-speed section on the Döttinger Höhe were considered particularly dangerous points on the Nürburgring. However, the situation improved after security regulations were tightened.

Around 1980 interest in Formula Super Vee decreased noticeably. The price of the cars, whose engines , which were reconditioned by Spiess, Heidegger or Judd , had an output of up to 190 hp, was around three times as high as in 1971 and was no longer compatible with the original idea of ​​promoting young talent.

In 1982, Formula Super Vee ended.

Super V Gold Cup winner

year Surname country vehicle
1971 Erich Breinsberg A. Kaimann
1972 Manfred Schurti FL Royale
1973 Helmut Koinigg A. Kaimann
1974 Freddy Kottulinsky S. ATS Lola
1975 Mikko Kozarowitzky SF ATS Lola
1976 Mika Arpiainen SF Veemax
1977 Aria Luyendyk NL Lola
1978 Helmut Henzler D. March
1979 John Nielsen DK Ralt
1980 John Nielsen DK Ralt
1981 John Nielsen DK Ralt
1982 Walter Lechner senior A. March

Source: Erich Breinsberg: The Niki, the Keke and the genius from the suburbs . egoth Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-902480-58-3 , p. 176.

Prices

Formula Vee was supposed to make motorsport affordable and so MAHAG sold race-ready cars in Munich in 1966 for DM 8,500. Today, adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to around 16,700 euros. In 1977 a Kaimann Super V with an engine cost around 30,000 DM or around 37,200 euros, converted to today's currency. Kaimann and Kurt Bergmann in Vienna also offered a race-ready Super V with the water-cooled in-line four-cylinder from the VW Golf in 1979 for a comparatively cheap price of 33,000 DM. A Chevron B 50, on the other hand, cost 52,500 DM in Germany, which is currently 60,800 euros.

Licenses

Formula V 1300 was initially rated separately for ID and license drivers. This system became obsolete due to the general development of the licensing system in motorsport. Formula Super Vee was only open to drivers with a license (today we would speak of an international license ).

Manufacturer

  • Apal
  • Austro
  • Autodynamics
  • BEACH CAR
  • FORM-CAR
  • FOX
  • Kaimann
  • McNamara Racing
  • MoTuL
  • Olympic
  • Royale
  • RSM
  • VeeMax. At the end of 1965, the Finnish engineer and racing driver Max Johansson began building a Formula Vee racing car. The engine supplier was a Leif Virtanen, who also rented a garage to Johansson to manufacture the first vehicles. The test drives first took place on public roads before two cars competed in Keimola in June 1966 . In the same year Johansson moved to Helsinki and in 1975 to Vantaa . VeeMax existed until 1980 and in around 15 years built 77 racing cars of the formulas V 1300 and Super Vau, not including kits for customers.
  • Lola
  • Mega
  • DRM
  • PRT
  • RMS
  • MALORDY
  • Dahmcar (monocoque vehicle)
  • Zagk-Hansen
  • Schiesser

Known drivers

Web links

Commons : Formula Vee  album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i powerslide , special edition Formula V, Petrolpics, Bonn, October 2011.
  2. ^ Motorsport Club Nuremberg
  3. ↑ Program for the Grand Prix of Germany 1965, p. 29.
  4. ↑ http://www.knorriformelvracing.de/formelvauhistorie.htm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.knorriformelvracing.de
  5. ↑ auto motor and sport . Issue 17/1969, p. 96.
  6. ↑ Volkswagen-Motorsport.com ( Memento from July 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Accessed June 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ auto motor and sport . Issue 21/1970, pp. 150, 168-170.
  8. ↑ a b c racing and sports car catalog 1977, Vereinigte Motorverlage, Stuttgart.
  9. ↑ Racing and sports car catalog 1979, Vereinigte Motorverlage, Stuttgart.
  10. ↑ Volkswagen-Motorsport.com via Francis McNamara. ( Memento of July 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Accessed June 6, 2014.
  11. ^ Curbs . Medion Bonn. Issue 13, June 2016, pp. 102-105.