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1961 Scarab FL news, pictures, and information | ||
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Lance Reventlow was born in 1936, the son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton and Danish Count Kurt von Haugwitz-Reventlow. Needless to say, he was born of considerable wealth, even after his parents divorced he was a man of considerable means. By the early 1930s he fostered a passion for automobile racing. That interest blossomed even further when he met Bruce Kessler, another individual with considerable riches and a knack for the mechanical inter-workings of automobiles. The duo raced cars in Europe and America, visiting factories and gathering techniques on how to build a successful racing machine. After this tour, Reventlow was convinced that he could assemble an American team to build and race a competitive car.
The first attempt at making this dream a reality was the Scarab MK1. It was a fast car that showed tremendous promise. It was soon followed by another Scarab, the MKII. In total, three examples of both the MK1 and MKII combined were created.
After racing in the US, the Scarab team turned their focus on the European scene. Their sports-racers MKI and MKII were not legal to compete in European races, so a new car was needed. The decision to enter F1 competition would prove to be a very bad move. The team was young and lacked the necessary experience to build and race in this sport.
The Scarab Formula 1 car was built from all-American components. The team began by placing the engine in the front and having it power the rear wheels. This had been a common configuration a few years ago; even Ferrari and Aston Martin were still using this configuration. Cooper and Lotus were paving the way and proved that mid-engined placement was better. It allowed the driver to sit lower, fewer mechanical components which meant less weight, less frontal area which improved aerodynamics, and many other benefits.
The engine was an Offenhauser unit designed by Leo Goosen. It had four cylinders with twin plugs per cylinder. In comparison to other F1 teams, it was lacking in power.
The chassis was designed by 23-year old Marshall Whitfield. This would be the first car he ever designed. The chassis was completed before the engine was ready, so a replacement unit from one of the prior cars was used. Initial testing showed that the car had many pitfalls. The brakes were inadequate, so the all-American theme was abandoned in favor of the proven Girling discs.
More development and testing meant that the car missed the entire 1959 season. The team made their debut at Monaco in 1960. The car was unable to keep pace with the other machines racing the circuit; it even had slower times than the Formula Juniors that were being run in other races throughout the weekend. This would be the fortune of the Scarab team's effort throughout the season. They qualified for a few of the races, but never were serious contenders.
Near the close of the season, the team was able to recruit Richie Ginther. At Reims the team blew all their engines during practice and did not compete in the race. The final race of the season was at Riverside. Chuch Daigh was able to qualify 18th out of the 23 cars entered; he finished in tenth place during the race.
For 1961, the Formula 1 regulations decreased engine capacity from 2.5-liters to 1.5-liters. This caused many cars to be obsolete and had teams scrambling to create a new competitive car. In response, the English marque's created a new racing series called Intercontinental Formula which allowed displacement sizes up to three-liters. One of the Scarab's F1 cars was given an Offenhauser 3-liter engine and sent to Europe to compete in this series. Chuck Daigh had little success behind the wheel, his best showing coming at Goodwood. The car was later totaled at Silverstone and sent back to the United States.
Following in the success of Cooper Cars, as were many marques, Reventlow decided to try his luck with a mid-engined car. Eddie Miller was recruited to help in the project. As with the prior cars, the goal was to build an all-American car. This idea was shortly abandoned in favor of Girling disc brakes and a few other mechanical components. The engine was still underpowered in comparison to the competition.
Development took too long and did not race during the season. A new season meant new regulations, and this time the winds were begging to blow in the American's favor - or so it would seem. It was believed that the new rules would allow larger, stock production engines. Reventlow saw an opportunity to create customer cars and build revenue from this endeavor. So he purchased a building and buying spare parts and machinery.
When regulations became official, it was announced that production engines were allowed, and so was the modification of those engines. Team Scarab chose the Buick aluminum V8 engine and began making modifications which resulted in 300 horsepower. The teams prospects, and the business venture, were looking positive. That is, until regulations were changed just prior to the start of the season which made the teams efforts obsolete.
Most of the employees were let go, the factory was shut down, and production was canceled.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2007
The first attempt at making this dream a reality was the Scarab MK1. It was a fast car that showed tremendous promise. It was soon followed by another Scarab, the MKII. In total, three examples of both the MK1 and MKII combined were created.
After racing in the US, the Scarab team turned their focus on the European scene. Their sports-racers MKI and MKII were not legal to compete in European races, so a new car was needed. The decision to enter F1 competition would prove to be a very bad move. The team was young and lacked the necessary experience to build and race in this sport.
The Scarab Formula 1 car was built from all-American components. The team began by placing the engine in the front and having it power the rear wheels. This had been a common configuration a few years ago; even Ferrari and Aston Martin were still using this configuration. Cooper and Lotus were paving the way and proved that mid-engined placement was better. It allowed the driver to sit lower, fewer mechanical components which meant less weight, less frontal area which improved aerodynamics, and many other benefits.
The engine was an Offenhauser unit designed by Leo Goosen. It had four cylinders with twin plugs per cylinder. In comparison to other F1 teams, it was lacking in power.
The chassis was designed by 23-year old Marshall Whitfield. This would be the first car he ever designed. The chassis was completed before the engine was ready, so a replacement unit from one of the prior cars was used. Initial testing showed that the car had many pitfalls. The brakes were inadequate, so the all-American theme was abandoned in favor of the proven Girling discs.
More development and testing meant that the car missed the entire 1959 season. The team made their debut at Monaco in 1960. The car was unable to keep pace with the other machines racing the circuit; it even had slower times than the Formula Juniors that were being run in other races throughout the weekend. This would be the fortune of the Scarab team's effort throughout the season. They qualified for a few of the races, but never were serious contenders.
Near the close of the season, the team was able to recruit Richie Ginther. At Reims the team blew all their engines during practice and did not compete in the race. The final race of the season was at Riverside. Chuch Daigh was able to qualify 18th out of the 23 cars entered; he finished in tenth place during the race.
For 1961, the Formula 1 regulations decreased engine capacity from 2.5-liters to 1.5-liters. This caused many cars to be obsolete and had teams scrambling to create a new competitive car. In response, the English marque's created a new racing series called Intercontinental Formula which allowed displacement sizes up to three-liters. One of the Scarab's F1 cars was given an Offenhauser 3-liter engine and sent to Europe to compete in this series. Chuck Daigh had little success behind the wheel, his best showing coming at Goodwood. The car was later totaled at Silverstone and sent back to the United States.
Following in the success of Cooper Cars, as were many marques, Reventlow decided to try his luck with a mid-engined car. Eddie Miller was recruited to help in the project. As with the prior cars, the goal was to build an all-American car. This idea was shortly abandoned in favor of Girling disc brakes and a few other mechanical components. The engine was still underpowered in comparison to the competition.
Development took too long and did not race during the season. A new season meant new regulations, and this time the winds were begging to blow in the American's favor - or so it would seem. It was believed that the new rules would allow larger, stock production engines. Reventlow saw an opportunity to create customer cars and build revenue from this endeavor. So he purchased a building and buying spare parts and machinery.
When regulations became official, it was announced that production engines were allowed, and so was the modification of those engines. Team Scarab chose the Buick aluminum V8 engine and began making modifications which resulted in 300 horsepower. The teams prospects, and the business venture, were looking positive. That is, until regulations were changed just prior to the start of the season which made the teams efforts obsolete.
Most of the employees were let go, the factory was shut down, and production was canceled.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2007
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