The Quaife R4 GTS is a grand tourer-style race car designed and built by Quaife Engineering. Built to GT1 regulations, it contested select rounds of the British GT Championship in 1998, 1999, and 2001 as a technology demonstrator for the company's drivetrain products. The R4 GTS is significant for being one of three four-wheel drive GT1 race cars ever produced, the others being its immediate predecessor (a Ford Escort Cosworth) and the Bugatti EB110.
| Category | GT1 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | RT Quaife Engineering Ltd | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | RT Quaife Engineering Ltd | ||||||||
| Production | 1998 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Steel tube frame | ||||||||
| Suspension | Double wishbone push-rod activated coil springs over anti-shock absorbers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
| Engine | Ford V8 naturally aspirated, rear mid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Quaife 6-speed sequential manual | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable drivers |  Mike Quaife | ||||||||
| Debut | Silverstone 1998 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
History
editBeginning in 1996, Quaife Engineering entered the British GT Championship with a heavily modified Ford Escort Cosworth in the GT1 class.[1] Fitted with Quaife's proprietary drivetrain technology, the four-wheel drive Escort contested the championship as a promotional exercise and as an engineering testbed for Quaife's racing products.[2] From 1998 onwards, Quaife retired the Escort and announced a custom GT1 machine designed completely in-house.[3] In order to comply with GT1 homologation requirements, which mandated the production of at least one road legal chassis, Quaife built a single road car in addition to the race car.
Driven by company owner Mike Quaife at all rounds, the R4 GTS achieved a best result of 8th on two occasions but struggled to compete against factory machinery including the McLaren F1 GTR, the Porsche 911 GT1, and the Lister Storm GTL.[4] After attempting a majority of races in 1998 and 1999, the R4 GTS made three appearances in 2001 before being quietly retired.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Ford Escorts". www.rodbirley.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "All The GT1s, Part Six: Housekeeping!". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "THIS WEEK AT QUAIFE ENGINEERING". Quaife. 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "British GT Championship Spa 1999 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "British GT Championship Silverstone 2001 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.