MBM Formula 1

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Replica of the MBM Formula 1 in the museum

The MBM Formula 1 was the first in Switzerland designed and built Formula 1 race car. The manufacturer was the Binningen company MBM Automobile , which belonged to racing driver Peter Monteverdi . Monteverdi drove the car in 1961 in several Formula 1 races, none of which were part of the world championship . After a serious accident, he had the wreck of the vehicle concreted in the foundation of his company building a few months after its first presentation.

background

Peter Monteverdi ran a company in Binningen in the canton of Basel-Landschaft that had developed from a truck repair shop into a successful automobile trade in the 1950s. Monteverdi had been a Ferrari concessionaire since 1957 and later also took over agents for Lancia , Bentley , Jensen and BMW . In his free time he drove regularly in automobile races, mostly in Formula Junior and hill climbs . From 1960 onwards he used vehicles he had designed himself, which he presented and offered for sale under the brand name MBM (“Monteverdi Basel Motors”). Four different Formula Junior models (types A, B, C and D) were produced by 1961, the first three of which were equipped with two-stroke engines from DKW . The last model, which was an evolution of the Type C, had a four-stroke engine from the Ford Anglia . On the basis of this vehicle, Monteverdi developed a racing car in 1961 according to the Formula 1 regulations.

From 1967, Peter Monteverdi headed the Automobile Monteverdi company , which had high-performance street sports cars such as the High Speed ​​375 and the Hai 450 in its range for a decade and a half . In 1990 , Peter Monteverdi returned briefly to Formula 1 after taking over the British racing team Onyx Racing .

nomenclature

Unlike the previously designed Formula Junior cars, the MBM car intended for Formula 1 was not given an individualized model or type designation. In the factory history of the Monteverdi brand, it is consistently referred to as "MBM Formula 1". In independent statistics mostly only the brand name without the addition "Formula 1" is used.

construction

The MBM Formula 1 was an enlarged version of the Type D built for Formula Junior. The tubular space frame had a similar architecture, but MBM used steel tubes with a larger diameter. Part of the frame could be dismantled to make it easier to change the engine. The wheelbase was 10 cm longer than the type D, the front and rear track width remained the same. The wheel suspension of the Formula 1 car was also identical to that of the Formula Junior Type D. MBM used triangular wishbones of unequal length at the front and rear. The rack and pinion steering was taken over from the Renault Dauphine family sedan . Disc brakes from Dunlop at the front, drum brakes from Porsche at the rear .

A four-cylinder boxer engine from the Porsche 718 (RSK) with a displacement of 1.5 liters served as drive. It was not identical to the engine that Porsche used in its own Formula 1 program in the 787 . Since Porsche refused to deliver an engine, Monteverdi bought a complete car, removed the engine, and installed it in his own vehicle. The mixture was prepared using two downdraft twin carburettors from Weber ; the engine power indicated MBM with about 110 HP. This meant that the engine was considerably weaker than the engines of the established teams, which were specially tailored for Formula 1. The Porsche works engine developed around 185 hp in 1962, the eight-cylinder from BRM even 195 hp. Peter Monteverdi later claimed that Porsche had tuned the MBM's 708 engine at the factory in the late summer of 1961, which led to an increase in output to 150 hp.

The body of the MBM was made of aluminum. In the case of series production, Peter Monteverdi considered replacing the structure with a plastic construction; however, it was not realized. It is unclear who made the aluminum parts. There are indications that they were manufactured in the Peter Häner automobile workshop in Basel, which still exists today and which also supplied the aluminum superstructures for other MBM vehicles.

production

The MBM Formula 1 was completed in June 1961. It remained a one-off.

Races

The MBM Formula 1 was delivered to the Swiss racing team Écurie HOBA , which was partly owned by Peter Monteverdi. Shortly after the car was finished, Monteverdi carried out an initial functional test at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza . According to his own statements, he achieved "near record lap times".

The first racing of the MBM Formula 1 took place in July 1961 at the Grand Prix of Solitude near Stuttgart . This year, Formula 1 cars were allowed to take part in the race for the first time; however, it was not a run of the Formula 1 World Championship. No qualification times are documented for the MBM; Monteverdi was admitted "no time" for the last starting place. In the race that Innes Ireland won for Team Lotus , he only got two laps, then he had to retire with engine problems.

According to Monteverdi's presentation, the race in Stuttgart was followed by a number of hill climbs in Germany and Switzerland, where he occasionally drove the best times of the day in his Formula 1 car. These missions are not documented.

Some sources claim that HOBA reported Monteverdi in the MBM for the 1961 German Grand Prix ; However, the team and the car will not be included in the final entry list.

The last time the car appeared at the ASC circuit race on October 1, 1961, which took place at the Hockenheimring . Monteverdi initially led the race. On the 11th lap there was a defect in the oil line, which caused engine oil to get onto the rear wheels. Monteverdi's MBM then lost its grip on the road and the car was thrown off the road. The car took off and flew ten meters up into trees on the edge of the track. The car was irreparably damaged, Peter Monteverdi broke his pelvis, kneecap, nose, arm and six ribs. Recovery took several months. Monteverdi then gave up automobile racing.

Whereabouts of the car

The MBM Formula 1 was not rebuilt. At the end of 1961, Monteverdi had the wreckage concreted in the foundation for the new construction of his Binningen workshop so as not to be tempted to race again. A few years later he had a replica of the Formula 1 vehicle made, which is now exhibited in the Binningen factory museum of the MBM successor, Automobile Monteverdi .

literature

  • Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
  • Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 82.
  • David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945–1965 , Motor Racing Publications 1998, ISBN 1899870393 (English).
  • Mark Siegenthaler and Marco Schulze: With a hard hand and a big heart, the life and work of Peter Monteverdi , in: Swiss Car Classics No. 20, 04/2008.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Starting list for the 1961 Solitude Grand Prix on the website www.chicanef1.com (accessed on February 27, 2013).
  2. ↑ David Hodges: Racing Cars from AZ after 1945, p. 179.
  3. ^ A b Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 114.
  4. ↑ a b Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945–1965 , Motor Racing Publications 1998, ISBN 1899870393 , p. 199.
  5. ↑ Adriano Cimarosti: The century of racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 , p. 182.
  6. ^ A b c Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 118.
  7. ↑ So for open the one-off MBM Sport, which is lost today. Compare Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 112.
  8. ^ Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 116.
  9. ↑ Entry list for the German Grand Prix on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on February 27, 2014).
  10. ^ A b Roger Gloor, CL Wagner: Monteverdi. The career of a Swiss car brand , self-published by Monteverdi Automobile, p. 120 f.