1969 Chevron B16

Nigel Bennett created the Chevron B1 as his personal GT race car and it proved rather successful, winning its first race, a British Clubman event on July 2nd, 1965. Bennett's next design was called the B8, and it too was successful. A variety of modifications and evolutions brought about his next design, the B16.

The Chevron B16 used a spaceframe chassis reinforced with steel and aluminum panels to create a semi-monocoque center section. The tubular frames in the front and back carried the suspension and the mid-engine driveline. The front used parallel wishbones while the rear suspension had a pair of wishbones and upper links. The rear tubular spaceframe was sturdy enough to carry a variety of engines, most used to contest the under 2-liter sportscar competition.

The Chevron B8 was powered by a 2-liter BMW four-cylinder engine with a single cam and two-valve head. By the time of the B16's introduction, the BMW powerplant had been fully developed and could not be improved upon further. Bennet initially planned to commission Cosworth or Weslake to modify the BMW engine even further by adopting a new head on the engine. Although costly, it would have kept the engine competitive for a few more seasons. Bennett ultimately decided to stick with the Ford engine after Cosworth began developing the 'FVC' version of the 1.6-liter 'FVA' Formula 2 engine. The engine displaced a mere 1,760cc but was much more powerful than the BMW engine it replaced.

The elegant fiberglass body was conceived by Bennett and refined by stylist Jim Clark of Specialised Mouldings, Chevron's contractor to build the wafer-thin B16 bodies. Brian Redman was the development driver for the B16 (using the older BMW engine), offering his knowledge and experience to finely hewn it for competition.

Although many designers and manufacturers used the most exotic materials and construction techniques available, Bennett's Chevrolet B16 used tried-and-true practices of the time and was reliable, sold, fast, competitive, and adaptable to different configurations. Brian Redman was tasked with driving the B16 in its inaugural debut at the Nürburgring 500km race on September 7th, 1969. The car was equipped with a Cosworth FVA 1,600cc Formula engine, which was quick enough to claim the pole position by over five seconds. Redman piloted the Chevron to the front of the pack throughout the race and went on to win.

The earlier B16 suffered from understeer but this was resolved on later examples with rear spoilers that balanced aerodynamic rear downforce at speed to offset the nose's front downforce.

During the production lifespan of the Chevron B16, just 23 examples were built. Homologation requirements for 'Group 5' GT racing required a minimum of 25 examples, and despite producing just 23 examples, the car was cleared for racing.

Along with the Cosworth engine, customers also fitted the BMW with the BMW four and a Mazda rotary engine. Steve McQueen used three examples in his movie LeMans.

At the 1970 European 2-liter Championship season opener, Lola shocked the racing community by bringing their new all-new T210. With open coachwork, it was lighter by 70 kg than the B16 coupe. Redman and John Burton battled against Jo Bonnier and the T210 all season, and Redman was able to score much-needed points throughout the season, including a victory at the first round at Paul Ricard. The winner of the championship came down to the final round, with Lola, Chevron, and Abarth all vying for the necessary points to crown them champions.

Redman was seeking every advantage and was able to convince Bennett to build a B16 spyder using the shape of the Porsche 908/3 that he had driven to victory in the Targa Florio that year. The B16 Spyder that followed used the mechanical components of the B16 coupe, with an entirely new body. In this guise, Redman raced the car to disappointing results at the Nürburgring 500 km, but was able to earn a victory at Spa, securing the championship for Chevrolet.

For the following season, Chevron introduced the production version of the B16 Spyder called the B19.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020