1952 Gordini Type 16

Amedee Gordini had always been on a shoe-string budget, but had managed rather impressive results with his little grand prix cars. Unfortunately, Gordini had seemingly stretched his money, and equipment, as far as it would go during the 1951 season. Equipe Gordini managed only token results throughout the entire season, and mostly suffered from failure-after-failure. New regulations for 1952 would provide Amedee with a new challenge, but new life.

Up until 1952, Gordini's main grand prix design had been the small Type 15. Barely longer than a man, the T15's rounded chassis housed a 1.5-liter, supercharged four-cylinder under the hood. In 1950, the T15; with the 1.5-liter supercharged engine, would earn a 4th place result at the Belgian Grand Prix. In 1951, the story would be vastly different.

In 1951, Alfa Romeo's 159 would pick up the dominance the 158 had managed the year prior. But there was also another challenger on the block that would prove even more dominant by the end of the season. Ferrari had built its 4.5-liter V12 375. It would prove to be the class of the Formula One field throughout the later half of the season. The presence of these two dominant chassis pushed the performance of other teams and their cars. The small, nimble T15 could hold its own on the tighter, lower-speed tracks where handling was of utmost importance. However, it severely lacked the horsepower and performance necessary to keep up with the 159 and 375 on the higher-speed circuits.

Gordini had always managed to wrestle the most out of what little he had. In 1952, he would do it once again. Amedee managed to gather enough money to purchase a new 2.0-liter engine, but the horsepower would be much less than Ferrari's new 500.

Heading into the 1952, Gordini had fashioned a new car, the T16. At a quick glance, the car appeared identical to the T15, but there were some refinements to its overall design. Of course one of the main similarities would be its size. The T16 was virtually the same size as the little T15. The small size and weight would make the car quite nimble. Compared to other chassis of the time, the T15 and T16 were more vertically oriented in its design. Other teams would fashion cars that widened out toward the front of the car, thus lowering the center of gravity. The short wheelbase enabled the drivers to slide the car quite successfully. However, while nimble, the T16's narrow design and higher center of gravity would make the car not quite as stable as it could have been.

The overall shape of the car remained very similar to the T15. However, slight alterations were made to the grille at the front of the car. The nose remained blunt when viewed from the side. However, in many instances, a single grille opening was widened slightly more. At certain races the grille-work was totally removed for the purposes of cooling. The T16 retained the archway shaped body styling and louvered hood. One aspect missing from the T16's lines along the top of the hood was the air duct for the supercharger used to boost the 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine used in the T15.

Speaking of the hood, underneath it rested the new 2.0-liter, straight six-cylinder engine Gordini had managed to purchase. It was claimed the engine produced 175 bhp, but it would prove throughout the season that number was greatly exaggerated. Also underneath the car's bodywork was the four-speed transmission. The bodywork was designed around a new ladder-type tubular structure. The structure also featured torsion bars at the front and the rear of the car.

The tiny cockpit was sparse. Only a couple of instruments adorned the instrument panel. The large steering wheel dominated the cockpit. Protruding out from behind the steering wheel was the gear-shift for the four-speed gearbox. A small windscreen was flanked by two small, round mirrors.

Though compact, the cockpit was still quite open. The large, cut-out sides of the cockpit truly exposed the driver and made many unsuspecting drivers feel as though they would fall out after cresting a portion of road that fell off quickly, or, when the car hit a bump in the road. Besides concentrating on driving, the pilots of the T16 would have press their foot against the firewall, and their backs against the seat, in order to remain in the car.

Right behind the driver's back protruded the large opening for the gas tank housed in the bodywork right behind the driver. Also at the back-end of the car was the troublesome rear axle. Throughout the 1952 season, the rear axle would end a number of Equipe Gordini's races. Braking power for the small, nimble T16 was accomplished through four-wheel drum brakes.

Sources:
'Equipe Simca-Gordini T15', (http://www.conceptcarz.com/articles/article.aspx?articleID=68). ConceptCarz: From Concept to Production. http://www.conceptcarz.com/articles/article.aspx?articleID=68. Retrieved 24 February 2011.

'Nimble, elegant, ultimately French', (http://8w.forix.com/gordini.html). 8W: The Stories Behind Motor Racing Facts and Fiction. http://8w.forix.com/gordini.html. Retrieved 24 February 2011.

By Jeremy McMullen