1990 Reynard F3000

Reynard Motorsports, originally based across from Reynard Park in Brackley, England, was one of the world's largest racing car manufacturers. Adrian Reynard began production in 1973 as Sabre Automotive Ltd. Their business was centered around mostly lower formula racers. The company quickly acquired a reputation for building very competitive racers with many winning their inaugural races. Soon the marque was creating vehicles for Formula 3, Formula 3000, Champ Car, and Formula 1. In total there were around 220 examples of the Formula 3000 racers created by Reynard Motorsports between 1988 and 1985. Gary Anderson had been commissioned to create the chassis for the 1989 and 1990 F3000 racers.

Formula 3000 ran from 1985 through 2004 when it was replaced by GP2. It was created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as a final step for drivers to prove their talent before moving on the Formula One Championship. In comparison to Formula 2, F3000 was less expensive and not dominated by works cars powered by factory engines. In F3000, the engines were limited to 3-liter Cosworth DFV engines outfitted with a rev-limiter to control the overall power output. Any 90-degree V8 engine was allowed, with a popular alternative coming from Honda. A V8 Lamborghini engine was rumored but it never raced.

Races were typically 100 to 200 miles in distance. Most of the circuits were in the United Kingdom, German, Spain, France, and Italy.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2007

These cars were built by Adrian Reynard for the Formula 3000 series in Europe. They were run in Europe during the 1990 and 1991 seasons, in the Formula 3000 series. This series was used to develop, and nurture budding Formula 1 talent. Formula 3000 used 475 horsepower Cosworth, Judd or Mugen V8s for power, with a five-speed transverse transmission built by Hewland of England for Reynard.

When the cars were no longer competitive in the European series, they were sold to Japanese teams, to be run in the Formula Nippon series using the same basic configuration that they were run within Europe.

As the cars aged and newer cars became available to the Japanese, these cars were sold to Australian and New Zealand teams to be run in the Formula Holden Series, in Australia. To reduce cost, the high-revving V8s were replaced with the lower-revving, but more torque-producing Holden Buick V6s. These Holden Buick engines are in the cars at this time.