Vee tech

If you know just a little bit about Formula Vee, you might think it’s quite a restrictive, even archaic, category. After all, its regulations stipulate the cars use the air-cooled, 1300cc engine from the original Volkswagen Beetle, along with much of the same car’s suspension. Dig a little deeper, though, and you may be pleasantly surprised, because not only is Vee (as it is commonly known) open to a variety of different chassis, it also allows for a surprisingly wide range of technical approaches.

Formula Vee has been around since 1967 in the United Kingdom, while Vees also compete in Ireland, the United States and other countries, each of which have evolved their own set of regulations over the years. In America, for example, they use 1200cc versions of the VW flat-four engine. For the purpose of this feature, though, we’ll stick to the UK series, where it’s probably fair to say this entry-level, single-seater category has always been in the shadow of Formula Ford 1600.

That said, this has perhaps helped it in a way, for while FF1600 has gone through its big budget phases and has waxed and waned as a result, Vee has remained a stalwart of the club scene, offering stable rules and accessible, low-cost racing. Operating under the auspices of the 750 Motor Club (MC) for many years has doubtless helped with this stability, too.

Over 40 different cars raced at some point or other in the 2024 UK Formula Vee series. Among these were chassis from GAC, AHS and Storm, as well as a selection of other makes, with many of the older examples running in Class B – basically for cars with outboard, single-adjustable, steel dampers.

Beetle juice

What all these cars have in common, of course, is the air-cooled, flat-four, VW engine that powers them, which can trace its origins back to 1938! Such has been engine development over the years that, where this unit gave a maximum of 44bhp in older Beetles, now it’s producing about 95bhp in the best units built for Vee. That may not sound much, but it