Can-Am Shadows

At the end of the 1972 season, I left BRM to join Don Nichols and his Shadow race team, my brief was not only to design a Formula One challenger, but also to work on a new sports racing Can-Am car, the DN2. Shadow had competed in the Can-Am series prior to my working for them. The brief was for the car to be designed and built in the UK and shipped over to the U.S. once complete. I had a minute team, but was ably assisted by Andy Smallman and John Gentry. The power unit for the car was a twin-turbo, 8-liter Chevy V8 engine capable of giving 1,200 hp—a mighty power plant. One of the biggest challenges for me was to transfer all that power onto the circuit without any mechanical issues in the transmission. Rolling starts, central to the Can-Am race regulations, were of great assistance—a standing start would be quite unimaginable with all that torque. I employed the use of Hewland’s LG500 gearbox and hefty universal joints and driveshafts from Hardy Spicer to deal with the 1000-lbs-ft of torque generated. Another issue was the huge amount of fuel the car was required to carry, 100 gallons. Having worked previously on the BRM P154 Can-Am car, my first layout sketch of the new car was over a print of that car. Having said that the new car would be  markedly different, more of a wedge shape and chisel nose section. Imperial College, London—a facility I’d used many times in the past, and would use in the future—helped considerably yet again with the necessary wind tunnel work. Center of gravity (GC) caused some debate and scrutiny with particular reference to the siting of the twin turbochargers. The norm with many rival teams, including Porsche, was to mount these high above the gearbox—this compromised the CG, as the weight was too far rearward and behind the rear axle line. My idea was to mount the turbo units separately, one each side of the engine adjacent to the stubby exhaust outlets, exiting from the side of the car, and as low as possible. From a chassis design point of view, I was very pleased as it gave a lower CG, less weight and good aero. The first people to convince were the U.S. engine manufacturers who were, at best, skeptical. Dyno tests proved my theory correct as the engine produced more power, even with the short exhaust system, which they believed would restrict power. I was extremely pleased that my layout was not only neat, but also effective. Competitors soon copied this, which is always a great compliment to any designer, not only in period, but modern turbo racing cars adopt my layout today—it has certainly stood the test of time. The acid test would be racing. It would be Mark Donohue who completely dominated the 1973 Can-Am series driving Roger Penske’s Porsche. Despite a season of unreliability and low power output from the engine, we were very pleased that Jackie Oliver had podium finishes in Edmonton and Laguna Seca. The 1973 season was a difficult one for us, but there was light at the end of the tunnel with a new UK factory works based in Northampton.

The 1974 season was bittersweet. Don Nichols had signed Peter Revson to drive for the team with Jean-Pierre Jarier as his number two teammate. The traditional opening South American Grands Prix in Argentina and Brazil gave us optimism of what we could expect for the remainder of the season with Peter running up with the leaders in those initial races. The next Grand Prix was at Kyalami, South Africa, so prior to the race we decided to do some testing at the circuit with Revson. Both car and driver were working well and producing some great times. Peter wanted to “go for it,” trying some high-speed laps. He left the pit lane and sadly didn’t return. Following a suspension failure, he’d crashed into the Armco on the far side of the track and although rushed to nearby Johannesburg hospital, he sadly succumbed to his injuries. The low, wedge-shaped DN3, together with the relatively high barrier position had conspired to produce this devastating outcome. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so isolated and so far from home in those initial hours and days following Peter’s accident. As a designer and engineer I felt so responsible, it was a difficult time for me on many levels, including my return to the Shadow factory at Northampton. My worries and concerns were soon extinguished as team members on the floor and management, including those associated with Shadow, were very kind and supportive through this dark time—my relief was immense.