TGR Staff -06/30/2021
Arguably one of the most iconic cars to ever race in Formula 1, the Tyrrell P34, more commonly known as the six-wheeler, was designed by the legendary Derek Gardner. Using four 10-inch diameter wheels and tires in the front, with two standard size wheels around the back. The P34 was first seen in September 1975 and was campaigned in the 1976 season and proved to be so successful that other teams began developing six-wheeled cars after Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler finished first and second in their P34s. Despite some early success, Scheckter would leave the team at the end of the season declaring that the six-wheeler was "a piece of junk."
In 1977 the P34 was revised into the P34B, wider, heavier, and with new aerodynamics. The car performed poorly in the 1977 season and for 1978 Tyrrell returned to a conventional setup, ending the experiment of six-wheeled Formula 1 cars. While the P34 was the only six-wheeled car to ever win a Formula 1 race, March Engineering, Williams, and even Scuderia Ferrari all built experimental six-wheeled chassis, FIA would later limit the number of wheels to four.
The original P34 chassis have been popular at vintage racing events like Goodwood and Grand Prix Historique de Monaco, this has only been made possible thanks to Avon Tire producing the special 10-inch racing tires required for the front wheels. With the tires back in production, it was only a matter of time until someone started building new six-wheelers, like this one that is listed by RM Sotheby's.
When racer Jonathan Holtzman was unable to buy an original P34, he tapped CGA Race Engineering to build him one. After the blessing from the Tyrrell family, CGA began building brand new chassis based on Derek Gardner's original blueprints, the only difference is that the original titanium roll bar is made of steel to comply with current racing regulations.
The car took a total of about 7,000 hours to complete and is the second continuation car built by the firm. Chassis number P34/10 is currently listed for sale by RM Sotheby's for just over $2.48M, which is a lot for what some may consider a replica, but the car is still eligible for history cares like Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Monaco Grand Prix Historique. With original historic Formula 1 cars changing hands so infrequently it is hard to guess what an original P34 would sell for, but a fair guess is over $20 million.
Head over to RM Sotheby's for more on this amazing car.
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