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Cheetah GT - In the heat of the eight

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Created on June 24, 2022

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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Ludvigsen Partners

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Bonhams

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The Cheetah distorts classic sports car proportions into the comic book style. The car shown here is a replica.

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The Cheetah was developed exclusively for racing. The bodywork was so tight that even the engine protruded from the top.

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The Cheetah's V8 has been moved so far back that it is almost literally a mid-engine. The driver is left with a small, hot cubbyhole in front of the rear axle.

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The first three Cheetahs had fuel injection and an aluminum body, which can be seen here in the metallic sheen on the inside of the hood.

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The exhaust manifold surrounds the footwell. If you've always wondered how a slice of bread feels in the toaster, the Cheetah (here equipped with two four-barrel carburetors) gives you the answer.

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For the sake of traction, the weight has been shifted as far back as possible. The battery and the track rod sit alone in the frame section in front of the radiator grille.

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Inside, the Cheetah didn't even try to look like a car for road use: a huge transmission tunnel, narrow bucket seats and a rudimentary dashboard

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Only in relation to a full-grown human - here creator Bill Thomas in front of his workshop - does it become clear how small the Cheetah really is.

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The spare wheel under the rear window was one of the few FIA regulations for the GT class that the Cheetah fulfilled. After Chevrolet withdrew from the project, homologation was not pursued any further.

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Budd Clusserath competed in the 1964 SCCA championship with this car (chassis number 4), but had no chance against the competition in Lola and McLaren.

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Chassis number 2 was once driven by Jerry Titus. The extra-wide rear tires suggest that it was also used for acceleration races.

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This Cheetah is currently the only one known to be powered by a 427 engine (7 liters), albeit not the famous Ford unit, but one from Chevrolet.

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Four Weber twin carburetors make this Cheetah competitive in historic motorsport in the 21st century.

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Budd Clusserath painted his Cheetah red for the 1965 season. He finished twelfth in the 500-mile race at Road America.

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Gary Gove finished eighth in the "Player's 200" in Mosport, Canada. It was his second best result of the season.

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This car with its cut-out wheel arches, larger wheels and front spoiler proves that even a Cheetah can be made even more radical.

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Chassis number 9 was used by Rolf Picard in the SCCA in 1965. It was driven by Robert Auxier at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

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The "Super Cheetah", which was never completed, had a revised, significantly stiffer frame. The almost central installation position of the engine is clearly visible here.

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The "Super Cheetah" was similar to Thomas' first work. Before it could be completed, it was destroyed in a workshop fire.

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The bodyshell of the "Super Cheetah" with doors. The hole on the front fender suggests that the tanks would have been located in the side boxes for better weight distribution if the car had ever been finished.

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This design from the Chevrolet design department shows unmistakable Cheetah proportions. The car might have looked like this if Chevrolet had taken on the project.

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At the "Player's 200" in Mosport in 1964, Allen Grant only finished in 16th place. At least he got there and didn't collapse under the heat of the cockpit.

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Chassis number 6, United States Road Racing Championship 1964, presumably Don Jensen in Riverside on April 26

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Same car, same team (Alan Green Chevrolet), but now painted green instead of red. However, Allen Grant did not finish the 200-mile race in Riverside in 1964.

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Summary

In the mid-sixties, the Shelby Cobra was considered the measure of all things in sports car racing. Of course, the success of the Anglo-American roadster quickly attracted imitators, but they soon realized that the "big engine in a small car" recipe was not as simple to implement as it sounds at first. Nobody approached the Cobra Killer project as radically as Bill Thomas with his Cheetah. But in the end, the brutal coupé defeated itself above all. We tell the story.

This article contains the following chapters

A racing car despite the racing ban
Sketch on the ground
From aluminum to GRP
In search of backers
The fire is to blame
Marginal appearance at club races

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Hailing from Anaheim, California, Bill Thomas was one of Chevrolet's secret weapons in the clandestine battle with Ford and its "Total Performance" program in the early sixties. Having joined the brand with the Bowtie logo in 1956 by building Corvette race cars, Thomas also took on the rear-engined sedan shortly after the launch of the Chevrolet Corvair. Even race car builder Briggs Cunningham bought one of these souped-up Corvairs. Bel Airs and Biscaynes tuned by Thomas with 6.7-liter V8s, the famous "409", were stars on the drag strips, as were his fuel-injected Chevy IIs and the rear independent suspension of the Corvette Sting Ray. Some of the "Compacts" even had a fast-back body instead of the regular notchback.

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