Article: Peter Hoffmann's 'Jumbo' Commodore

[Steve Holmes]

I’ve always had a fascination with odd-ball race cars, no matter how successful or otherwise they were. It was in the newly released model car section of Classic & Sports Car magazine recently that I spotted a curious looking 1:43 scale sedan-come-Can-Am car, that was described as “Peter Hoffmann 1974 Opel Commodore Interserie racer” that my interest was piqued. Pictured was a bright yellow two door Opel Commodore, with large flares, and massive front and rear wings, the latter of which looked like it had been plucked straight off a Porsche 917/10 Can-Am car.

As many of you will know, the Interserie was a European version of the SCCA Group 7 Can-Am series, that first began in 1970, and continued until 1985. Its longevity can probably be attributed to its failure to actually replicate the Can-Am, in that it was never really strong on actual big block Can-Am cars. Rather, its numbers were made up largely by small and medium capacity European sports cars, as well as endurance sports cars, of which there were vast numbers throughout Europe.

Witness the very first Interserie race, held at the Norisring in June 1970. Of the 26 cars that showed up, 13 were Porsche’s of various types, including 917K, 908/02, 907, 910. In addition was an Alfa T33/3, Ferrari 512S, half a dozen Lola T70 MkIIIB coupes, and a Chevron B8. A lone McLaren M12, March 707, and McLaren M6B were the only real Can-Am type cars in the race. The early years of the series were dominated by Porsche, and this became much more the case with the arrival of the mighty 917/10, which also wiped the floor with the competition in the Can-Am series when it arrived in 1972. And this is what captured my attention when I saw that little 1:43 scale model. Surely this wasn’t a car built to take on the mighty Can-Am cars? Well, no, not quite.

For 1974, the Interserie widened its scope, by introducing a new category for modified sedans, called Super Stock, most of which were Group 2 cars, such as Capri RS2600 and RS3100, BMW CSL’s, Camaros, and the like. And it was for this new class a wild looking Opel Commodore was constructed. The driver was Peter Hoffmann, whose name I recognised as being a long-time racer of a bright pink McLaren M8F Can-Am car in the Interserie, and in historic racing events. To the best of my knowledge, he still owns the McLaren.

German driver Peter Hoffmann was and is an enthusiast of American V8 powered racing machines, having initially raced BMW's, he contested various European events in a Camaro and Corvette up until 1974.

Of the Opel, I did a quick internet search to see what results came up, but not a lot is known. One site provided a little info, and actually suggested there were two cars made, constructed by Opel tuning brand Steinmetz. Power came from a 6 litre Chevrolet V8, of which the beautifully crafted headers swooped up and over the inner fenders, before rolling back down behind the front wheels, exiting beneath the doors. But the real visual impact came from those huge front and rear spoilers.

Of the Opel’s racing record, it appears brief. Entered as an Opel Commodore ‘Jumbo’, it made its Interserie debut at Round 2, held at the Nurburgring, where Hoffmann finished 27^th outright, and 4^th in class. The term Jumbo, I assume, was a nickname given to the car thanks to its extreme appendages. Against a smaller field at Kassel-Calden, Hoffmann placed 10^th from 16 cars. It also contested two German SRP events, which were largely open class competitions that allowed virtually anything to compete. But he failed to place in either.

And that was it. The Jumbo made no more Interserie appearances in 1974, and it appears the Super Stock class was dropped from the series for 1975. Hoffmann continued in the series in 1975, in the McLaren M8F that he would race for many years.

The website where I found the small amount of info on the car said the Jumbo was put on display at an Opel dealer for a short time, before being placed in storage. It was then said to have been cannibalized for its parts, the remainder of which was scrapped. Interestingly, when doing a search on ‘Steinmetz Commodore’, I found there were at least two other scale model variations produced; one in red with Tabac Original signage, and one in white with Pan-Am signage. Albeit, these were slot car models, which are sometimes total fabrications created to produce multiple variations on a single theme. However, if these were based on real paint schemes, then the Jumbo wore three different coats of paint, so therefore likely raced somewhere beyond the Interserie.

In the history of world motorsport, this wacky Opel Commodore is a virtual unknown, its short career and ultimate fate almost completely lost to the sands of time. But as far as odd-ball racers go, ‘Jumbo’, this little-known curiosity, certainly deserves a mention.

[Steve Holmes]

Here are a handful of photos found on the internet.

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

And the 1:43 scale model that grabbed my attention in the first place.

[GD66]

Wow, a ripper !

[Roger Dowding]

And the 1:43 scale model that grabbed my attention in the first place.

That is radical, those Germans did some weird stuff to saloons, BMW 3 series at that time, the Zakspeed Capri's and there was a very longnose BMW 3 series that I think raced in 1981 . this is the Spark Model, see John B, it is in stock ..

[gokiwi]

Not about the Commodore but another Hoffman/McLaren link

[​IMG]

The McLaren C8 was a Group C racing car built in 1982 by Peter Hoffman, using a 1972 M8F chassis and Chevrolet 454 V8 engine. The engine proved to be fragile, leading to the car often retiring from races. It started racing in 1983 with Peter Hoffmann owning the only C8, which he ran until 1999.

In 1982, Peter Hoffmann rebuilt his 1972 McLaren M8F in order to comply with the new Group C regulations with a 454 Chevrolet V8. He first ran it in the 8th round of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) at Hockenheim but he retired. He was also unsuccessful at the next round, also held at Hockenheim, with him retiring after 26 laps.

He then switched to Interserie, and entered at Round 6, held at Siegerland. He finished 2nd, 40 seconds behind Volkert Merl's Porsche 908/3 Turbo. He went back to the DRM at Nurburgring but retired again. He ended up 16th in the Interserie driver's standings with 15 points.

He used the C8 again in 1984 but was even more unsuccessful. He retired from rounds 2 & 3 of Interserie and missed several races altogether, before retiring from the series. He didn't use the car at all in 1985 but entered the first round of the ADAC Sport Auto Supercup in 1986, held at the Nurburgring, but was last out of all the finishers, finishing 11th. He then retired at Hockenheim and switched to the Holbert CAC-2 he used earlier that season.

Despite not using the C8 for 6 years, he decided to run it in 2 rounds of the Intercontinental Supersports Cup (ISC) in 1992, where he finished 2nd at the Nurburgring, before struggling at Silverstone, finishing 36th. He then entered 3 rounds in 1993 but retired from all 3. The C8 was unused in 1994 and his attempt to run it at ISC Nurburgring in 1995 also ended in retirement.

Hoffman then entered 5 ISC races in 1996, retired from 2, was unable to even start 1 but managed to finish 2nd in 1 Nurburgring round and managed to get the cars first victory at another round at the Nurburgring. He failed to start 4 races in 1997 before taking 2nd at Brno. He attempted to start 3 races in 1998 and 1 in 1999 but was unable to start any of them and the McLaren C8 never raced again.

Specifications:
Body Style: Closed Cockpit Prototype Racing Car
Length: N/A
Width: N/A
Height: N/A
Wheelbase: N/A
Engine: Chevrolet "454" 7.4 V8
Aspiration: Naturally Aspirated
Drivetrain: Mid Engine Rear Wheel Drive
Power: N/A
Torque: N/A
Weight: N/A
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual

[seaqnmac27]

Unfortunately, it's only the preview, so it only has bad music no engine notes, but 44seconds in...

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Sean, great video.

[Steve Holmes]

Not about the Commodore but another Hoffman/McLaren link

[​IMG]

The McLaren C8 was a Group C racing car built in 1982 by Peter Hoffman, using a 1972 M8F chassis and Chevrolet 454 V8 engine. The engine proved to be fragile, leading to the car often retiring from races. It started racing in 1983 with Peter Hoffmann owning the only C8, which he ran until 1999.

In 1982, Peter Hoffmann rebuilt his 1972 McLaren M8F in order to comply with the new Group C regulations with a 454 Chevrolet V8. He first ran it in the 8th round of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) at Hockenheim but he retired. He was also unsuccessful at the next round, also held at Hockenheim, with him retiring after 26 laps.

He then switched to Interserie, and entered at Round 6, held at Siegerland. He finished 2nd, 40 seconds behind Volkert Merl's Porsche 908/3 Turbo. He went back to the DRM at Nurburgring but retired again. He ended up 16th in the Interserie driver's standings with 15 points.

He used the C8 again in 1984 but was even more unsuccessful. He retired from rounds 2 & 3 of Interserie and missed several races altogether, before retiring from the series. He didn't use the car at all in 1985 but entered the first round of the ADAC Sport Auto Supercup in 1986, held at the Nurburgring, but was last out of all the finishers, finishing 11th. He then retired at Hockenheim and switched to the Holbert CAC-2 he used earlier that season.

Despite not using the C8 for 6 years, he decided to run it in 2 rounds of the Intercontinental Supersports Cup (ISC) in 1992, where he finished 2nd at the Nurburgring, before struggling at Silverstone, finishing 36th. He then entered 3 rounds in 1993 but retired from all 3. The C8 was unused in 1994 and his attempt to run it at ISC Nurburgring in 1995 also ended in retirement.

Hoffman then entered 5 ISC races in 1996, retired from 2, was unable to even start 1 but managed to finish 2nd in 1 Nurburgring round and managed to get the cars first victory at another round at the Nurburgring. He failed to start 4 races in 1997 before taking 2nd at Brno. He attempted to start 3 races in 1998 and 1 in 1999 but was unable to start any of them and the McLaren C8 never raced again.

Specifications:
Body Style: Closed Cockpit Prototype Racing Car
Length: N/A
Width: N/A
Height: N/A
Wheelbase: N/A
Engine: Chevrolet "454" 7.4 V8
Aspiration: Naturally Aspirated
Drivetrain: Mid Engine Rear Wheel Drive
Power: N/A
Torque: N/A
Weight: N/A
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual

Thats really interesting. Do you have any photos of the C8?