In the world of rallying, Subaru occupy the upper echelon of success. A storied history that spanned multiple decades saw World Rally Championships for the likes of Colin McRae and Petter Solberg. However Subaru has another history, one you’re unlikely to find mentioned in the brochure of your STI.
Following the demise of Formula 1’s first turbo era, the sport welcomed a slew of new teams eager to take on the likes of McLaren and Ferrari. One of those teams was Coloni Racing. The Italian team founded by former driver Enzo Coloni first competed in 1987 and experienced little success. In 1990, Fuji Heavy Industries expressed an interest in campaigning a Formula 1 team under Subaru.
After purchasing a 51% stake in Coloni, Subaru supplied the team with an all new engine in the form of a flat-12. The project was headed by former Alfa Romeo designer Carlo Chiti and his firm Motori Moderni, who had previously produced a V6 turbo for Minardi.
The 3.5 liter flat-12 was the only one of its kind headed into the 1990 Formula 1 season.
While certainly a stunning looking piece of kit, the 500 horsepower H12 proved unsuccessful and was massively down on performance compared to the rest of the field.
For the summer 1990, there were plans to design an all new chassis to better suit the team’s unique engine. Due to time constraints leading into the Phoenix Grand Prix, the H12 was retrofitted into an older Coloni C3 chassis. The dated design lacked many of the features cars of the time were running, including large side pods for maximum air flow.
At 300 lbs overweight, the C3B, as it was dubbed, failed to qualify at Phoenix or any of the following races in which it entered.
With the car lacking any performance whatsoever and minimal progress being made on a redesign at the team’s headquarters, Subaru fired Enzo Coloni in May 1990. Less than a month later, the manufacturer sold the team back to Coloni and permanently withdrew from Formula 1.
The team didn’t fare any better back under Coloni’s control and failed to participate in a single Formula 1 Grand Prix for the 1990 season. Coloni would eventually join forces with Ford before he sold the team in 1991 to Andrea Sassetti and it became Andrea Moda Formula (banned from Formula 1 in 1992).
A brief and some would say tarnished page in the Subaru history books, but also an interesting one. Formula 1 used to be a hotbed for grass roots engineering and no name teams seeking their spot on the podium. With only 3 engine manufacturers currently in the sport, it exemplifies how corporate and vanilla things have become. The new engine formula hopes to change that in the coming years. With more “relevant” V6 turbo power plants, the sport hopes to entice a more diverse playing field with engine suppliers including Toyota and BMW eyeing returns. Hyundai has also expressed interest in getting involved and 2015 will mark the return of one of the sport’s greatest partnerships with McLaren-Honda.
Subaru remains one of the sport’s lesser known what ifs. What if they had found a way to make it work? What if the flat-12, which was unbelievably well balanced had found a niche with other teams? Maybe Subaru would be competing at a high level to this day. Never say never, but at this point Subaru’s Formula 1 chapter is a fleeting memory and regrettably case closed.
Black Subaru strip, or the history of Subaru 1235 B12.
Good evening! With you "Ghosts of Formula 1", and today we are with you will continue to journey through Japan. This time we will talk about the failure of a very large machine builder, find unprecedented success in other competitions.
History Subaru has always been associated with one word - rally. Victory Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Marcus Grönholm, three consecutive titles producer from 1995 to 1997 not only helped boost car sales, but also won the hearts of thousands of fans around the world. Joke, spores from the category of "What's better? Impreza or Lancer? »Continues to this day. But the following story took place a few years earlier to triumph in the rally.
Changes in the rules of the Big Prizes, namely the prohibition turbo spodviglo many companies to conquer the Formula 1 as minders. Some of the "ghosts" we have already considered, and all came today, one more. The success of Honda and Yamaha the arrival caused some jealousy in the hearts of Subaru, and the company decided to build an engine by 1989. But in order not to lose time in the development of the engine, they were looking for a company with experience in the Big Prizes, which could soon create a motor. And they found a ...
Motori Moderni participated in Formula 1 from 1985 to 1987 with teams Minardi and AGS, but its turbo were extremely thin and did not differ reliability. Despite this, Carlo Kitty Subaru was able to convince to sign a contract with them. This creative imagination and financial investments were virtually unlimited. Kitty, who built engines for Ferrari in the distant '60s, with the agreement with the automaker has created perhaps the most massive engine in the history of the Big Prizes.
1235 Subaru B12 was introduced in early 1989. Weight "dry" engine is 159 kg, which was only 10 kilograms heavier than the Cosworth DFR, but the overall curb weight as a result turned out to be more of the same DFR to unimaginable 112 kilograms!In addition, the engine has turned out extremely cumbersome. Because the engine was opposed, its width was 72 cm and height 81 cm! Of course, the engine has a very low center of gravity, but ...
At the first dyno tests revealed that the engine is not enough power in May 1989. At Honda, it was at least 660 hp from DFR 590, while Subaru was only 550! The combination with a serious "overweight" does not bode well, but Giancarlo Minardi agreed to test this miracle of technology on your car. When it received the patronage of the engine gearbox, developed by a team of electronics and Magnetti Marelli.
In the summer of 1989, at the Misano track began tests of the engine. Paolo Barilla, Pierluigi Martini and Gianni Morbidelli wound circles on the Italian track. On the first day it was completed 55 laps, looking ahead, will be the highest number of laps for the engine. On the second day the car has overcome a total of 11 laps, followed by engine failure.
According to the pilots, the already heavy in the management of the chassis (Minardi M188 was suffering from understeer) has become virtually unmanageable. The pilots had to make serious efforts to steer the car into the turn. The consequence of this was a terrible balance. The engine though and had a low center of gravity, but a serious overload literally ruined the rear axle. After that Giancarlo Minardi refused to sign a contract with the Japanese.
The Subaru believed that the promised factory status will push the team to cooperate, but no one was going to sign a contract. No one, except for one person ...
Enzo Coloni held for the third season in Formula 1, floundering in notebooks outsiders. Fireballs lemon-colored at times showed a hint of progress, but no more. However, the columns are not only signed a contract for the supply of engines, but also was able to sell a controlling stake in Subaru team, which made them factory team! Otherwise, how it can not be called a magician talks Colony, because he was to lead the team.
The only became well-known pilot Bertrand Gachot, the then law-abiding citizen (In 1991, he sprinkled spray in the face of a taxi driver, for which he received a sentence). In the offseason, the team tried to supply chassis Coloni C3 outlandish engine, but did not have time until shipment to the United States of equipment! As a result of the first trial run took place already on American soil, at a private airfield (rumored to be running in the parking lot was a supermarket, but found a photo, denies this).
Since the team has not scored points in the last year, they waited for pre-qualification session where losers were the same as they are in the face of EuroBrun, Larrousse / Lola, Osella, AGS, and the newly founded team of Life. The results were disappointing. Due to the failure of the gearshift Gachot was the last in qualifying, losing nearly three minutes Life L190!
The first "pure" performance could calculate performance at Interlagos. Gachot was seventh after beating Claudio Landzhesa, but lost 10 seconds to the leader. Then it was found out the basic weakness of the car. In addition to the extremely low engine reliability and high weight, the engine could give less than 500 hp compared with dyno-tests, and the chassis it was completely unpredictable.
With such a grim wealth of knowledge the team arrived in San Marino. Non-participation of AGS team increased the chance of reaching the qualification and Gachot it almost worked. To get the most out of the car, he showed the fifth time, losing Moreno 6 seconds. As time will tell, this is the best result in the history of Subaru.
In Monaco, the Italian "tank", as he was called for a massive size was nekonkurentnospsobnym. Having only Giacomelli, Bertrand Gachot was only eighth in the ten seconds of the session leaders. However, in Canada Gachot again I beat Landzhesa and Giacomelli, despite the error and crash into the gravel, but the pace was frankly low.
In Mexico, there was the first hint of progress. The engine gradually improved in the course of the season, and the first bell was losing just three seconds on the track Rodriguez brothers. But as before, only the seventh place left Coloni C3B-Subaru is the qualifying sessions.
In France, the car could not get through more than one "pure" round, resulting in Gachot became the eighth, beating only poor fellow Giacomelli, who was unable to complete a single round!
Stage in the UK was the last straw. Another failure forced the Subaru fold unpromising project and withdraw from Formula 1.Colony bought back shares and brought the team to the end of the season with an engine Cosworth DFR, but that's another story.
As is the case with MGN W12, wonderful engine tried to attach to the sport prototype C. Group company Alba has decided to provide its chassis AR20 «Tank" engine for the World Sportscar Championship. But as is the case with Formula 1, the success of this engine is not earned.
The crew Gianfranco Brancatelli and Marco Brand for the entire season only once qualified for participation in the race! The debut race for chassis, 480 km Suzuki, the crew proved to be slower than the leaders for half a minute! 480 km of Spa has become one the most, the only race for Alba AR20 - Subaru. The great disappointment was the engine failure, which is why the crew was unable to take part in the race! After such a team established in the prototype engine Buick V6 4.5, but that's another story.
Oddly enough, but the story was not finished engines. Swedish company Koenigsegg purchased from Motori Moderni documentation boxer engine, which as a result of serious alterations became supplied with the car Koenigsegg CC. Only at this point you can put the dots in this story ...
Nikita was a voice from you, see you soon!
PS: A few photos repairing the engine for a snack!
Jotto Caspita even if largely unknown is probably the most famous Japanese supercar. It was conceived from Jiotto Design inc. of Japan, a new then design studio and was developed by Dome, one of the most experienced engineering and motorsport companies in Japan. The Caspita would compete with the other supercars of that era in a market that was peaked and ready to collapse.---
The Caspita was designed by Kunihisa Ito, an experienced automotive and industrial designer who have worked for many big companies like GM, Ford Mazda and Nissan. Ito founded Jiotto Design in 1989 and the agency's clients include many big Japanese companies like Honda, Subaru, Yamaha, Sony and Canon.
Dome with years on experience in motorsport and composite materials construction developed the car. The Caspita was a two-seat mid-engine supercar similar in concept and layout with the endurance and Group C racecars. Dome have already build race prototypes including the Toyota prototypes that compete in LeMans during that period.
The actual car was low and wide but not excessively big (length: 4534mm / width: 1996mm / height: 1135mm / wheelbase:2700mm). It was also very light, weighing about 1100-1200 kg. Aerodynamically the car was very advanced. There was a movable rear airfoil and the underside of the car was flat with big diffuser channels in the rear. The suspension with double wishbones and rocker arms controlled the wheel movements while shielding all bulky components from the airflow.
Dome was established by using indigenous technology and the Jiotto Caspita was an -almost- all Japanese project. The engine of the car was provided by Subaru and it was a flat-12 derivative of the unsuccesfull Subaru Formula 1 effort (first and second from the left in the photo above). In 1990 Fuji HI acquired the team of Enzo Coloni in order to participate in F1. A new flat-12 engine similar in concept to all Subaru flat-4 engines was developed in partnership with the also Italian Motori Moderni. The Japanese-Italian flat-12 found its way into Caspita similarly to the Ferrari 512BB and Testarossa. The Subaru/MM engine produced 456ps and in the Caspita it was mated to a custom 6-speed transaxle made by Weismann.
This engine powered the first prototype but later it was replaced by a Judd V10 engine (image above in the right), also originated from Formula 1. The Judd engine was more powerful with 585ps and gave the car a maximum velocity of 345kmh (up from 320) and a 0-100 time of 3,4" (from 4,7").
The design of the car was simple and effective and it looks stunning and modern even today, 20 years after. The Jiotto Caspita never made it into production, the market for supercars was in decline by the time it was ready. Dome continues to operate successfully and Jiotto Design closed in 1999. The closest thing to a multicylinder full supercar from Japan is the new Lexus LF-A but it is a more of a GT rather than a Group C car for the road like the Caspita.
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