Formula 5000 – 2011 Market & Price Guide

Formula 5000 was a racing series for open wheel, single-seater racing cars built to a specific set of rules. The engine of choice was the venerable small block Chevrolet V8 of 5.0 liters displacement. It started as a bright idea in 1967 and ran successfully until politics between the governing body, race organizers, and team owners did it in at the end of the 1976 season.

Although there were four competitive F5000 championships: the Rothmans series in Europe; the Tasman series in Australia and New Zealand; and the Tarmac series in Britain; the heart and soul of Formula 5000 was the North American series. In the early 1970s it was known as the L&M Championship after title sponsor L&M Tobacco. In 1974 the SCCA and rival governing body USAC merged to run Formula 5000. A variety of chassis manufacturers took part, but the car that dominated the later years of the series was the Lola T332.  Even though the rules allowed the turbocharged Offenhauser engine to run, the engine that dominated the series was the five-liter Chevy V8 that could put out a reliable 550 bhp and 425 lbs-ft of torque at 8000 rpm. In fact, during the series’ final seven seasons, Chevrolets won all but three races. George Follmer took two wins with a Lotus 70-Ford and Jackie Oliver won once in a Dodge-powered Shadow DN6.

Even though many other top drivers such as Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, David Hobbs, James Hunt, Alan Jones, Jody Scheckter and Al Unser took part, the dominant driver one associates with Formula 5000 is Brian Redman who won the championship in 1974, ’75 and ’76.

The first Long Beach Grand Prix in 1975, promoted by Chris Pook, was for Formula 5000 cars. Today Formula 5000 cars represent a lot of racing performance for one’s dollar. In fact, one of the most important factors determining value is the cost and quality of the restoration.

In the U.S., F5000s have eligibility under the Monoposto register’s Formula 70 rules, and run with many historic clubs.

1975 Chevron B30 F5000

Derek Bennett’s Chevron cars of Bolton, England, best known for its championship winning 2-liter sports prototypes, had considerable success in the Formula 5000 series with their B24, B28, B30 and B37 designs. The 1975 B30 was an adaptation of the Formula Two B29 design. It was built specifically for David Purley who had the family LEC Refrigeration sponsorship. Purley and Bennett wanted to use the 3.4-liter Cosworth Ford V6 engine that was allowed to run in what was normally a 5.0-liter V8 series. This new car took 2nd place in the opening round of the Shell Sport F5000 series at Brands Hatch. Purley went on to win the Oulton Park Gold Cup at the end of the season, ahead of the Lola T332 of Vern Schuppan and the Lola T400s of Teddy Pilette and Peter Gethin. For 1976, the Shell Sport 5000 series was run under Group 8 regulations and Formula One and Formula Two chassis were also on the grid. The B30 was further developed with a new front wing and other changes. It was tested and sorted by Derek Bell. The B30 with David Purley driving won the series with six wins over the V6-powered March 751 of Damien Magee. At the end of 1976, the F5000 series ended in England, as well as  the USA. The Chevron B36 was a championship-winning one-off design with a 4.6-liter Cosworth Ford.

1973 Trojan T101 F5000

Trojan had been the customer arm of McLaren cars since late 1964 when they built the first McLaren Elva Mark 1A sports racing cars. The customer Can-Am McLarens were built by Trojan, as were all of the F5000 cars as well. McLaren stopped production of customer cars by 1973. Trojan continued on in 1973 with its own design for an F5000 car. The T101 was the front end of the M21 F2 car and the rear end of the M22 F5000 car. This may sound odd, but there was a lot of design talent at Trojan, with Ralph Bellamy having designed the earlier cars and ex-Brabham designer Ron Tauranac brought in to sort out the new T101 design. Five T101 F5000 cars were sold. The most notable success achieved in a T101was Jody Scheckter driving one in the USA F5000 series. Scheckter won three times and finished 2nd once out of the first four races, and went on to win the championship. In England, Brett Lunger drove a T101 to victory in his debut race at Snetterton and again at Mallory Park. The car was clearly competitive, but this early success was not to continue as Tauranac was consumed by his work on the Formula One project, resulting in the F5000 car not getting the development it needed.

Criteria Used For Assessing Valuations for this Guide:

• Degree of Originality
• Overall Condition, Restoration
• Technology, Design, Coachbuilder
• Production Numbers/Rarity
• Competition History
• Ownership History, Documentation
• Modern Event Eligibility

Regional Variances

The prices stated in this guide are based on U.S. values. The values of historic racing cars can vary as much as 25%-35% in other countries, depending on local market appeal, currency rates, import duties, and VAT. Most of the time, we are able to document known sales or closed escrows, as they say in real estate. When this is not possible, a logical estimate of the car’s value is given, based on its sales history and relationship to cars of its type.

The prices stated in this guide are based on U.S. values. The values of historic racing cars can vary as much as 25%-35% in other countries, depending on local market appeal, currency rates, import duties, and VAT.