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| | View more photos CanAm Sports-Racing Spider Chassis Num: DN2-T1 |
During testing at Leguna seca, British team driver Jackie Oliver drove the car to a personal best time, and proclaimed the car to have excellent handling and performance characteristics.
A second car was constructed which became a rolling test-bed. This was later sold by Don Nichols directly to Peter Kaus on August 25th of 1987. The car was then placed in the Rosso Bianco Collection at Aschaffenburg, Germany.
This car is can hold 84 gallons of fuel, and its turbocharged engine is capable of around 1200 horsepower. This car 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. A high bid of $221,500 was enough to purchase the car.
The Advanced Vehicle System (AVS) began in 1970 and created by Don Nichols. The cars were called Shadows. The company was established with the purpose of creating racers that had limited aerodynamic drag through minimal front area on the cars. Nichols approached Firestone with a request to have tires created that were smaller in diameter to conventional race tires at the time. The reasoning for the request was to help in the reduction of aerodynamic drag. When other manufacturers were using 24-inch tires in the front and 26-inch in the rear, Nichols wanted to use 17 in the front and 19 in the rear. There were flaws to this thinking; the smaller tires meant smaller brakes and rotors which meant less stopping power. Another side effect of smaller brakes was that they were unable to dissipate the heat fast enough and this lead to various other tires.
A Chevrolet big-block enginge was chosen as the power unit for the car. Due to the design of the car there was no room for the radiator to fit into the body. Trevor Harris had designed the car. The only logical place to fit the radiator was to mount it on the rear wing. This did not work well. Though many of the ideas were innovative in concept, they were failures in reality. The car, driven by George Follmer and Vic Elford, failed to finish many of the races that it was entered.
In 1971, personnel from a company named Autocoast merged with AVS. Autocoast had debuted their Ti22 racer in 1969 at Laguna Seca. It too was propelled by a Chevrolet V8 powerplant. It had been designed for CanAm competition by designer Peter Bryant, who created a very aerodynamic design. The chassis was a monocoque structure comprised of aluminum and titanium. This marked the first time that titanium was used extensively in a car. The name of the car was rather fitting, as 'Ti22' is the atomic symbol and weight of titanium.
At its inaugural debut, the Ti22 was driven by Jackie Oliver and finished in 13th place. The next race was at Riverside where the vehicle qualified fourth but retired prematurely during the race. The car's sponsor was Titanium Metal Corporation so when the titanium suspension piece broke, the team officially documented the problem to be related to the transmission in order to elevate any potential sponsorship conflicts.
For 1970 Jackie Oliver again drove the Ti22. The second race of the season ended in a tragedy for the team as the car flipped off the track on the first lap. Oliver was ok but the chassis was destroyed. The team was unable to get another car ready for most of the season. By the time a replacement car was ready, there were only two races left. Oliver drove the car to a second place finish in both of those races.
When the personnel of AVS and Autocoast joined forces, they agreed upon creating a racer that utilized the strengths of both of the cars. Jackie Oliver was chosen as the driver. Universal Oil Products became the teams official sponsor.
The car, dubbed the MKII, was given larger tires than the one used on the original AVS car. In the front, the tires measured 18.8 inches while in the back they measured 22.3 inches. Though larger than the AVS car, they were still smaller than the tires used by other CanAm cars. Titanium was used in the car, though not in any major quantities.
The car was ready for the 1971 seasons. Oliver qualified the car very well for many of the races but he was unable to finish nearly all of the races. The car finished only race and that was at Edmonton where it achieved an impressive third place finish. For the following season the team made the change to conventionally sized tires. In order to accommodate the larger tires, the body was enlarged where needed. This version of the body was dubbed, the MK III.
The Shadow team mimicked the design of the McLaren M20 of the prior year by moving the radiators to the side of the car and placing wings between the front wheels. To gain an advantage against their competition, the team began experimenting with forced induction. The turbocharger system never made it past the experimentation stage.
The 1972 season was similar to the 1971 season. Oliver was able to finish only one race. The race he did finish, he crossed the line in third place just as he had done the year prior.
By this time the Shadow team had begun competing in Formula One Competition. Their entry into the series was the DN1, 'DN' for Don Nichols initials. The car had been designed by Tony Southgate. The DN1 gave Jean-Pierre Beltoise a victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. For the 1973 season, the team created the DN2 for CanAm competition. Southgate designed the car and drew inspiration from the Lola T310.
When the Shadow DN2 made its racing debut, it was powered by a 1200horsepower Chevy V8 engine. This massive amount of horsepower was generated with the help of a turbocharger. The system was used for three races and then switched for a naturally aspirated unit. The use of turbochargers had not worked well; in naturally aspirated form the Chevy V8 produced 735 horsepower which was enough to keep the car on pace.
The team finished the season in better standing then they had done in years past, but no where near what they had wanted to accomplish. The team finished only two races out of the eight that they entered. One was at Edmonton where the team finished in third and a second place at Laguna Seca. The team had been plagued by mechanical issues.
For 1974, Shadow entered their newly created DN4. It was very similar to the DN2 but smaller and lighter. Rule changes required the cars to get 3 mpg so the reduction in weight and size was done in an effort to comply with these new regulations. There were two cars; both were powered by Chevrolet V8 engines that produced an impressive 800 horsepower. Jackie Oliver drove one of the DN4 racers and George Follmer drove the second DN4.
1974 was a very successful season for the Shadow team. Follmer finished in second place in three of the races. Oliver won four races and went on to secure the championship. It should be noted that McLaren, Porsche and Lola had retired from competition and did not field new race cars for the 1974 season. 1974 also marked the final year for the CanAm series.
The Shadow team switched their attention to Formula One competition. They were met with little success and went out of business during the early 1980's. The company was absorbed by Theodore Racing. Lack of money meant that the team only tasted half-way through the season. Prior to the company's demise, a few members had left to form the Arrows F1 team. Alan Jones had left to work with Williams.
A Chevrolet big-block enginge was chosen as the power unit for the car. Due to the design of the car there was no room for the radiator to fit into the body. Trevor Harris had designed the car. The only logical place to fit the radiator was to mount it on the rear wing. This did not work well. Though many of the ideas were innovative in concept, they were failures in reality. The car, driven by George Follmer and Vic Elford, failed to finish many of the races that it was entered.
In 1971, personnel from a company named Autocoast merged with AVS. Autocoast had debuted their Ti22 racer in 1969 at Laguna Seca. It too was propelled by a Chevrolet V8 powerplant. It had been designed for CanAm competition by designer Peter Bryant, who created a very aerodynamic design. The chassis was a monocoque structure comprised of aluminum and titanium. This marked the first time that titanium was used extensively in a car. The name of the car was rather fitting, as 'Ti22' is the atomic symbol and weight of titanium.
At its inaugural debut, the Ti22 was driven by Jackie Oliver and finished in 13th place. The next race was at Riverside where the vehicle qualified fourth but retired prematurely during the race. The car's sponsor was Titanium Metal Corporation so when the titanium suspension piece broke, the team officially documented the problem to be related to the transmission in order to elevate any potential sponsorship conflicts.
For 1970 Jackie Oliver again drove the Ti22. The second race of the season ended in a tragedy for the team as the car flipped off the track on the first lap. Oliver was ok but the chassis was destroyed. The team was unable to get another car ready for most of the season. By the time a replacement car was ready, there were only two races left. Oliver drove the car to a second place finish in both of those races.
When the personnel of AVS and Autocoast joined forces, they agreed upon creating a racer that utilized the strengths of both of the cars. Jackie Oliver was chosen as the driver. Universal Oil Products became the teams official sponsor.
The car, dubbed the MKII, was given larger tires than the one used on the original AVS car. In the front, the tires measured 18.8 inches while in the back they measured 22.3 inches. Though larger than the AVS car, they were still smaller than the tires used by other CanAm cars. Titanium was used in the car, though not in any major quantities.
The car was ready for the 1971 seasons. Oliver qualified the car very well for many of the races but he was unable to finish nearly all of the races. The car finished only race and that was at Edmonton where it achieved an impressive third place finish. For the following season the team made the change to conventionally sized tires. In order to accommodate the larger tires, the body was enlarged where needed. This version of the body was dubbed, the MK III.
The Shadow team mimicked the design of the McLaren M20 of the prior year by moving the radiators to the side of the car and placing wings between the front wheels. To gain an advantage against their competition, the team began experimenting with forced induction. The turbocharger system never made it past the experimentation stage.
The 1972 season was similar to the 1971 season. Oliver was able to finish only one race. The race he did finish, he crossed the line in third place just as he had done the year prior.
By this time the Shadow team had begun competing in Formula One Competition. Their entry into the series was the DN1, 'DN' for Don Nichols initials. The car had been designed by Tony Southgate. The DN1 gave Jean-Pierre Beltoise a victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. For the 1973 season, the team created the DN2 for CanAm competition. Southgate designed the car and drew inspiration from the Lola T310.
When the Shadow DN2 made its racing debut, it was powered by a 1200horsepower Chevy V8 engine. This massive amount of horsepower was generated with the help of a turbocharger. The system was used for three races and then switched for a naturally aspirated unit. The use of turbochargers had not worked well; in naturally aspirated form the Chevy V8 produced 735 horsepower which was enough to keep the car on pace.
The team finished the season in better standing then they had done in years past, but no where near what they had wanted to accomplish. The team finished only two races out of the eight that they entered. One was at Edmonton where the team finished in third and a second place at Laguna Seca. The team had been plagued by mechanical issues.
For 1974, Shadow entered their newly created DN4. It was very similar to the DN2 but smaller and lighter. Rule changes required the cars to get 3 mpg so the reduction in weight and size was done in an effort to comply with these new regulations. There were two cars; both were powered by Chevrolet V8 engines that produced an impressive 800 horsepower. Jackie Oliver drove one of the DN4 racers and George Follmer drove the second DN4.
1974 was a very successful season for the Shadow team. Follmer finished in second place in three of the races. Oliver won four races and went on to secure the championship. It should be noted that McLaren, Porsche and Lola had retired from competition and did not field new race cars for the 1974 season. 1974 also marked the final year for the CanAm series.
The Shadow team switched their attention to Formula One competition. They were met with little success and went out of business during the early 1980's. The company was absorbed by Theodore Racing. Lack of money meant that the team only tasted half-way through the season. Prior to the company's demise, a few members had left to form the Arrows F1 team. Alan Jones had left to work with Williams.
| Can-AmCanAm, short for Canadian-American Challenge Cup, was a sports car racing series that persisted from 1966 through 1974. It used the FIA Group 7 category with two races occurring in Canada and four races in the United States. Funding was initially provided by J-Wax. The CanAm series was astonishing and 'wide open.' There were minimal regulations on the aerodynamics, engine sizes, and vehicle mechanics. The main rules were a body that enclosed the wheels, complied with the safety requirements, and had seating for two. In Europe, the Group 7 cars were mostly designed for short distance races rather than the endurance racing. There were no homologating requirements and limited regulations. In North America, the CanAm series was appealing for many reasons. The price money was good and the competition and the races were exciting. The cars were faster than the Formula 1 cars of that era. The sport evolved to having cars well over 1000 horsepower with low weight, aerodynamic bodies, and large wings to create necessary down-force. Turbo-charging and supercharging were widely used. The bodies and mechanical components were made of exotic metals such as titanium. The series became a testing ground for many manufactures interested in examining technology without the worries of new or imposing regulations. Among the top manufacturers in the series were BRM, Shadow, Porsche, Chaparral, Lola, and McLaren. The first Can-Am race was on September 1966 at St. Jovite Raceway. Famous drivers, manufacturers, and cars were entered, totaling 34 entrants. John Surtees of England entered a Chevy small-block powered V8 Lola T-70. George Follmer, Kiwis Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, and John Cannon also showed up with powerful cars ready to contend for the first ever Championship of Can Am Racing. At the end of the season it was Surtees who was crowned the champion after winning three of the races. Dan Gurney captured a victory at Bridgehampton while driving a Ford powered racer. For 1967, McLaren entered a potent M6A racer which dominated the season with Bruce McLaren easily capturing the championship. The M6A was powered by a small-block Chevy V8 capable of producing over 520 horsepower. McLaren continued their dominance for the next four years. Dennise Hulme won the Championship in 1968 and 1970 with Bruce McLaren securing another championship victory in 1969. Bruce McLaren was was killed while testing a McLaren Can-Am car and was not around to compete during the 1970 season. Many of the cars were quick but suffered from either reliability issues or were underdeveloped when compared to the McLarens. The Chaparrals and Lolas were especially fast and offered plenty of competition for the McLarens. By 1968, most of the cars were powered by all-aluminum big-block Chevrolet engines producing over 620 horsepower. Manufacturers from other racing series were lured into CanAm racing due to the prize money. Ferrari even entered the ring with their 612P driven by Chris Amon. With a V12 engine and using engines that were 6.2 and 6.9 liters in capacity, it was very quick but not as perfected as some of the other cars in the circuit. The Porsche 917/10 was similar to other 917's but purposely built for Group 7 of American CanAm racing. It used even more lightweight materials and a larger fuel tank. The larger tank allowed the vehicle to complete a 200 mile race without needing to refuel. During its first season of racing, it was not as successful as hoped. The 12-cylinder engine was not powerful enough to compete for first place. So the 917 was fitted with turbochargers. With the turbochargers and 950 horsepower, the driver needed to be very cautious due to the sudden power increases produced by the turbochargers. The Lola T220 provided the most competition for the McLaren team but was unable to secure the championship. One of the team drivers for Lola, Peter Revson, left Lola in 1971 to drive for McLaren in their new M8F car. Lola entered their newest creation, the T260 driven by F-1 Champion Jackie Stewart. The cars once again provided McLaren with competition but it was not enough. Revson finished first in the championship followed by Hulme, both in McLarens. Stewart and his Lola finished in third place. During the 1972 season Mark Donohue and George Follmer drove the Porsche's in competition. Donohue was faster but due to an accident was unable to complete the season. Follmer was left to capture the championship, which he did. In 1973, Porsche 917/30 was outfitted with twin-turbochargers and a 5.4 liter, 12-cylinder engine. It was capable of produced between 1100 and 1500 horsepower. It could go from zero to sixty in 2.1 seconds and had a top speed of 238 mph. The 917/30 was only available for Team Penske's driver Mark Donohue. It dominated and demolished the Can-Am series with Mark Donohue winning the championship. In 1974 it was banned from racing in the CanAm series because the CanAm series had begun to lose its fan base since there was no competition. Regulations were created that limited the fuel capacity of the vehicles. The Chevrolet powered vehicles were again contenders. Jackie Oliver and George Follmer, driving a Shadow DN4, proved to be the fastest of the season. The other manufacturers were using outdated cars and were unable to keep pace. 1974 was the final year for the CanAm series. The demise of the Can Am Championship series was due to a number of issues. North America was experiencing a recession and an oil crisis. The cost of creating competitive cars had skyrocketed. The general public was loosing interest and sponsorship was withdrawing. At the close of the 1974 season, the Series was canceled. In 1977 the SCCA reintroduced a revised Can Am series allowing Formula A/5000 series cars to be entered. The series never gained much popularity had a limited lifespan. In modern times many of these Can Am race cars are still being raced at vintage races. Their legacy and power are still impressive and the ear-deafening roar of the engine is enough to put a smile on any enthusiasts face. |
1972 Shadow DN2 |
|
| Year | 1972 |
| Make | Shadow |
| Model | DN2 |
| Body Style | CanAm Sports-Racing Spider |
| Engine Location | Mid |
| Drive Type | Rear Wheel |
| Combined MPG | 0.00 |
| Chassis / Engine Numbers Shown | |
| Chassis Number | DN2-T1 |
| Engine | |
| Engine Builder | Chevrolet |
| Engine Configuration | V |
| Cylinders | 8 |
| Aspiration/Induction | Twin-turbocharged |
| Displacement | 8100.00 cc | 494.3 cu in. | 8.1 L. |
| Horsepower | 1200.00 HP (883.2 KW) |
| HP / Liter | 148.1 BHP / Liter |
| Fuel Type | Gasoline - Petrol |
| Standard Transmission | |
| Gears | 5 |
| Transmission | Manual |
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