Tyrrell P34

The Tyrrell P34, also known as the "six- wheeler ", was a Formula 1 racing car, which was constructed by the Tyrrell race engineer Derek Gardner. The car used four specially manufactured 10 - inch front tire and two regular rear tire, the smaller front tires should reduce the air resistance of the car. However, since smaller tires meant a lower grip, four tires were used to compensate for this. Through a complex suspension all four front wheels could be steered.

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Along with the Brabham BT46B from the year 1978, the P34 is one of the most radical developments that were ever successful in Formula 1.

The car had his first appearance at the Grand Prix of Spain in 1976 and was very competitive. The driver Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler achieved good results with the car. While Depailler the car praised consistently recognized Scheckter that the success would be only briefly by the slow development of the special Goodyear tires.

His biggest success was the car in the same year at the GP in Sweden, Scheckter and Depailler took first and second place. Scheckter is still the only driver who has won a race in a six-wheeled car. He left the team at the end of the season and continued to insist that the car is " a pile of junk " was.

For the 1977 season Scheckter was replaced by the Swede Ronnie Peterson; the latter was, despite its enormous speed, not as a good and zealous development driver known. The car was redesigned in aerodynamic terms, but was also wider and heavier. Peterson could, as Depailler, achieve some respectable results. However, the car was not as successful as the previous season. This was primarily due to poor front tire and the lack of development of the particular tire. In addition, the extra weight on the front suspension had a negative effect. Towards the end of the season was even experimented with an extremely wide track on the front axle, while the far- protruding wheels made ​​the original aerodynamic advantage destroyed completely. The project was therefore discontinued at the end of the season.

Overall, the car was run at 30 races, doing a pole position has been achieved, won a race and achieved three fastest laps.

In recent years, the cars were often used in historic races in which they were quite competitive. This was made possible through custom front tire from Avon Rubber, these for Simon Bull, the current owners of the car, anfertigten. 1999 and 2000, the car was used in some races in England and Europe. 2000 was the car, directed by Martin Stretton, even win the FIA Historic Formula One Championship, just as in 2008, this time directed by Mauro Pane. This copy of the P34 is now in an Italian private collection. Stretton also get pole positions and class wins at the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco. The car is also seen frequently at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​.

Other six-wheeled Formula 1 car

While the P34 the most famous six-wheeled Formula 1 car is, he's not the only one. Both March and Williams developed experimental six-wheeled car. However, neither the March 2-4-0 nor the Williams FW08B were, despite extensive tests, used at a Grand Prix. Ferrari also developed a six-wheeled racing car, but the Ferrari 312T6 four rear wheels were mounted on an axis. By changing the rules, however, none of these cars could ever be used, since the number of tires is set at an F1 car at four.

Similar concepts in road traffic

The British car manufacturer Panther Westwinds handle on the drive concept of the P34 in 1977 and put it with the model Panther 6 to road transport. Covini Engineering in Italy developed in 2005 the C6W, a closed sports car, which also had two steered front axles.

Models

In spite of a short presentation and success in the motorsports world some toy and model replicas of the P34 were produced. Corgi produced end of the 1970s, a die-cast model of the car here. From the Carrera P34 for Universal car racetrack system is manufactured. Also, the Transformer " Drag Strip " is based on the P34.

The company Tamiya even bought a real P34 as a template for their models. They developed a remote-controlled 1:10 scale version as well as a highly detailed 1:12 version.