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Formula Super Vee

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Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe was similar to F3 or Formula Renault today, a stepping stone to F1. In the United States, Formula Super Vee, often referred to as Super Vee, was a natural progression to Indy Car and Can-Am. On both sides of the Atlantic the series also was a platform for the promotion of VW products, similar to how Formula Renault promotes Renault products today.[1][2][3]

Formula Super Vee racing at Nürburgring in 1975.

Initially it was seen as a simple step up from Formula Vee, using the same Volkswagen Type 3 engines, but in 1600cc. However it soon transformed to using the very different and more powerful fuel injected water-cooled engines from the VW Golf/Rabbit.[1][2]

History

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To assist the launch of the new formula Volkswagen of America's, Jo Hoppen, commissioned Gene Beach, an established constructor of Formula Vee cars, to design and build the first Super Vee and put this car on display at the Daytona 24 hour race.[4][5] Beach was one of the first three constructors of Formula Vees, along with Autodynamics and Formcar.[6] It is therefore appropriate that a Super Vee designed and built by Ray Caldwell's Autodynamics concern soon joined the Beach Super Vee. This second Super Vee (the Caldwell D-10) was put on display at the New York Auto Show.[7][8] Other manufacturers soon followed suit, with Formula Vee constructors such as Zink Cars joined by more mainstream firms such as Lola.[9][10] John Zeitler also built his first cars around the same time as Beach and Caldwell. As a matter of fact, John Zeitler won the very first Super Vee race at Lime Rock Park in 1970.[5] This race was run with the Formula Ford class.

Initially the series allowed 1600cc air-cooled engines of either type 3 (as used in the VW 1500 and 1600) or type 4 (as used in the VW 411, 412 and the VW-Porsche 914/4 sports car), however at a late stage VW had a change of heart and decided that the type 4 engines would be a better option. The type 4 engine is without doubt a better engine. However, this motor was never produced in a 1600cc version so VW decided to produce a "special" 1600cc version through their industrial engines division (the 127V unit), with smaller pistons and barrels, which reduced the capacity to 1600cc.[11][12]

As with any formula, Formula Super Vee progressed through a number of changes during its life. Initially, for example, the cars ran without wings and used drum brakes at the rear. Later the regulations allowed the use of 8-inch rear wheels, rear disc brakes and 34 mm exhaust valves (1973) and then rear wings (1975). Since slick tyres had yet to be introduced into racing, the cars ran with treaded racing tyres, such as the Firestone "No-DOT", but later moved onto slicks.[13][14]

The original regulations specified a non-Hewland gearbox and cars ran with fixed ratio VW boxes.[13] In Europe a company called Metso began building Hewland-like boxes which provided the ability to change ratios to suit each circuit and exploited the wording of the regulations, which had simply banned Hewland boxes rather than explicitly specifying the fixed ratio VW box. Once the cars started to use Metso boxes the regulations were changed and Hewland Gearboxes were also allowed.[15] This change, combined with start money being offered by Hewland to drivers using its products, effectively put Metso out of business, although the company did build boxes for other formula cars such as Formula Fords.[16]

 
Mark Smith leading Robbie Groff in a Super Vee race at the 1988 Grand Prix of Cleveland.

Much later, engine regulations were also opened up, allowing fuel injected water-cooled engines from the Volkswagen Golf (or Rabbit as the Mk1 was known in North America). The water-cooled engines inevitably replaced the air-cooled, which were rendered uncompetitive, and many air-cooled cars were converted to accept the water-cooled engine.[17] Some constructors, such as Lola, offered "conversion kits" which allowed the fitment of the Golf/Rabbit engine to earlier air-cooled chassis. The SCCA in the USA did allow 1700cc air-cooled engines towards the end of the air-cooled period, to remain competitive while the water-cooled cars joined the grid.

Ultimately the most developed version of Super Vee was to be found in the US, since they continued with a Super Vee series years after the formula had died away elsewhere. Indeed, by late 70s Super Vee in the USA had become the feeder formula for Indy cars, referred to as the "Mini-Indy" series.[18] This series was run in conjunction with the much older VW-Bosch "Gold Cup" for Super V. This series lasted until 1990 and, unlike the oval track USAC Mini Indy Series, was a road racing series. Each series crowned its own champion each year. In the late 70s the Ron Tauranac designed the Ralt RT1 and RT5, based on his Formula 3 designs, had a virtual monopoly in the USA series.

The original Formula Super Vee series specifications

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  • Engine: Type 3 1600cc (actually a stroke of 69 mm and a bore of 85.5 mm for a displacement of 1582cc). Dry sump not allowed.
  • Cooling: air, with external oil coolers and oil filters.
  • Carburetion: free, however most used Weber 48 IDA or Solex 40P11 dual downdraft. Some use of Weber IDF and DCNF. (Note: two dual down draft carbs allowed, any manufacturer with dual port VW or aftermarket intake manifolds).
  • Transmission: stock VW from the 1969 Square back/fastback series. However, gear ratios were open and almost immediately Webster and Hewland gear sets were adopted for the VW transaxle.
  • Ignition: coil and distributor.
  • Clutch: VW stock, with Hydraulic linkage.
  • Brakes: Girling hydraulic with VW discs front, VW Drums in the rear.
  • Wheels: 6" X 13" front and rear. Magnesium allowed.
  • Tires: 5:00/8:30 X 13 front, Treaded (no slicks) 5:50/9/20 X 13 rear, Treaded (no slicks)
  • Steering: Rack and Pinion
  • Suspension: free, front and rear
  • Shocks: free, front and rear
  • Sway bars: free, front and rear
  • Rear uprights: free (and usually proprietary by car manufacturer)
  • Curb Weight: Dry, without driver, 825 lbs minimum.
  • Wheelbase: free (most manufacturers were between 88" and 94")
  • Track, Front/Rear: Up to 92"
  • Fuel Tank Capacity: Free, but most manufacturers located the tank under and behind the driver but in front of the firewall, which pretty much limited the capacity to 6.0 gallons.
  • Construction: tubular space frame, flat bottom, no wings or tabs to induce downforce.
  • Body: any material, but full coverage (including engine compartment) required.

Champions

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SCCA Super Vee Gold Cup (professional) (USA)

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Season Champion Driver Chassis
1971   Bill Scott Royale RP9
1972   Bill Scott Royale RP14
1973   Bertil Roos Tui BH3
1974   Elliott Forbes-Robinson Lola T320
1975   Eddie Miller Lola T324
1976   Tom Bagley Zink Z11
1977   Bob Lazier Lola T324
1978   Bill Alsup Argo JM2
1979   Geoff Brabham Ralt RT1
1980   Peter Kuhn Ralt RT1/RT5
1981   Al Unser Jr. Ralt RT5
1982   Michael Andretti Ralt RT5
1983   Ed Pimm Anson SA4
1984   Arie Luyendyk Ralt RT5
1985   Ken Johnson Ralt RT5
1986   Didier Theys Martini MK-47/MK-50
1987   Scott Atchison Ralt RT5
1988   Ken Murillo Ralt RT5
1989   Mark Smith Ralt RT5
1990   Stuart Crow Ralt RT5

USAC Mini-Indy Series (professional) (USA)

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Season Champion Driver Chassis
19771   Tom Bagley Zink Z11
  Herm Johnson Lola T324
1978   Bill Alsup Argo JM2
1979   Dennis Firestone March
1980   Peter Kuhn Ralt RT1/RT5
1Bagley and Johnson tied in the points and were declared co-champions.

Formel Super Vau GTX (Germany)/German Formula Super Vee Championship

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Season Champion Driver Chassis
1972   Manfred Schurti Royale RP9
1973   Kennerth Persson Kaimann
1974   Kennerth Persson Kaimann
1975   Keke Rosberg Kern-Kaimann
1976   Mika Arpiainen Veemax Mk VIII
1977   Dieter Engel Veemax Mk VIII
1978   Helmut Henzler March 783

Formula Super Vau Gold Pokal (Europe)/European Formula Super Vee Championship

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Season Champion Driver Chassis
1971   Erich Breinberg Austro Kaimann
1972   Manfred Schurti Royale RP9
1973   Helmuth Koinigg Austro Kaimann
1974   Freddy Kottulinsky Lola T320
1975   Mikko Kozarowitzky Lola T324
1976   Mika Arpiainen Veemax Mk VII
1977   Arie Luyendyk Lola T326
1978   Helmut Henzler March 783
1979   John Nielsen Ralt RT1
1980   John Nielsen Ralt RT5
1981   John Nielsen Ralt RT5
1982   Walter Lechner Ralt RT5

References

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  1. ^ a b Braun, Rainer. "Royal Test Drive, Premiere In Front Of 100,000 Fans". Volkswagen-Born To Be V. Volkswagen Motorsport. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Engineered For Speed". Formula Super Vee. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Lola Super Vee". MotorSport Magazine. MotorSport Archive. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. SuperVee, which amounted to building a much more recognisable racing car, without the inclusion of so many standard VW parts, had its first Championship year in 1971, both America and Europe organising lucrative series with VW backing.
  4. ^ "Gene Beach - Passion Meets Performance". Beach Racing Cars. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019. ...when Volkswagen of America's Jo Hoppen wanted to created a new, faster class, he tapped Gene to design a car for what would become Formula Super Vee. Gene's prototype was used as the basis for FSV class in America, and later went to Europe.
  5. ^ a b "Series 1 (1969 - 1973)". Formula Super Vee. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  6. ^ Bixler, Alice. "America's Race Car Builders: Beach Cars". virhistory.com. Road & Track. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019. As Formula Vee caught on, it spurred the imaginations of other car constructors, Autodynamics and Gene Beach were the neat to follow Formcar into the Vee business
  7. ^ "Autodynamics". DSK Cars. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  8. ^ Kaplan, David (December 1972). "The Dynamics of Autodynamics" (PDF). Bimelliott. PDF: Sports Car. pp. 10–15. Archived from the original (magazine) on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  9. ^ Vaughan, Daniel. "1977 Zink Z10". Conceptcarz. Retrieved 28 January 2019. In 1969, Zink began producing the Z-9. The Super Vee series had been announced and Zink decided to build a racer for competition.
  10. ^ Starkey, John (8 June 2017). Lola: The illustrated History 1957 to 1977. Veloce Classic. ISBN 9781845847074. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019. The Formula Super Vee T250, mainly designed by John Barnard, was first seen in January 1971 alongside the T240 and T222 at the Racing Show.
  11. ^ "The Formula Vee. Since 1963". Volkswagen-Motorsports. Volkswagen. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019. Formula Super Vee was launched in 1971. The Volkswagen engines boasted displacement of 1.6 litres and initially delivered up to around 120 hp. Here, too, engine performance improved rapidly and hit the 150 hp mark after just a few years, eventually even rising to almost 200 hp.
  12. ^ Ernst, Kurt. "Volkswagen Formula Vee series celebrates 50th anniversary". Hemmings Daily. Hemmings. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019. In 1970, a faster class of Formula Vee, dubbed Formula Super Vee, was introduced. Super Vee used larger displacement four-cylinder engines (1.6-liters, versus 1.2 liters in Formula Vee), permitted liquid cooling, allowed the use of dual carburetors, and was less restrictive about changes to cylinder heads and cams.
  13. ^ a b "Formula Super Vee 1600 1973" (PDF). FIA Historic Database. FIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Formula Super Vee 1600 1975" (PDF). FIA Historic Database. FIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Lola Super Vee". Motor Sport Archive. Motor Sport Magazine Limited. 7 July 2014. p. 50. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019. The gearbox is a Mk 8 Hewland, which means four forward gears, reverse, no synchromesh, a normal H change pattern and VW casing.
  16. ^ "A Real Factory". Elden Racing Cars. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  17. ^ "The Zeitler Super Vee". John zeitler Formula Racing. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020. This is an article about the change from aircooled Supervee's to water-cooled
  18. ^ Lerner, Peter (12 August 2021). "Unser Jr vs Halsmer". motorsportmagazine.com. MotorSport. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
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