It is time there were more threads on the single seat race cars. To start the ball rolling I bring you photos of one of the least successful race cars to line up on an F1 grid, but a make of car that still holds some magic, and interest 50+ years later.
The Scarab was well known in USA sports car racing with much success, in 1958 the owner Lance Reventlow decided to build an F1 car to take on the Europeans with an 'all American' car. The design and build period was too lengthy, problems getting the engine to run properly and produce enough power meant that it was 1960 before the car was to make its debut at the Monaco GP. The hype out of the USA had made the European teams wary that they were going to be faced with a strong competitor, however all hopes the Scarab team had turned to custard at the first practice session, with times that would have barely scraped them onto the FJ grid. In the end the the Scarab team turned up at three European races, and competed in two, and had one car at the final race of the 2.5 litre Formula, the USA Grand Prix. In 1961 one car was fitted with the Offenhauser engine that had been used for testing the car before their engine was ready, and driven in some of the British Intercontinental races before a big crash at Silverstone destroyed chassis #2 and injured driver Chuck Daigh.
If you want to read the full history of the Scarab cars I can recomend the book "Scarab" by Preston Lerner.
I have seen two Scarab single seaters, both from 1960, the #3 chassis that was never fitted with an engine. It was built and sent over for the 1960 Dutch GP without an engine, as the engine wasn't ready. It has been on display in the Donington Museum since it opened, not sure if it still there as a lot of cars have been sold recently.
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Originally Posted by pallmall
