1969 Lynx B

The Lynx Car Company was started in mid-1960s by Bob Riley and John Mills, both Ford Employees at the time. The Lynx 'B' Formula Vee was one of the first race cars designed by Bob Riley, who currently co-owns Riley Technology in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Garrett Van Camp built the car from a Lynx Kit in 1969 and was the Waterford Hills Formula Vee Champion.

Won the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Central Division Formula Vee championship in 1970 and finished fourth in the National Championship race at Road Atlanta.

The car was sold in 1972 and raced extensively through 1995.

In 1999 Garrett re-purchased the car and began restoring it to the way it was in 1969.

The car has won several Waterford Hills and VSCDA (Vintage Sport Car Driver's Association) races and several VSCDA Formula Vee Championships since the restoration.

Lynx Formula Vee
Formula Vee is a spec road racing class that was started in 1963. The cars are based upon Volkswagen Beetle running gear and powertrain. The engine displacement is 1.2-liter and the only modifications allowed are blue printing and balancing. The engine develops about 60 horsepower. Overall length, minimum width, and minimum weight, 825 pounds, are specified. The top speed of this car on a road course with a long straightaway is about 105 miles per hour.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2007

Lynx Cars was founded in the mid-1960s by Bill Riley and John Mills. Their first Formula Vee racer was constructed in 1965 and dubbed the 'A. The car was given a fiberglass body and a space-frame chassis. The mechanical components conformed to Formula Vee specifications and included a 1200cc Volkswagen engine, four-speed Volkswagen gearbox and drum brakes. The front suspension was a trailing link setup with wing axles located in the rear.

The Lynx A was a good car, but it was not a strong seller and only a few were ever made. It was the companies first attempt at building an entrant for the newly formed Formula Vee class and much had been learned in the process. Their next design followed in 1966 and it was very different to its sibling and many other FV racers of the era. Instead of the common space-frame chassis setup, Riley decided to use rectangular steel side rails due to its rigidity and easy construction. It was easy to repair offered several other advantages over the popular space-frame construction of the time. The design had been created by Riley with Mills handling most of the assembly.

The bodies were created from fiberglass and drum brakes could be found at all four corners. There were around 200 examples created and proved to be solid contenders for top honors. James Purcell drove a Lynx MKII/B FV racer to the SCCA runoffs in 1967. The car failed to finish. Jim Herlinger drove his car to a respectable ninth place finish in 1968.

Ford purchased the Lynx name in 1979 and continued the production of FVs under the name 'Caracal.'

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2007