Elf Scan 20: Patrick Depailler

This is one of my favorite photos in the entire Elf Scan series.  A 25 year old Depailler looks past the camera with a gaze of intensity and focus.  Born in 1944, Patrick Depailler was one of the few drivers whose parents fully supported his interest in racing, and encouraged it.  He began by racing motorcycles, but after meeting Alpine boss Jean Rédélé, he transitioned to 4 wheels.  He began at Alpine as a mechanic, then a test driver, and finally a works racing driver.  At the time of this photo, his F1 career was still ahead of him.  His talent was never fully rewarded with a top-line drive, but he did manage 2 wins and 19 podiums in his 95 races in F1 -- most of them for Tyrell and Ligier.  Tragically he was killed in 1980, at age 35 during a test session at Hockenheim.

Elf Scan 19: Matra MS 11

Revealed at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, the MS11 was the first F1 car to be 100% Matra-developed, from its chassis to its 3L V-12 engine.  The MS11 was a complete monocoque, but it was slightly behind the leading edge set by Lotus in the previous season, as the engine did not play a structural role in the chassis, unlike the Ford-powered MS10, which was designed after the Lotus.  Jean-Pierre Beltoise piloted the car to 2nd in the Dutch Grand Prix that year, also beating the lap record.  The Matra V-12 was a magnificient engine, but Matra decided it needed more development before it could be a winner, and the political pressure to win was too great.  Therefore a Ford Cosworth DFV, rather than a French engine, would power Matra to the championship in 1969.

Elf Scan 17: Matra MS 80 Grand Prix Car

After a solid season in 1968 with the MS 10, Matra-Ford went all the way in 1969 with the Championship-winning MS 80, piloted by Jackie Stewart.  In the great action shot above, he's shown airborne at the Nurburgring.

Elf Scan 16: Matra MS 10 Grand Prix Car

The MS 10 was the first true F1 car designed by Matra. The French team was actually managed by Englishman Ken Tyrell, with Jackie Stewart as lead driver. Matra were in the midst of developing their own proprietary V12 engine, but sourced the Ford Cosworth DFV as an interim powerplant. In the end, the Ford V8 was to prove itself a reliable workhorse, powering Stewart to his championship the following season, in 1969.

Alfa 164 PROCAR - Wildest sedan in history?

This is what happens when you take a Formula 1 chassis and engine, and place a nearly stock-looking body right over it. The result?  I'd say you can't get more "sleeper" than this monster!

In the back was a 3.5L V-10, producing 620hp in a car weighing less than 1,700 pounds.  The fact that this car could achieve 211 mph with essentially a stock body shape (made in carbon fiber, of course!) is a real testament to the aerodynamic work Pininfarina did on the production 164.

The underlying idea was to gain more marketing exposure for Alfa, to ensure a greater ROI on their F1 engine program, while fully utilizing all of the Brabham F1 facilities they also owned to construct the cars for a one-make series that would support Grand Prix racing events. Previously in 1979-80, BMW had been the single-make for the PROCAR series with the M1.

Sadly even the consumate wheeler-dealer Bernie Ecclestone -who was boss at Brabham at the time- couldn't sell the idea all the way up to the top Alfa brass and this unusual project was shelved.

Watch it in action!  Additional video is HERE. I couldn't embed it, unfortunately.