1970 Chevron B16 Spyder

There were 23 Chevron B16 models built in 1969 and 1970, plus a B16 Spyder constructed in 1970. The B16 was based on, and evolution of, the B8. It had a spaceframe chassis and reinforced with steel to form a full monocoque. The front suspension was carried by tubular frames. The suspension was double wishbones at the front and upper link and triangular wishbones at the rear. The basic fiberglass body design was created with the help of stylist Jim Clark.

Mounted mid-ship was a Cosworth FVA Formula 2 engine. This was the same found in the B8. Cosworth's main engineer, Keith Duckworth, enlarged the capacity closer to two liters. It was given a different crank and a longer stroke, increasing the displacement from 1598cc to 1790cc. The result was a boost in horsepower to 245bhp and a new designation, the FVC.

In July of 1969, the Chevron B16 was tested at Aintree where it proved to be extremely quick 'right out of the box.' It was close to the lap record. On September 7th of 1969, after continued development and testing, the B16 made its racing debut at the Nurburgring 500 km race. Brian Redman qualified the car on pole and had a full 5.6 seconds ahead of its nearest competitor. The race would be just as successful for the B16, with Redman leading the entire event. It was quick but had a tremendous amount of understeer. This was due to a lack of down-force at the rear. To resolve future B16 models, two orange box rear spoilers were fitted.

The following season, Redman was still Chevron's factory driver. Lola introduced their new T210 which provided considerable amounts of competition for the B16. Redman would lose to the Lola on several occasions (and win on several occasions). He begged Chevron for an advantage - an open car. Only one was ever created.

A few of the customer B16 cars were sent back to the factory in 1972 and converted into B21 cars. These were basically B19 cars with a different cockpit section.

This car was originally a coupe that was converted into a spyder. It is painted in the same red and brown color as the coupe that raced at Nurburgring 500 km in 1969. It has a Hewland FT200 gearbox, coil-over wishbone suspension, and a four-cylinder engine rated at 278 horsepower. The engine is number 0590.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2008