RS3100GP2
RS3100GP2
RS3100GP2
t. Allan Walton follows the history of the car built specifically for the 7974 European Touring Car Championship
The production version of the Ford Capri RS3100 was introduced in November 1973, and only 200 were ever produced at Ford's Halewood plant. FIA homologation was approved on 1 January 1974. Why did Ford feel the need to replace their successful ETCC Capri RS2600? And why go to all this trouble to homologate the RS3100 - fitted with the Britishbuilt Essex V6, now enlarged to 3091cc, and with its huge ducktail spoiler? To find the answer you need to examine the 1973 ETCC season. When Ford first moved into ETCC racing they used their German-built V6 engine, which Weslake Engineering had gradually developed for the Capri RS2600. However by 1972 the V6, although producing 320bhp, was clearly running out of potential. Then, in 1973, BMW demonstrated some 'creative' interpretations of the ETCC Group 2 rules.
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The Cologne
The 'Cologne Capri' When it came to building the race version of the RS3100, Ford, unable to use the lightweight plastic panels of the RS2600, were burdened with around 50kg extra weight, although it was planned to offset this with greater engine power. The German-based Ford effort was managed by Mike Kranefuss, who had first met Keith Duckworth when he had been running BDA Escorts. With this, and the success of the Cosworth-designed Formula One DFV in mind, it was natural that Kranefuss should approach Cosworth for a new engine. Luckily for Ford, at the same time a change of regulations allowed entrants to use alternative cylinder heads. Ford, as planned, abandoned the Cologne-built V6 and commissioned Cosworth to design new four-cam cylinder heads for the British Essex V6 - the target power figure was 400bhp+. The Capri project Meanwhile, the task of building the RS3100 race-cars for the 1974 European Touring Car Championship was entrusted to Ford Cologne's chief engineer, Thomas Amerschlaeger. The Cologne engineers started from a basic steel LHD bodyshell and fitted huge glass-fibre wheelarch flares and, in order to combat excessive weight, many suspension components were fabricated in aluminium or magnesium.
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To further pare down weight, Galverbel lightweight laminated glass was used all round. Although Ford never admitted it, there is a suspicion that the bare bodyshell was also subjected to an acid dip - which would have lightened the shell quite considerably. Front suspension followed normal Capri practice but, keeping within Group 2 rules, Bilstein gas-filled shocks were used and rubber front strut mounts were replaced with aluminium ball-joints. Magnesium hub-carriers (fitted all round) to reduce unsprung weight, heavier 'export' suspension plates,
pop the bonnet to display the complex Coswoth GAAV6 and the car is
soon surrounded by admirers
and centre-lock peg drive wheels finished off the racing conversion up front. Ford neatly got around Group 2 rules, which stated that suspension systems must remain standard, when they came to the Capri's rear suspension which, in road-car trim, meant leaf springs. By utilising a plastic leaf spring (which performed no function whatsoever) Ford skirted around the regulations and adopted co-axial Bilsteins and massive coils for improved rear wheel control and damping. Officially the coils were listed as 'additional springs' it was an infamous trick on Ford's behalf and, amazingly, they got away with it! The standard Capri beam axle was used but was now located by four trailing arms and a new axle cover carried an adjustable, transverse Watts linkage - this allowed fine tuning of the rear roll-centre.
Massive brake-discs
Braking was achieved by huge ventilated discs all round - front discs were over an inch thick with a diameter of 12 inches, rear discs 10.5 inch diameter and just under an inch thick. To help combat high brake-disc temperatures, water was piped to the discs from a washer bottle, located under the passenger's seat. The clamping action of the RS3100 Gp2 Chassis No: GA ECPY19999 lightweight ATE aluminium Our featured car, initially raced by Niki Lauda, was also the last Cologne Capri to callipers was originally assisted by a race in works-backed guise. In November 1975, it was raced at Kyalami by Jochen special ATE hydro-electrically Mass and Toine Hezemans, who won the Touring Car category in a gruelling nineoperated servo. (Ironically the ATE hour race. Its next owner was to be Australian saloon-car racer Allan Moffat. brake-booster system had been In 1975 Moffat was busy in Europe trying to persuade ex-ETCC racer Dieter Glemser jointly developed by ATE and to come to Australia as his co-driver for the Bathurst 1000, but the deal came to BMW - the system later appeared nothing. on BMW's 7-series road cars.) However Moffat's connections with Glemser and Ford eventually resulted in the An electrical pump was used to acquisition of a Cologne Capri for competition use in Australia. Accordingly, in late boost the reservoir to the required February 1976, GA ECPY19999 arrived down-under after being shipped directly high pressure (up to 160-170atm) from South Africa. before valving it into the main Moffat, forced to run the car in the GT class in Australia, ran the Capri on narrower, hydraulic system. 10-inch wheels. This reduction in rubber upset the beast's handling balance and led The Cologne Capri was kitted out to it being outclassed at most meetings - although Moffat was still able to achieve with BBS split-rim wheels secured some measure of success with the car. by a central hexagonal locking nut, Once retired from the race-track, the Capri was sold off to the Modena Collection in and wheel dimensions were only an Sydney where it remained until 1989. inch or so narrower than those used In that year GA ECPY19999, with two engines, was shipped to the UK and sold at in F5000 racers. The supply of auction to English enthusiast Ed Hubbard. rubber for these wheels was The car's spare 'sprint' engine was sold to John Surtees and the 'endurance' entrusted to Dunlop and on slicks prepared GA-V6 remained with the car. the Capri was able to generate huge Hubbard was able to restore the car back onto its original BBS rims, and in this cornering forces, even with two form it was raced by expatriate Kiwi Norris Miles during 1990. However, Ed wheels wagging in the air - the Hubbard then became embroiled in an infamous fraud case, his assets were normal Cologne Capri mode of liquidated and the Capri found itself spirited away to a huge car storage area near cornering. Milton Keynes where it was allowed to deteriorate. The all-important front and rear New Zealander Mike John, on an extended sabbatical to the UK, heard about the spoilers were shaped in a wind- Capri from Norris Miles, who had been keeping close tabs on the car. Amazingly the tunnel, and initial testing of the car was never advertised for sale and Mike, under advice from Miles, began RS3100 Gp2 car took place at the negotiating with Hubbard's receivers. Belgium Lommel circuit, with After 12 months of protracted negotiations, he was finally able to purchase the Toine Hezemans at the wheel. Capri in February 1994. This early incarnation of the Capri Mike and an engine-builder friend, Peter Veryard, leased a workshop in England and was powered by the old Weslake- together the two men rebuilt the Capri's engine and gearbox. RS2600 V6. On completion the car was placed on display at the Ford Motor Museum in As a result of the track-testing, Dagenham while Mike returned to New Zealand. Amerschlaeger had the opportunity During mid-1996 the Capri finally arrived in New Zealand where the task of fettling to fine-tune the car's spoilers. After the car began and, gradually, the Capri was brought back to racing condition the Lommel tests, Amerschlaeger although Mike has made no attempt, as yet, to restore the Capri's bodywork and it discovered that the new Cosworth still carries the scars earned during its long racing career. Future plans include a V6 engine weighed around 11 kg sympathetic refurbishment of the Cologne Capri's unique body, but Mike will take more than the RS2600 V6, and the care not to eradicate the car's historical patina.
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weight balance F/R was restored somewhat by mounting such items as the lubrication system ancillaries, including the dry-sump oil tank, in the car's boot.
Cosworth power
When the newly developed Cosworth GA-V6 turned up, it was mated to the RS2600's five-speed ZF gearbox although the old twinplate clutch was now replaced with 7.2 inch Borg & Beck triple-plate mechanism mounted within a magnesium bell-housing. Cooling radiators and separate oil pumps were provided for the gearbox, and also for the rear axle oil - these were mounted behind the left and right hand rear-wheel respectively. The engine oil cooler was placed behind the front grille but, as the front of the car was blanked off for extra speed, this position was not entirely satisfactory. Amerschlaeger and his technicians originally experimented with a rear mounted water-radiator but quickly discovered that there was insufficient air flow underneath the car for such a set-up - the front spoiler was too effective at 'damming' the oncoming air mass. As a consequence, twin sidemounted radiators, mounted ahead of the rear wheels, were eventually used. These radiators were linked by a water tube which runs inside the car just behind the front seats a practice that would be frowned upon nowadays. Inside the car, the standard Capri door trims, in black, remained and the rear seats were removed, their place taken by a fire-extinguisher system. A lightweight, Nomex-covered racing seat was fitted for the driver. Under Group 2 rules the cars had to be fitted with two seats and Ford got around this by fitting a skimpy passenger seat of aluminium and plastic. The Capri's standard steering column switches were retained but the instrument panel grew a fresh battery of dials, warning lights and switches. Due to a lack of seals in the doors, fumes entered the cabin from the side-mounted exhaust outlet, so air ducts sprouted throughout the cockpit to allow the hard-working driver to keep cool and breathe the odd gasp of freshair. The car was now ready to do battle with the BMW 3.5CSL.
Ford vs BMW
For the 1974 ETCC season Ford hired high-rent drivers such as Niki Lauda and Jochen Mass for the new Capris, and they squared off against a BMW team which also included several Fl drivers. The scene was set for an epic ETCC battle. Both
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Ford and BMW missed the first round at Monza, so the first confrontation took place at the Salzburgring. Despite leading for most of the race, both Capris were forced to retire, both with engine problems - one car suffering from a totally destroyed engine-block! A solitary BMW took over the lead and won the race. The Nurburgring 6-Hour Race was to be a battle of heroic proportions with Ronnie Peterson/Hans Stuck and Derek Bell/Jacky Ickx teaming up for BMW, and Lauda/Mass and Dieter Glemser/Toine Hezemans driving for Ford. During the race, the BMWs took an early lead but Stuck's car soon broke its gearbox after an accident, putting one BMW out. Mass soon followed Stuck to the pits and this left the second Capri with an almost unbeatable lead. But it wasn't going to be that easy; the Capri was sidelined with a diff failure and the second BMW moved into the lead. After 28 minutes in the pits, the Glemser/Hezemans car was back on the track and chasing the leading BMW. Then, on the final lap, the BMW was rammed by a Zakspeed Escort and it was out of the race. Ironically, a second Zakspeed Escort took over the lead, eventually winning the race with the one surviving Capri taking second place. Unfortunately more races in the same vein were scuppered when BMW withdrew their works team from the championship. For Ford, it was pretty much a one-horse race and they won at Zandvoort and Jarama. Ironically though, despite all the money expended on the Cologne Capri project, the 1974 ETC Championship was eventually won for Ford by the Zakspeed Escorts. The energy crisis was now biting hard into European racing and Ford cancelled their Group 2 racing project. The rivals met again in non-championship rounds in Germany, and at Kyalami in South Africa - shortly after that the Cologne racing department closed up shop. It had been impressive while it lasted! ALLAN WALT-ON
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