Formula One – 2011 Market & Price Guide

After some fifty years of automobile racing, the Grand Prix Formula, or Formula One, was formed by the FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) in 1950 with its first race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. This was to be the first World Drivers Championship, in the world’s most technically advanced single-seater racing cars. In 1958 the World Constructors Championship was added. Now one would at last know who the best driver in the world was as well as which manufacturers had constructed the best racing car. FISA was Formula One’s administrative body, which saw that everyone played by the ever-changing rules. In this guide I am going to cover the period 1966–1983 for cars built to a 500-kg to 585-kg weight minimum, and powered by 3.0-liter normally aspirated engines.

Formula One started from very humble beginnings. Teams were comprised of a group of talented people working out of small garages, trying to find the money to go racing. During this timeframe the miracle of the racing sponsor was created, and teams grew in size. Great inventions were designed, such as the 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV engine, the slick racing tire, aerodynamic aides from simple wings to full ground effects. This was the beginning of the English racing car industry with manufacturers who relied heavily on Cosworth engines and Hewland gearboxes, and the racing comeback of Alfa Romeo. World championship drivers included Andretti, Brabham, Fittipaldi, Hill, Hulme, Hunt, Jones, Lauda, Piquet, Rindt, Rosberg, Scheckter and Stewart.

Historic Formula One races are run by the U.S.-based HGP (Historic Grand Prix) which allows cars to run from 1966–1983 with 3.0-liter normally aspirated, non-turbo engines, and no sliding skirts.  In Europe there is the FIA Historic Formula One Championship that includes cars up until 1985, provided they are non-turbo, with no sliding skirts. The GPM (Grand Prix Masters) allows cars to run through 1977, which are non-turbo, non-ground-effect cars. The Monaco Historic Grand Prix is for cars 1977 and older.

1979 Alfa Romeo 179

Alfa Romeo was a dominant force in Grand Prix racing in the late 1920s and 1930s, with cars like the P3 and drivers like Tazio Nuvolari. Alfa Romeo continued its winning ways by winning the Grand Prix World Championship in 1950 with Farina and 1951 with Fangio in the Alfetta 159. After that Alfa Romeo focused on GT and sports prototype racing. By 1977 it had been 25 years since fielding a Grand Prix entry and victory. With the dedication and resolve of engineer Carlo Chiti and the competition department Auto Delta which he created, and the success of the Chiti-designed Tipo 33 sports prototype, Alfa Romeo management was looking at Grand Prix racing. Witnessing the success of the Tipo 33 3-liter flat-12 engine in the Brabham BT45 Formula One car in 1976 convinced Alfa Romeo management to enter Grand Prix racing once again and build their own car. In 1977 Alfa Romeo returned to Grand Prix competition with the Tipo 177 Formula One car powered by the 3-liter flat-12 engine. This car evolved into the 1979 Tipo 179. The engine was now a 3-liter 60-degree V-12 producing 525 hp and the gearbox a 6-speed. The car was a monocoque design employing the engine as a stressed member. Alfa Romeo was unique in this era as only Ferrari and, previously, BRM, and to some degree Matra, built everything themselves,  chassis, engine, gearbox, wheels, bodywork, etc. Most constructors used Cosworth engines and Hewland gearboxes. This all-Italian-built Formula One car is an example of Chiti’s engineering genius and Alfa Romeo’s commitment to engineering  excellence. It is also part of the car’s appeal. Drivers of the Tipo 179 were Brambilla, Giacomelli and Depallier. By 1981 the glorious sound of the V-12 was replaced by a 1.5-liter turbo V-8.

1974 Hesketh 308B

Lord Alexander Hesketh was barely in his twenties when his team entered Formula One. The team with the teddy bear mascot, a manager by the name of “Bubbles” Horsely and a driver, James Hunt, who had just been fired by March. It had no commercial sponsor, only the private funding of a young Lord Hesketh known for his ability to throw a great party. What emerged from the group was a great designer in Dr. Harvery Postlethwaite, the very competitive Hesketh 308B and a future World Champion in James Hunt. Although the team raced in 1973 with a modified March 731, in 1974 it debuted the Postlethwaite-designed Hesketh 308B. It had Cosworth DFV power, mated to a Hewland FGA gearbox. It had the radiatior in the nose and a high airbox, but still created good downforce and handled brilliantly. The car, all in white with some red and blue stripes, made its debut in April 1974, winning the Silverstone International Trophy. This was followed by the Hesketh team earning World Championship points in the 1974 season as Hunt showed his brilliance. By 1975 the team had won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort over Lauda’s Ferrari, and become a force to be reckoned with. The last of the privateers, Lord Hesketh sold his team in 1976 to Frank Williams who had backing from Walter Wolf. Hunt went on to drive for McLaren and won the 1976 World Championship. Some of the great days of Formula One were witnessed at Hesketh Racing, and they revealed what a brilliant few could do.

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.