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Technology in a racing car (21): Ford P68 - Being beautiful and a little obscene

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Created on October 5, 2022

Reading time 5min

Written by:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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Alan Mann Racing

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Archiv

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Archiv Gerhard Schütz

13

Alan Mann Racing

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Archiv

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Erste Runden in Brands Hatch 1968 mit der typischen rot-goldenen Lackierung

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Erster Renneinsatz beim Sechsstundenrennen in Brands Hatch 1968, schon mit Heckspoiler

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Trauriges Ende: Beim Training zum 1000-km-Rennen auf dem Nürburgring überschlug sich Chris Irwing im Streckenabschnitt Flugplatz. Dach und Überrollbügel hatten nachgegeben, was zu schweren Kopfverletzungen führte.

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Richard Attwood bei der Einfahrt ins Karussell auf dem Nürburgring. Die Frontlippe touchiert fast die Fahrbahn.

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Irwings späterer Unfallwagen im Fahrerlager des Nürburgrings. Dahinter die Nummer 7 von Attwood/Gardner mit der zusätzlichen Frontlippe

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John Surtees bei Testfahrten

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Eine hinreissende Silhouette – noch ohne jedes aerodynamische Hilfsmittel

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Phantomzeichnung: Trotz Misserfolg ein faszinierendes Technikpaket

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Die Spider-Variante des P68 namens P69. Links hinter dem Kopf des Fahrers ist der Kühllufteinlass

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Der P69 im Fahrerlager von Brands Hatch 1969. Das grosse Reckteck im Heck ist der Kühlluftauslass

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Fahrgestellnummer 003 beim Grand Prix de Paris 1991, damals im Besitz von David Piper

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Das Wrack von Fahrgestellnummer 002 nach Irwings Abflug am "Flugplatz" des Nürburgrings

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Frank Gardner und Jack Brabham sollten in Brands Hatch starten, traten aber nicht an

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Der von David Piper initiierte Nachbau mit GFK-Karosserie bei einer Veranstaltung für historische Rennwagen

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Erste Bilder vom Ford P68 in Goodwood 1968, kurz vor den allerersten Testfahrten

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Mike Spence fuhr die ersten Runden der Nummer 34 in Brands Hatch, fiel aber nach wenigen Runden aus.

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Summary

Some cars are so beautiful that your heart almost stops. The Ford P68 bought its beauty at an expensive price. The downforce was so low, the handling so unpredictable, that even the drivers' hearts soon stopped. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" looks at the three-liter Ford P68 prototype in detail and shows it in historical images.

This article contains the following chapters

Beautiful to die for
A Formula 1 car with two seats
The Spider
No determination, no test drivers

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and Can-Am, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important innovation drivers of these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus. This time, everything revolves around a racing prototype that sadly proved that beauty is by no means everything. Can beauty be a sin? The red and gold Ford P68 from the Alan Mann Racing team and aerodynamicist Len Terry, who also designed the Ford GT40, was sinfully beautiful even in black and white. On top of that, it had a record low drag coefficient (cd) of 0.27. But the beauty of flowing, low-drag shapes can be an aerodynamic sin because it is usually associated with lift.

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