In 1966, Chaparral raced their 2D coupe in the European Sports Car Championship. It was powered by a 5.3 Liter Chevy making about 425 to 450 hp in race trim (dialed back for reliability).
Like Ferrari and Porsche, the 2D wasn't going to match the raw speed on the 7 Liter Ford GT-40 Mk.II cars. However, it was usually faster on the tight, difficult circuits, and won at Nurburgring. It's 3-speed semi-automatic transmission worked almost flawlessly. You started this car with the gear lever in low, and your left foot on the brakes. To go, you just let off the brakes and applied power. To upshift, you just lifted and moved the gear lever. To downshift, you shifted to neutral, blipped the throttle and moved the lever to the next lower gear. Simple, with no clutch. The GM "automatic" fed in torque with virtually no wheel spin. Chaparrals were very easy to drive smoothly. However, they required very large brakes and lots of brake cooling as there was zero compression braking...
Here's the 2D coupe:
Jim Hall and Chaparral were accepted into the European racing community, unlike Ford which was very much disliked. Chaparral ran a one car team, on a shoestring budget. Most of their mechanics were German born, and they selected Frankfort as their home away from home. Chaparral's drivers were both loved in Europe. One, the former Ferrari F1 driver and 1961 world champion, Phil Hill. The second driver was the outgoing and very popular, Jo Bonnier. The team quickly assimilated into the European racing culture and were welcomed by their competition. They were always fast, always a threat to win. Ford, on the other hand, came to conquer. Rather than join the party, they wanted to own the party. In 2014 dollars, Ford spent well over $300 million to develop the GT-40 Mk.II and in '67, the Mk.IV cars.
Ford had one mission beginning in 1964... Crush Ferrari. They began this conquest in earnest at Daytona and Sebring in 1965. At Sebring, Ford ran into a snag. That snag was called Chaparral. Jim Hall entered two of his Chaparral 2 sports racers that year. This was the first time this type of car was permitted to race. Enzo Ferrari, ever pompous beyond measure, withdrew the factory Ferrari cars in protest. The reality was that he expected Ford to dominate, and this was a good excuse to bail out with some dignity. Ferrari was still represented by some fast privateers, such as John Surtees in a 250 LM Spyder. No one expected the "plastic" Chaparrals to finish the race. No one, that is, except Hall and Sharp. Fortune always favors the prepared, and Hall and his partner and co-driver, Hap Sharp were prepared. His Chaparral 2 won the 12 hour race, four laps ahead of the fastest Ford. Drivers of the 5 Liter GT-40s were shocked to find that the Chaparrals could pass them anywhere on the track. Down the straights, the Chaparrals were almost 15 mph faster.
For 1966, Ford switched to the 427 engine. The 5 Liter GT-40s simply weren't fast enough. At the fast circuits like Daytona and Le Mans, the big Fords were very fast down the straights and had lots of torque for getting off corners. The fact that they handled like a bus compared to the agile Ferrari P3s and the Chaparral didn't matter much. The 7 Liter cars would never compete on tracks were horsepower didn't necessarily rule. Ford won all three major races in 1966, including a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans.
This outcome didn't dissuade Chaparral, who competed at all of the venues. For 1967, Chaparral would return with a new car, powered by an aluminum 427 Chevy and state of the art aerodynamics. This car was 2F.
Hall built the new 2F coupe on one 2D chassis and a second one on an older Chaparral 2 chassis. Both used composite material monocoques, rather than aluminum and steel. It embodied the radical technology introduced with the 1966 2E Can-Am racer. This new car's shape had been extensively tested (on scale models) in the General Motors wind tunnel by the GM R&D folks. It employed a high 2 position wing, controlled by the driver. This wing was mounted directly to the rear wheel hub carriers. This loaded the tires, not the chassis. This meant that high rate, ultra stiff springs were unnecessary. Bumps and rough tracks would not be a problem for handling. With side mounted radiators, the nose was free to be designed for high down force. All of this development resulted in a very low drag car with huge down force when the driver wanted it.
For 1967, the new 2F debuted at the Daytona 24 hours. Ford entered a herd of GT-40 Mk.II cars. Ferrari showed up with three factory 330 P4s and one P4/P3. Ford designated the Andretti/Ginther car as the rabbit, the car to set a blistering pace and hopefully wear out the Ferrari's. In pre-qualification practice, the Chaparral was fast, faster than the Fords. Determined to gain the publicity of having the pole, Ford asked Goodyear for help. Goodyear supplied Ford with two sets of experimental soft compound tires. The Gurney/Foyt car was selected for their use. Indeed, they just managed to edge out the 2F for the pole. A Chaparral 2D, re-engined with a 427 Chevy, qualified 8th.
On race day, the field performed the warm-up and pace lap, and took the green flag. The Chaparral, driven by Britain's Mike Spence, simply checked out. Gone. Andretti tried to keep pace, but was losing ground at a rate of 2 seconds per lap. A hint of terror crept into the thinking of the team managers of both Ford and Ferrari. Was this going to another Sebring-like romp for Chaparral? Clearly, the 2F was the fastest car on the track. Ferrari never intended to try keeping pace with the Fords. They would just motor around and wait to see if the Fords faltered. This Chaparral hadn't changed things, except that if the 2F didn't break, it was going to win with ease. Early in the race, the Andretti car slowed, the first victim of the ridiculous pace being set by the 2F. Meanwhile, Hall's tortoise, the 2D, laid back, not being pushed. It fell back a few places, but gained them back due to attrition. If the 2F faltered, the 2D would pick up the pace.
Pace lap, Daytona 24 hours, 1967. Chaparral 2F outside row one. The 2D is back in 8th.
End Part 1
