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1966 AAR Eagle MK1

The All American Racers (AAR) team was founded in 1964 by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, and was based in Santa Ana, California. Despite the name, the team would benefit from many foreign influences, especially its Formula One program that was based in the United Kingdom and powered by British-sourced Weslake engines. Thus, the F1 program was run under the guise Anglo-American Racers. The team's 1965 entry at Le Mans was a Goodyear-backed Lotus 38 and the following year, the team employed the services of designer Len Terry to help develop their own car. In keeping with the 'All American' theme, Gurney called his car the 'Eagle' after the national bird of the United States.

The new Eagle F1 car, known as the Mark 1 while the similarly-styled Indy car was known as the Mark 2, followed in the mold of its predecessor, the Lotus 38 which had won at Indianapolis in 1965. Recent Formula 1 rule changes increased displacement to three liters for 1966, allowing both the Indy and Grand Prix Eagles to have a similar design. Both had a fully enclosed monocoque construction formed from aluminum. The suspension at the front and rear were independent with coil springs and telescopic dampers all round, and wishbones at the front and radius rods at the rear. Girling hydraulic disc brakes provided the stopping power. At the front was the iconic beak-shaped nose, reinforcing the 'Eagle' name and adding uniqueness to the Formula 1 lineup.

Since it was closely related to the Lotus 38, the Mark I, later dubbed the T1G, was ready well ahead of the planned twelve-cylinder engine in development at Weslake. While development continued, the Mark I was fitted to a tried-and-true Coventry Climax four-cylinder engine that was nearly 2.8 liters in size. The first Eagle to employ the Aubrey Woods-developed Gurney-Weslake V-12 was chassis number AAR-102, the second chassis built by AAR. Its engine was a 60-degree V12 with a 2,997cc displacement, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, Lucas Mechanical Fuel Injection, and initially developed approximately 360 horsepower, later increased to 390 horsepower at 10,500 RPM. It was paired with a five-speed Hewland DG300 MK II manual gearbox.

The Eagle Mark 1 with four-cylinder power was underpowered compared to the competition, but it was reliable, durable, nimble, and in the capable care of Dan Gurney, scored a fifth-place finish at the French Grand Prix (its second race appearance). Later in the year, Gurney placed another fifth place overall in Mexico. The four-cylinder Eagles driven by Phil Hill and Bob Bondurant were not as successful.

With the twelve-cylinder engine installed, the Eagle was one of the most powerful and heavier cars on the grid. The inaugural outing for the V-12-powered Eagle was in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the seventh round of the World Championship. At the helm was Gurney, but due to a fuel feed problem during practice was forced to start the race at the back of the grid. During the race, Gurney completed seven laps before he was forced to retire due to high oil temperatures. The second outing was at the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in October, where AAR-102 was once again sidelined with low oil pressure plus a cracked fuel cell. The car had been running as high as 8th before oil leaked onto the clutch.

The final race of the 1966 season was at the Grand Prix of Mexico. Driving duties of AAR-102 were assigned to Bob Bondurant while Gurney piloted the Coventry Climax-powered AAR-101. AAR-102 once again was unable to finish the race but Gurney placed 5th.

On the off-season, the team worked to resolve the V12 engine's shortcomings that had plagued the new car. The first race on the 1967 schedule was at the Brands Hatch International Race of Champions on March 12th, a non-championship race. With the Eagle-Weslake MK1 in fine running condition, Gurney was able to capture pole position, a full second quicker than anyone else. During the first practice session, AAR-102 had lowered the existing lap record by three seconds. When Gurney set the fastest time during Friday's practice session, he was rewarded with 100 bottles of champagne.

The Brands Hatch International Race of Champions consisted of two 10-lap heads and the 40-lap main event. Gurney drove AAR-102 to 1st place during heat 1, with Richie Ginther placing third in AAR-103. Ginther initially led heat 2 but was later passed by Gurney. They would finish in 1st and 2nd place, with Gurney ahead of Ginther. During the main event, Gurney took an early lead and captured his third victory in AAR-102, despite suffering from low oil pressure and a smoking engine.

After Brands Hatch came the Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the 1967 World Championship. Gremlins once again plagued the team and Gurney was unable to finish the race with AAR-103 due to fuel pump issues. Richie Ginther was unable to qualify with AAR-102.

June of 1967 was a very memorable time for Gurney as he became the second driver in history to win a Grand Prix in a car of his own design, winning at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa with AAR-104. Gurney also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ford's MK IV GT40.

AAR-104 was known as the 'Ti-Mag' car as it was built from titanium and magnesium. During its 13-race career, it crossed the finish line on only two occasions, including its victory at Spa and a ninth at the 1968 German Grand Prix.

Bruce McLaren joined AAR for three races at the end of the 1967 season. McLaren and AAR-102 retired early at the French Grand Prix due to mechanical issues and were in 7th place when a connecting rod broke at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, forcing another early retirement. At the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring, AAR-102 was in 5th place when it went airborne, bottomed out, and broke the oil-scavenge pipe.

After the 1967 season, Gurney decided to focus his attention on building Indy cars for the USAC event. Dan went on to see his Eagles dominate Indy in the 1970s.

by Dan Vaughan

F1 Monoposto
Chassis number: 101
Engine number: 1254

Dan Gurney's All American Racers built 158 cars between 1965 and 2012, and competed in 25 Grand Prix races, 51 Champ Car races including the 1968 and 1975 Indianapolis 500s won by Bobby Unser and the 1973 race won by Gordon Johncock, the IMSA GT Series, and Trans-Am competition.

When Goodyear went seeking a team to fund in 1965, Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby teamed up and formed the All American Racers (AAR) in Costa Mesa, California. AAR built single-seaters for Indy car racing and Formula 1 while also running sports car efforts for Gurney in the United States. The team wasted little time in recruiting English designer Len Terry, the individual responsible for the Lotus 38 that won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 with Jim Clark. Using the design principles of the successful Type 38, Terry and Gurney created a Formula 1 car that took advantage of new regulations for the 1966 season, with displacement growing from 1.5 to 3.0-liters.

The first chassis built by the newly formed AAR company was an Eagle MK1 with chassis number 101. This is that car - the first car they built.

Engine builder Harry Weslake was tasked with the creation of a new three-liter V12 engine, but it was not available at the start of the season, so alternate engines were considered for chassis 101, eventually settling on a tried-and-true 2.7-liter variant of the Coventry Climax FPF. Its debut race was at Spa where it placed 7th overall. John Frankenheimer was filming his Grand Prix throughout the year, and Chassis 101 was captured multiple times in the film.

At the French Grand Prix at Reims, chassis 101 qualified 15th, Gurney drove it to a 5th overall finish. Due to mechanical issues, chassis 101 retired early at the next two races - at the British and Dutch Grands Prix. At the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Gurney qualified in 8th position, just six seconds off the pace of Jim Clark's Lotus. In a rain-drenched race, Gurney drove the Eagle to a 7th-place finish in spite of electrical issues. In September, at the Italian Grand Prix, chassis 102 with Weslake V12 power joined chassis 101. Gurney drove 102 during the weekend while 101 served as a practice car at Monza. Phil Hill failed to qualify chassis 101 due to the underpowered Climax engine and Monza's long straights.

The next race of the season was in the United States at Watkins Glen. Both Eagles competed with chassis 101 piloted by Bob Bondurant. On lap five of the race, Bondurant was disqualified.

Due to the unreliability of the V-12 engine, Gurney drove chassis 101 in Mexico, and Bondurant piloted 102. Gurney drove 101 to a fifth-place finish, matching his best result of the year in France.

The Mexican Grand Prix was the final championship event for chassis 101, but it did compete in the non-championship South African GP at Kyalami in January 1967, where it retired with Gurney at the wheel.

When chassis 101 was sold to Canadian racer Al Pease, it competed in 10 races, including the 1967, 1968, and 1969 editions of the Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1971, Tom Wheatcroft purchased the car from Pease for £2,900. At the time, the car was in original condition, wearing a repaint of its original colors. The tires were the only non-original part of the car. The current caretaker acquired the Eagle in 2009 via Hall & Hall.

This Eagle is powered by its original engine (no. 1254) and Hewland transaxle (no. DG300-2). The new caretaker commissioned a sympathetic restoration managed by J&L Fabrication in Puyallup, Washington. To preserve its originality, a reproduction 2.7-liter Climax FPF unit was sourced from Crosthwaite & Gardiner in the UK and mounted in place of the original (no. 1254) engine. This engine remains uninstalled, but with the car.

This car competed in 2014 at the Monaco Classic Grand Prix.

by Dan Vaughan

F1 Monoposto
Chassis number: AAR-102
Engine number: AAR 12-1-04

Dan Gurney began his Formula 1 career in 1959 driving for Scuderia Ferrari. In his first four races, he was able to achieve two podiums. This was followed by a miserable 1960 season, driving a BR P48 for Owen Racing Organization. So he joined Porsche's Grand Prix effort. At the 1962 French Grand Prix at Rouen, Guren drove the newly introduced 804 to his first World Championship victory and captured the first Formula 1 win for Porsche.

At the end of the season, Porsche withdrew from Grand Prix competition, leaving Brabham without a job. So Jack Brabham hired Gurney to become a part of his Brabham Racing organization. Between 1963 and 1965, Gurney captured two wins and 10 podium finishes for Brabham including the manufacturer's first World Championship win.

One of the individuals Dan Gurney would meet during his racing career would be Carroll Shelby. The two met as early as 1962, and discussions often led to the idea of building an American Formula 1 car. In 1965, Shelby convinced Goodyear to sponsor a new USAC team led by Dan Gurney. Gurney's team was called the All American Racers and based out of an industrial building in Santa Ana, California.

The newly formed AAR's initial focus was on building an Indy 500 contender. But since no US car and driver combination had ever won a major European Grand Prix since Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg took the French Grand Prix in 1921, the team was compelled to follow their Formula 1 ambition. In 1965, Gurney began work on his first single-seat racing cars, which he dubbed the Eagles. The Eagle MK1 and Eagle MKII were designed in parallel, with the MK1 intended for Formula 1 competition while the MKII was built to compete in the USAC circuit.

Len Terry helped design and build the Indy Grand Prix car. His resume included work on the Indy 500-winning Lotus 38. His design for the AAR car was a full-length riveted aluminum monocoque chassis fitted with a beak nose which had been inspired by the Eagle name. Upon completion, the car was painted in a patriotic blue and white livery.

With a fully modern and advanced chassis, the team now needed an equally impressive power plant. They turned to Aubrey Woods who informed them of a three-liter V-12 that he had been developing with the Weslake Company in Rye, Sussex, England.

The Gurney-Weslake V-12 engine had a four-valve head and developed 410 horsepower at 10,200 RPM. The compact engine weighed just 365 lbs. It was also remarkably flexible, with a full-throttle power curve that began as low as 6,000 RPM.

After development and testing had been completed, the first AAR Eagle MK I, AAR-101, made its racing debut at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

AAR-102

The second Formula 1 chassis built by the AAR team was the Eagle MK I chassis number AAR-102. It was the first example to race with the Aubrey-Woods-developed Gurney Weslake V12. It would make its racing debut in September of 1966 at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the seventh round of the World Championship. Driving duties were given to Dan Gurney. During practice, the car suffered from fuel feed problems and would have to start the race from the back of the grid. It wore race number 30 and would complete just seven laps before high oil temperatures ended its first Grand Prix attempt.

The second race for AAR-102 was the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in October. Though it initially performed well during practice, it was eventually sidelined with low oil pressure and a cracked fuel cell. For the race, Gurney wore number 15 and ran as high as 8th before oil leaked onto the clutch, causing it to slip and ending its second Grand Prix attempt.

The final event of the 1966 season was the Grand Prix of Mexico. This time, Bob Bondurant was behind the wheel of AAR-102 while Gurney raced AAR-101 with its Coventry Climax-powered engine. Once again, AAR-102 encountered trouble with the fuel delivery and was forced out of the race. Gurney and AAR-102, however, would finish the race in 5th place.

On the off-season, the team worked on resolving the various fuel and oil problems that had plagued the AAR-102.

The 1967 racing season began at Brands Hatch International Race of Champions on March 12th. It was a non-championship race that attracted all of the major Formula 1 team. During qualifying, AAR-102 laid to rest any questions to the car's potential as it outpaced the competition by a full second. It even lowered the existing lap record by three seconds. Friday's practice session was also met with favorable results, as Gurney again set the fastest time and was rewarded with 100 bottles of champagne.

The race consisted of two 10-lap heats and the 40-lap main event. Gurney drove AAR-102 to 1st place in the first heat. Gurney won the second heat followed by another Eagle car driven by Richie Ginther (AAR-103). During the main event, Gurney took an early lead and secured a victory over Lorenzo Bandini's Ferrari and Jo Siffert's Cooper-Maserati. This was an impressive accomplishment from AAR-102 considering it suffered from low oil pressure and a smoking engine.

After its victory at Brands Hatch, AAR-102 competed at Monaco, the second round of the 1967 World Championship. Gurney would fail to finish with AAR-103 due to fuel pump issues. Richie Ginther was unable to qualify with AAR-102.

In June, Dan Gurney won both the 24 Hours of LeMans with Ford's MK IV GT40 and the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa with AAR-104, both were milestones for an American driver. This made him only the second driver in history to win a Grand Prix in a car of his own design.

With the 1967 season coming to a close, the team hired Bruce McLaren for three races while his own cars were still being completed. At the French Grand Prix, he qualified well but was forced to retire due to mechanical issues. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, McLaren drove AAR-102 to 7th place until a connecting rod broke. The final Formula 1 outing for the car was at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring. It was in 5th place when it went airborne, bottomed out, and broke the oil scavenge pipe.

After the 1967 season, Gurney decided to split with Weslake. AAR turned its focus on building Indy Cars for USAC events.

AAR-102 was sold in March of 1968 to the Swiss racing team Scuderia Filipinetti. The car was delivered with an underpowered four-cylinder Coventry Climax engine. Filipinetti tried to convince AAR to sell him one of the 23-cylinder Weslake engines but was unsuccessful. The Filipinetti team's driver, Herbert Muller, suggested that a 12-cylinder BRM engine be installed. In the end, Filipinetti became disillusioned with the project and lost the motivation to commit any more energy or time to the Formula 1 program.

Muller would use the Eagle (which had now been painted red with a single white stripe) in local events. After a few racing in 1968, the Eagle retired from racing and resided in the Filipinetti museum for 15 years.

In 1983, AAR-102 was sold to Martin Johnson of Lower Braithwaite Hall, Newby Bridge, England. A short time later, it was advertised for sale in Motor Sport. At the time, it was still finished in its Scuderia Filipinetti livery, had a Coventry Climax engine, and the original Monaco nose from 1967.

The car was purchased by Canadian collector Girvan Patterson. In April of 1984, AAR-102 was airfreighted across the Atlantic and stored at Mr. Patterson's property in Ontario. On October 12th of 1989, it was sold to Miles C. Collier and joined the CH Motor Cars collection in Naples, Florida. At the time, Mr. Collier already owned another Eagle MK 1 (AAR-104, the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix winner) and had acquired an impressive collection of spare components from AAR's remaining supply.

Between 1989 and 1992, AAR-102 was given a restoration to its 1967 Brands hatch configuration, complete with a proper Gurney-Weslake V-12 engine, number AAR 12-1-04.

After the restoration was complete, the car participated in the 1995 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Dan Gurney drove it up the hill. In 1997, Mr. Collier sold AAR-102 to Mark Leonard of Grand Prix Classics who, in turn, sold it to William Zeiring of Talent, Oregon.

In 2003, the car entered its current owner's collection. The new owner obtained an FIA Historic Vehicle Identity Passport and entrusted AAR-102 to Intrepid Motorcar Co. for mechanical attention.

Since that time, the car has participated in several vintage races all over the world.

AAR-102 had been built during the golden age of Formula 1 competition and before the invention of aerodynamic aids and corporate sponsorship. It was driven by many famous drivers of the era including Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Richie Ginther, Bob Bondurant, and Bruce McLaren.

Dan Gurney would enjoy a very impressive racing career with 312 starts, 51 wins, 42 pole positions, and 47 podiums with more than 50 makes and 100 different models. He was the first driver to win races in all four major motor racing categories (Le Mans, NASCAR, Indy Car, and Formula 1).

by Dan Vaughan

F1 Monoposto
Chassis number: 104

This Eagle Mark 1 Weslake, known as the 'Ti-Mag' car, was built from titanium and magnesium. Dan Gurney drove this Eagle to victory at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. During its 13 race attempts, it crossed the finish line on only two occasions, including its victory at Spa and a ninth at the 1968 German Grand Prix.

When Dan Gurney won the Belgian Grand Prix with AAR-104, he became only the second American to drive an American car to Grand Prix Victory. In 1921, Jimmy Murphy won in France with a Dusenberg. Gurney went one better, winning with his own make.

One of the best Grand Prix drivers in the world, Dan had decided to start his own team in 1965. With sponsorship from Goodyear and an Indy win as the goal, Dan nevertheless, decided to fulfill his special dream by racing a Grand Prix version of the Eagle in Europe. His team was based in England and called Anglo-American Racers after the divided origins of its personnel. While early races saw the Eagle powered by a Coventry-Climax four-cylinder, Dan had intended a 3-liter V-12 engine designed by Harry Weslake and Aubrey Woods which was racing by August 1966, despite teething problems that persisted through the balance of the year.

For the 1967 season, Dan built this special Eagle, named the mag-ti car for the magnesium and titanium in its structure. The use of exotic materials overcame the Eagle's weight disadvantage, which stemmed from sharing a common design with the Indy version.

It all came together that day at Spa-Francorchamps when Dan outran the world's fastest Grand Prix cars to seize victory for himself, the Eagle and the United States. Alas, such success was never to recur. Heartbreaking axle failure when he had the German Grand Prix won, a host of front row positions and fastest laps ended only in frustration. Out of time and money by mid-year 1968, Dan went on to see his Eagles dominate Indy in the 1970s. But that one sweet victory in Europe points to what could have been.

The car was later purchased by Briggs Cunningham and placed in his museum where it resided until it closed in the late 1980s. Much of the Cunningham collection was acquired by the Revs Institute in Naples, Florida.

In 2010, the car was shown at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion where Dan Gurney's career was being celebrated. It was later brought to the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed and at the 2012 Goodwood Revival.

Daniel Sexton Gurney was born on April 13th of 1931 in Port Jefferson, New York. During his teenage years, he moved to California. He holds the title as being the only US-born driver to win a Formula Grand Prix, other than the Indianapolis 500, in a car he constructed. His name is legendary in the racing scene, competing in Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am and the Trans-Am Series. Another highlight of his racing career was winning the 24 Hours of LeMans with co-driver A.J. Foyt.

Gurney has contributed much to automotive racing. He has many accomplishments as a driver and constructor. He was the first to spray champagne while celebrating on the podium, a tradition well practiced by many victors even to this day.

In 1958, Gurney drove a Ferrari at the 24 Hours of LeMans. The following year, he was a works driver for the Ferrari marque. By 1960 he was driving for BRM. At the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, a brake system failure caused an accident in his BRM and nearly ended his racing career. The accident left him more cautious, made him re-evaluate his driving style, and created distrust for engineers. His racing style changed and he used the brakes more sparingly. This technique would serve him well throughout his career, especially on the long-distance, endurance races.

In 1961, he joined the factory Porsche team and drove with Jo Bonnier. His first World Championship victory came the following year at the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les_Essarts. The following week, he again emerged as a victory, this time in a non-championship F1 race.

In 1963, Gurney was hired by Jack Brabham. He remained with the Brabham Racing Organization before leaving in 1965 to form his own team. The name of the team was AAR, short for 'All American Racers.' The name had been suggested by Victor Holt, the president of Goodyear at the time after he had been approached by Carroll Shelby for sponsorship. The union worked well, as Goodyear wanted to contest Firestone's domination of American racing, and Gurney and Shelby wanted to race in cars of their own design. The team's initial focus was on competing at Indianapolis and securing the first American Grand Prix victory since 1921.

AAR was able to attract the services of Len Terry of Lotus fame. He had just created the Indy 500 Type 38 and was an excellent candidate to create a dual-purpose chassis that was both versatile and competitive. He began with a riveted aluminum monocoque, similar to that of the Lotus. The F1 version was powered by a 3-liter Weslake V12 engine while the Indy Eagle was powered by a quad-cam Ford V8, also found in the Lotus 38. For the 1966 Indy 500, five cars had been completed.

The first cars completed were the Indy cars; the Weslake engine was not ready. Instead, a four-cylinder engine was mounted in place of the V12 and used in competition. The four-cylinder engines were seriously underpowered, so these races served more as test and development sessions rather than serious competition.

The Harry Weslake V12 engines had twin cams on each bank of cylinders, actuating 48 valves. Initial testing revealed the engine produced just over 360 horsepower; further improvements brought the output to over 400 by 1967. Though their team name was 'All American', the engine and chassis were courtesy of individuals from Great Britain.

The Eagle's powered by twelve-cylinder engines made their racing debut at the 1966 Monza Grand Prix. The Eagles were painted in vibrant livery and featured a unique eagle-like nose. The car raced for seven laps before engine problems side-lined it prematurely. The same fortune was endured the following race, only lasting 13 laps. The engine proved to lack in reliability, as many of the components were hand-formed. For the final race of the season, Gurney reverted back to the Climax engines.

At the conclusion of the season, the team worked hard on finding a suitable engine, improving the car, and reducing the weight of the vehicle. The improvements for the vehicle were extensive. It was given many lightweight components, though it still weighed more than desired when the work was completed.

For the following year, the prospects were optimistic and the team was hopeful. The car's first non-Championship race was at Brands Hatch. A victory was scored but this would prove to be short-lived as reliability problems continued to plague the car in its following races. The fortunes reversed at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa and Dan Gurney scored an impressive Grand Prix victory. This had been the first American car to score a GP victory since 1921 when a Duesenberg won the French Grand Prix.

At Nurburgring, the Eagle was running strong before a driveshaft failure cause the car to retire. This was very disappointing and frustrating; Gurney had been leading and there was only one lap to go. Dan Gurney raced the Eagles for three more races in 1968 and then switched to a McLaren with Cosworth power.

Dan Gurney retired from Grand Prix racing at the close of the season. Instead, he focused his attention on the American Road Racing scene.

The Indy version of the Eagle, the T1G, was a fast machine but suffered from the same shortcomings as its sibling. Reliability was its Achilles heel. Denny Hulme was able to manage a fourth-place finish at the 1967 Indy 500 and Gurney scored a second-place finish the following year. Gurney had been beaten by Bob Unser, who was driving a newer version of the Eagle. His car featured a turbocharged four-cylinder Offenhauser engine.

The goal of the Eagle cars had been accomplished over the three seasons in which they raced. The cars continued their racing career in a variety of American racing series for many years after being retired from the AAR team.

by Dan Vaughan