1974 Shadow DN4

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Sports Racer Designer: Tony Southgate Chassis Num: DN4-2A   Sold for $381,000 at 2006 Bonhams. This vehicle is a 1974 AVS Shadow/Chevrolet DN5 CanAm Sports-Racing Spider with chassis number DN4-2A. It is the chassis driven by British racing star Jackie Oliver in which he won the 1974 CanAm championship title. Oliver's racing career began with front-drive mini saloon cars, progressed to a wooden-chassised Marcos GT and then a Jaguar E-Type. Through time, he went to single-seaters, then Formula 3 and International Formula 2. In 1968 he was World Champion Driver Graham Hill's team-mate in the Formula 1 Lotus program. He raced in Formula 1 for a number of teams, including BRM, McLaren and Shadow cars. In 1969, he won LeMans while driving a Gulf-JW Ford. In 1969 he raced in the CanAm series in Peter Bryant's Autocoast Ti22. From 1972 through 1974 he drove for Don Nichols in his AVS Shadow CanAm cars. He also drove their F1 single-seater cars at the time as well. The fuel shortage of the early 1970s had CanAM change their regulations considerably, limiting fuel to just 37 gallons per race. The gas tanks shrank in size, many had been over 80 gallons. As a result, the cars decreased in size as well. The DN4, in comparison to the DN2, was considerably smaller, now just 100-inches in length. The AVS team claimed their V8 Chevrolet engine produced 735 horsepower. It is believed that the real figure was closer to 800. Jackie Oliver kicked the season opener at Mosport Park, Canada to a wonderful start. He drove his DN4 to pole position with a qualifying time of 1 minute, 14.5 seconds. He and his teammate George Follmer finished first and second. Behind them were a McLaren M20 of Scooter Patrick, Bob Nagel's Lola T260, the Motschenbacher's Mclaren M8F and Gene Fisher's Lola T222. At Atlanta, Follmer qualified ahead of Oliver for pole position. The race, however, was won by Oliver with Follmer finishing in second. At Watkins Glen, the same scenario played out again. Follmer qualified for pole position but finished in second. Oliver won the race while starting second. Olive won for the fourth time at Mid-Ohio. Follmer qualified ahead of Oliver at Elkhart Lake, and both he and Oliver ran uncontested through most of the race. Both cars suffered mechanical difficulties and retired prematurely. The race was won by Scooter Patrick in his 1972 McLaren M20. At the close of the season, Jackie Oliver had 82 points and emerged as the 1974 CanAm Champion Driver. This car, driven by Oliver, was offered for sale at the 2006 Bonhams & Butterfields auction held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California where it was estimated to sell between $240,000 - $280,000. Considering the history of the car and its dominate season, it was not a surprise to see bidding exceed that estimated value. The high bid landed well above the estimate, winning at $381,000. By Daniel Vaughan | May 2007

Auction Sales Information
Auction	Bonhams & Butterfields at The Quail Lodge, Resort & Golf Club
Estimated Value:	$240,000-$280,000
Sale Price	$381,000

Event	Group
Bonhams & Butterfields at The Quail Lodge, Resort & Golf Club	1971-1990