Scuderia (dragster)
Scuderia is a streamliner dragster.[1]
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Williams-Devine-McDougall (racing team) |
| Designer | Jack Williams |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Top Gas |
| Body style | Slingshot streamliner dragster |
| Related | None |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 404 cu in (6,620 cc) Chrysler hemi |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | None |
In 1963, Jack Williams' Vancouver, British Columbia–based drag racing team (Williams-Devine-McDougall) rebuilt Williams' old slingshot rail with a new aluminum body (painted in blue metalflake), with a very long, pointed nose, faired-in engine, and blue-tinted Lexan canopy over the cockpit.[2] The car's front wheels were spoked motorcycle wheels, the exhausts long "weed cutter"-style pipes (exiting horizontally, rather than vertically).[3]
The engine was a 404 cu in (6,620 cc) Chrysler hemi with a front-driven Potvin supercharger. Ron Lowe replaced Devine and McDougall.[4]
Scuderia made her debut at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, California in Top Gas, recording a best pass of 8.83 seconds at 169.17 mph (272.25 km/h) before mechanical trouble sidelined her. She also won the "Best Appearing" award.[5] At Arlington, Scuderia set a Top Gas record (average of two passes) at 162.22 mph (261.07 km/h).[6]
The car was retired in 1967. In the 1980s, Scuderia made a comeback when Williams entered her in West Coast nostalgia drag races, crashing at Fremont. He restored the car and returned to racing in the early 1990s.[7]
Notes
- Taylor, Thom. "Jack Williams-Ron Lowe Syndicate Scuderia Dragster", in "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone", p. 42.
- Taylor, p. 42 and photo.
- Taylor, p. 42 and photo.
- Taylor, p. 42.
- Taylor, p. 42.
- Taylor, p. 42.
- Taylor, p. 42.
Sources
- Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp.30–43.