1970 DeTomaso 505 F1 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

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Racing driver Alejandro De Tomaso turned to building single seater racing cars late in 1959. The 'DeTomasos' competed in most classes including Formula 1. They were not particularly successful and De Tomaso switched to building road cars. Once his second road car, the Mangusta, proved to be a success, he commissioned the construction of a brand new single seater. Instead of designing the car himself, De Tomaso called in the help of Gianpaolo Dallara, who had previously worked for Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini where he helped develop the Miura.

Dallara's first DeTomaso was a Formula 2 car built for the 1969 season. It combined a boxy aluminum monocoque with the latest Cosworth FVA engine. It was raced early in the season with little success by Jonathan Williams and Jacky Ickx. For the Rome Grand Prix at Vallelunga the car was handed to Frank Williams. He entered the car for the young and talented gentleman driver Piers Courage. The Englishman qualified the DeTomaso on the front row and finished the first heat in third. These encouraging results conviced De Tomaso that it was time to step up to Formula 1 in 1970.

In addition to designing the Pantera road car, Dallara also received the task of penning the company's new Formula 1 racer. Like most of the contemporary machines, the 'DeTomaso 505' was built around the readily available and competitive Cosworth DFV engines. The aluminum monocoque tub and all-round independent suspension also did not break new ground. Although compared to the competition the first 505 was a little bulky and considerably overweight. Williams saw his dream of running his own Formula 1 team become reality as he was asked to run the car for Piers Courage.

Subtle changes to the chassis regulations had left a large portion of the 1969 field obsolete, so the DeTomaso was just one of many new machines entered in the season opening South African Grand Prix. Sadly it was the slowest of the new cars with Courage only managing to outpace three older chassis in qualifying. He retired halfway through the race after an accident. It did not get much better in the next race at Jarama where Courage wrecked the car in practice. Subsequenlty two new chassis were built, which were considerably lighter than the original due to the extensive use of magnesium.

It was a clear improvement and Courage managed to qualify further up the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix. After mixing it up with the seasoned names, the DeTomaso lost much time in the pits with steering problems. Courage did go out again, but did not turn in enough laps to be classified. Next up was the Spa race, where Courage qualified well and again saw his race ruined by reliability problems. Tragedy struck at the Dutch Grand Prix where Courage had a fatal accident after placing the car 9th on the grid. The promising driver died in a horrendous fire fueled by the magnesium in the tub after a tire failure.

Frank Williams perservered and continued the season with the only surviving chassis. Brian Redman was attracted to replace Courage. He struggled with the DeTomaso in the practice sessions of the British and German Grands Prix and did not start in either of the two races. Tim Schenken raced the 505 in the final four races of the season. He retired three times and in the only race he finished, Schenken was not classified. After a promising start of the season, DeTomaso retired from Formula 1. Williams has persevered and today is one of the most successful team principals in the sport.

For many years it was believed that only the third chassis (383) had survived. It was retained, in pieces, by DeTomaso until very recently. Chassis '382' had been very visibly destroyed at Zandvoort in Courage's fatal crash. The first chassis was labelled as written off after Courage's practice incident at Jarama. Much to the surprise of many '381' reappeared at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed fresh from a restoration by Hall & Hall. What happened to the car in the 38 years that it was missing is not entirely clear yet, but it is not inconceivable that the restoration was based on the actual remains of 381.

For all we know, the damage to chassis 381 was not fatal, but extensive enough to warrant the move to a newer chassis. Written off certainly does not mean destroyed; this article was created on a computer that has long since been 'written off.' Hopefully Hall & Hall will come forward with more information about the fate of 381 in the near future.