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Sauber C5 - Don't let five be straight

Name: Sauber C5 1977
Brand: Sauber

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Created in 2023

Text:

Daniel Reinhard

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Reinhard

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Reinhard

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Sauber C5 (1978) - In the Ford chicane at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Sauber C5 (1976) - The former car of Herbert Müller with chassis number C5.002

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Heavily cupped BBS wheels on the rear axle. Although the wing advertises Goodyear, Avon tires are fitted

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Multi-piece BBS alloy wheels with center lock

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Air collector with a kind of tea strainer instead of an air filter

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Cramped cockpit with tiny gearshift and even smaller steering wheel

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Despite three rear-view mirrors, road approval is difficult

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Sauber C5 (1976) - The two-liter four-cylinder engine from BMW delivers 300 hp

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Sauber C5 (1976) - The fan manifold antlers on the left side of the engine

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Presentation at the International Racing Car Show in Zurich 1976

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Peter Sauber and Harry Blumer in front of the race transporter in the paddock of the Hockenheimring

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Harry Blumer's car (right) is pushed to the start at the Hockenheimring

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Harry Blumer at the 1976 Interseries race at the Hockenheimring

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Sauber C5 (1976) - Herbert Müller's accident in Dijon 1976

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Sauber C5 (1976) - The "racing scales" in the wind tunnel of the Emmen aircraft factory

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Sauber C5 (1976) - measurement results with different wing positions

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Sauber C5 (1976) - The data sheet after the wind tunnel tests

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Sauber C5 (1976) - In the development stage in Hinwil

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Sauber C5 (1977) - The Le Mans team for 1977: Eugen Strähl, Peter Bernhard, Peter Sauber and Rico Steinemann

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Sauber C5 (1977) - The works team in February 1977: Peter Bernhard, Kurt Roth, Eugen Strähl and Harry Blumer

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Sauber C5 (1977) - Eugen Strähl at Le Mans 1977

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Sauber C5 (1977) - Eugen Strähl at the CH championship race in Le Castellet 1977

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Sauber C5 (1977) - Eugen Strähl ahead of Harry Blumer in the 3-hour race at the Hockenheimring

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Sauber C5 (1977) - Harry Blumer in Dijon

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Sauber C5 (1978) - Sauber, Surer, Strähl and Blumer ready for Le Mans

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Sauber C5 (1978) - Marc Surer together with Eugen Strähl in the cockpit of his race car at Le Mans

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Sauber C5 (1978) - Harry Blumer on his way to victory in Santa Monica

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Sauber C5 (1978) - Harry Blumer in Zeltweg

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Sauber C5 (1979) - driven by Werner Wenk

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Sauber C5 (1979) - Werner Wenk at the race in Eggberg

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Sauber C5 (1979) - Werner Wenk in Eggberg

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Sauber C5 (1979) - Werner Wenk ahead of Buess on Osella at the CH championship race in Dijon 79

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Summary

The Sauber C5 was the fifth racing car that Peter Sauber built with his small team. It broke new ground and even made it to Le Mans. Although it was faster than the competition, the big triumph at the Sarthe did not come. This article tells the story of the Sauber C5 and shows a lot of historical footage as well as current photos of Herbert Müller's former works car.

This article contains the following chapters

Design at the cutting edge
In the wind tunnel
The Le Mans adventure
Surer, Strähl and Blumer: a super team

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Peter Sauber built his own model for the first time in 1970: the C1, of which two were produced. The Zurich-based constructor became Swiss sports car champion with this graceful one-liter car. Two examples of the C2 followed. PP Sauber AG built three cars of the C3, also with a tubular frame. The C4, built for 1975, was the first monocoque design that was driven by Harry Blumer in the Swiss championship. The Glarus-based civil engineer achieved various daily victories and third place overall in the championship. Based on the experience gained with the C4, the still small company ventured a further effort and developed the C5. Five racing cars of this model were built in Hinwil. Sauber built a total of 13 racing cars between 1970 and 1978. One of them was the model for this article. It is the C5.002, which was shown for the first time in 1976 at the International Racing Car Show in Zurich. The presentation was also very patriotic, with several alphorn players and Miss Switzerland adding to the Swiss atmosphere.

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