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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Only 4WD Car To Win F1 At Auction
Ferguson F99 Climax that was driven to victory by Stirling Moss comes up for auction today...
The Ferguson P99 Climax made history in the early 1960s as the only four-wheel-drive car to ever win a Grand Prix race. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
The unique Ferguson P99 Climax, built in 1961, is the only four-wheel-drive car ever to win a Formula 1 race. This was the 1961 Oulton Gold Cup, where Stirling Moss made the most of the damp conditions and took a historic victory.
The car made only a single Grand Prix appearance but was subsequently raced in a variety of events. Three years after its debut, it won the British Hillclimb Championship in the hands of Peter Westbury. After its active racing career, it was loaned to the Donnington Collection where it remained on display for more 30 years.
The historic F1 race car is coming up for auction today at RM Auctions’ London sale, where the presale estimate runs as high as $900,000.
During the 1950s, all-wheel-drive systems had become popular for vehicles venturing out into rough terrain Toward the end of the decade, Harry Ferguson felt that his new AWD system was so efficient that it could also be used on race tracks. There had been similar attempts in the past, but the system proved difficult to implement and the additional drivetrain often soaked up a lot of the engine's performance.
To prove his point, he did not just join a local racing series but immediately went all out by having a Formula 1 car designed. He did so at a time when the sport was going through some fundamental changes so it was very difficult for a new team to keep up. Harry Ferguson was determined to make it a success and hired former Jaguar and Aston Martin employees as technical directors.
When the project started, Cooper was still in the process of convincing the rest of the world that the mid-engine layout was really a step forward. Ferguson's engineers must have figured that the four-wheel-drive system would eliminate most of the new layout's advantages and that a 50:50 weight balance was going to be key, so they chose a conventional front-engine layout.
There was nothing extraordinary about the tubular spaceframe chassis that they drafted up, either. To compensate for the additional weight of the more complex drivetrain, many of the non-load-bearing parts were made from very lightweight exotic materials.
As the project was nearing completion, the announcement of changing the maximum displacement for Formula 1 from 2.5 to 1.5 liters was a major disappointment for the Ferguson team. All of a sudden, efficiency was even more important and the future of the project looked dim.
It also did not help that the British manufacturers were reluctant to accept or merely ignored these rule changes, so there was no suitable engine available for the 1961 season. As a stop-gap the British teams were forced to use a modified version of the old four-cylinder Climax engine, whereas Ferrari was miles ahead with its powerful V6 engines. Ferguson carried on and the car was completed in time for the British Grand Prix at Aintree.
In the months building up to the introduction, Ferguson's PR machine did a very good job and the Ferguson P99 was prominently featured in many automotive magazines. Of course, the main point of interest was the four-wheel-drive system.
It consisted of a transfer box bolted directly to the five-speed gearbox. The engine was installed at an angle to make room for the driveshaft to the front differential. The rear driveshaft was installed on the left side of the chassis and the driving position was slightly off-center to the right. Similar to the weight balance, the torque was divided evenly between the front and rear wheels. Thanks to very smart packaging, the completed car was very low and looked quite the part.
For the British Grand Prix, the car was handed to Rob Walker, who entered it liveried in his familiar colors for Jack Fairman. He struggled with the car throughout the race even though the wet conditions were in its favor and was eventually relieved from his duties by Stirling Moss. In Moss's hands, the Ferguson started to show its real class as the talented British racer piloted it up the leaderbord. Unfortunately, the car was disqualified for receiving a push-start earlier in the race.
Impressed by the P99, Moss spent a lot of time that summer adopting a new driving style better suited to the four-wheel-drive car. He showcased the car's true potential at the non-Championship race at Oulton Park, where he scored a victory in damp conditions.
The car made only a single Grand Prix appearance but was subsequently raced in a variety of events. Three years after its debut, it won the British Hillclimb Championship in the hands of Peter Westbury. After its active racing career, it was loaned to the Donnington Collection where it remained on display for more 30 years.
The historic F1 race car is coming up for auction today at RM Auctions’ London sale, where the presale estimate runs as high as $900,000.
During the 1950s, all-wheel-drive systems had become popular for vehicles venturing out into rough terrain Toward the end of the decade, Harry Ferguson felt that his new AWD system was so efficient that it could also be used on race tracks. There had been similar attempts in the past, but the system proved difficult to implement and the additional drivetrain often soaked up a lot of the engine's performance.
To prove his point, he did not just join a local racing series but immediately went all out by having a Formula 1 car designed. He did so at a time when the sport was going through some fundamental changes so it was very difficult for a new team to keep up. Harry Ferguson was determined to make it a success and hired former Jaguar and Aston Martin employees as technical directors.
When the project started, Cooper was still in the process of convincing the rest of the world that the mid-engine layout was really a step forward. Ferguson's engineers must have figured that the four-wheel-drive system would eliminate most of the new layout's advantages and that a 50:50 weight balance was going to be key, so they chose a conventional front-engine layout.
There was nothing extraordinary about the tubular spaceframe chassis that they drafted up, either. To compensate for the additional weight of the more complex drivetrain, many of the non-load-bearing parts were made from very lightweight exotic materials.
As the project was nearing completion, the announcement of changing the maximum displacement for Formula 1 from 2.5 to 1.5 liters was a major disappointment for the Ferguson team. All of a sudden, efficiency was even more important and the future of the project looked dim.
It also did not help that the British manufacturers were reluctant to accept or merely ignored these rule changes, so there was no suitable engine available for the 1961 season. As a stop-gap the British teams were forced to use a modified version of the old four-cylinder Climax engine, whereas Ferrari was miles ahead with its powerful V6 engines. Ferguson carried on and the car was completed in time for the British Grand Prix at Aintree.
In the months building up to the introduction, Ferguson's PR machine did a very good job and the Ferguson P99 was prominently featured in many automotive magazines. Of course, the main point of interest was the four-wheel-drive system.
It consisted of a transfer box bolted directly to the five-speed gearbox. The engine was installed at an angle to make room for the driveshaft to the front differential. The rear driveshaft was installed on the left side of the chassis and the driving position was slightly off-center to the right. Similar to the weight balance, the torque was divided evenly between the front and rear wheels. Thanks to very smart packaging, the completed car was very low and looked quite the part.
For the British Grand Prix, the car was handed to Rob Walker, who entered it liveried in his familiar colors for Jack Fairman. He struggled with the car throughout the race even though the wet conditions were in its favor and was eventually relieved from his duties by Stirling Moss. In Moss's hands, the Ferguson started to show its real class as the talented British racer piloted it up the leaderbord. Unfortunately, the car was disqualified for receiving a push-start earlier in the race.
Impressed by the P99, Moss spent a lot of time that summer adopting a new driving style better suited to the four-wheel-drive car. He showcased the car's true potential at the non-Championship race at Oulton Park, where he scored a victory in damp conditions.
Goodwood Festival Of Speed
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