This DeTomaso 505 was restored from the car wrecked by Piers Courage in the Spanish Grand Prix. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
A racer himself, Alejandro De Tomaso turned to building single-seat racing cars in late 1959. The DeTomasos competed in most classes including Formula 1, but they were not particularly successful and De Tomaso switched to building road cars.
His second road car, the Mangusta, proved to be a success, and De Tomaso commissioned the construction of a brand new single-seat racer. Instead of designing the car himself, De Tomaso called in the help of Gianpaolo Dallara, who had previously worked for Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini where he helped develop the Miura.
Dallara's first DeTomaso was a Formula 2 car built for the 1969 season. It combined a boxy aluminum monocoque with the latest Cosworth FVA engine. It was raced early in the season with little success by Jonathan Williams and Jacky Ickx.
For the Rome Grand Prix at Vallelunga, the car was handed to Frank Williams. He entered the car for the young and talented gentleman driver Piers Courage. The Englishman qualified the DeTomaso on the front row and finished the first heat in third. These encouraging results convinced De Tomaso that it was time to step up to Formula 1 in 1970.
In addition to designing the Pantera road car, Dallara also received the task of penning the company's new Formula 1 racer. Like most of the contemporary machines, the DeTomaso 505 was built around the readily available and competitive Cosworth DFV engines.
The aluminum monocoque tub and all-round independent suspension did not break new ground, and compared with the competition, the first 505 was a little bulky and considerably overweight. Williams saw his dream of running his own Formula 1 team become reality as he was asked to run the car for Piers Courage.
Subtle changes to the chassis regulations had left a large portion of the 1969 field obsolete, so the DeTomaso was one of many new machines entered in the season opening South African Grand Prix. Sadly it was the slowest of the new cars with Courage only managing to outpace three older chassis in qualifying. He retired halfway through the race after an accident.
It did not get much better in the next race at Jarama where Courage wrecked the car in practice. Two new chassis were built, and they were considerably lighter than the original due to the extensive use of magnesium.
