1966 Eagle Mark 1 Climax - Images, Specifications and Information

Model history:

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Following the example set by his colleagues Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren, American racer Dan Gurney set up shop for himself in 1964 under the All American Racers (AAR) banner. Among his partners were Carroll Shelby and the Goodyear tyre company. In its first full season, AAR served as an entrant, fielding a Lotus 38 in the Indy 500 for example. There were much bigger plans for 1966; a Grand Prix and USAC (Indy) campaign with cars of their own design and construction. Gurney decided to call his car 'Eagle' after the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States.

To design the new Eagle, Gurney hired Len Terry, who had been responsible for the 1965 Indy 500 winning Lotus 38. The talented designer had left Lotus shortly before due to a conflict with Colin Chapman. Gurney also obtained the services of British engine-guru Harry Weslake. Next to Weslake's engine shop in Rye, England, a subsidiary was established using the 'Anglo American Racers' name. A rule change, which saw the maximum allowed displacement in Formula 1 double to 3 litre in 1966, made life a lot easier for Gurney and Terry; they could now use one basic design for both the Grand Prix and Indy Eagles.

Terry used the same basic design of the highly successful Lotus for the new Eagle F1 and Indy car, which were known as the Mark 1 and Mark 2 respectively. Since then the F1 machine has been commonly referred to as the T1G but Gurney is adamant that that was never an official type designation. Just like 1965 Indy winner, the Eagle featured a fully enclosed monocoque constructed from sheets of aluminium. The chassis extended all the way to the back, cradling the engine and supporting the suspension. The design's most striking feature was the beak-shaped nose that clearly resembled the eagle the machine was named after.

The first Mark 1 chassis was ready in May of 1966, which was well ahead of the planned V12 engine under development at Weslake. To keep up the momentum, the new car was fitted with a readily available Coventry Climax four cylinder engine, which displaced just under 2.8 litre. While down on power compared to the larger engined rivals, the Mark 1 Eagle performed remarkably well. Gurney placed it fifth at the high-speed French Grand Prix in only its second outing. The tall American repeated that point-scoring feat in Mexico later in the year. Compatriots Phil Hill and Bob Bondurant did not fair that well behind the wheel of the four cylinder engined Eagle.

Meanwhile, cylinder-head specialist turned engine builder, Harry Weslake slaved away at his finest creation yet. The result was a sophisticated V12 with twin overhead camshafts actuating four valves per cylinder. Its twelve headers curved upwards and fed four long exhausts that added further to the visual appeal of the Formula 1 Eagle. Weslake's target figure was a very ambitious 500 bhp at 12,000 rpm but at his first outing Gurney had to make do with an already impressive 364 bhp at 10,000 rpm. By the spring of 1967 the output had increased to around 420 bhp, making it one of the most powerful engines on the grid. This was very welcome as the sturdy Eagle was also one of the field's heavier cars.

The V12 engine must have certainly appealed to the local crowd during its Italian Grand Prix debut at Monza. Reliability woes made it a difficult debut for the new machine. There was no easy fix and it was not until March of 1967 that the V12 Eagle could really make an impression. Fitted with an updated version of the engine, Gurney drove the car to its maiden victory in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. A second V12 engined Eagle was placed a lowly tenth by Richie Ginther. In the hands of the likes of Ginther, Hill and Italian Ludovico Scarfiotti, the first two Weslake engined Eagles nevertheless had a difficult season.

Addressing the weight issues, Terry had developed a very special version of the F1 Eagle for Gurney to race in 1967. The fourth Mark 1 chassis built, it was constructed from mostly exotic metals. The aluminium of the monocoque skins was replaced by magnesium and titanium was used for many of the suspension parts and also the exhaust system. This was not free of risks as magnesium is very volatile. Gurney, reportedly, refused to use seatbelts in the lightweight Eagle as he preferred to be thrown out of the car to being burned in case he was ever involved in an accident.

The lightest Eagle yet had a difficult debut at the Dutch Grand Prix in June of 1967 due to fuel injection problems. There was none of that at the subsequent Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Gurney took an historic victory; it was the first Grand Prix win for an American car since Jimmy Murphy won the 1921 French Grand Prix in a Duesenberg. He set new records for the fastest race lap and average in the process. A second Grand Prix win slipped through his fingers when a broken universal joint forced Gurney to retire from a 42-second lead in the penultimate lap of the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

Unfortunately from there on it was downhill for All American Racers Formula 1 effort. Numerous reliability issues prevented the Eagle from scoring many more points and early in the 1968 season the funds had dried up. Gurney competed in several more Grands Prix with a McLaren before ending his driving career in 1970. There was more success on the other side of the Atlantic with Bobby Unser scoring AAR's first Indy 500 victory with a Terry designed Eagle in 1968. He finished ahead of Gurney himself in an earlier Eagle. Dan Gurney's Eagles would continue to compete at the sharp end in Indy racing for many years to come.

The Eagle Mark 1 remains as one of the most beautiful looking and sound Grand Prix cars ever constructed. It was one of the last of the 'clean' designs before F1 machines became be-winged, rolling billboards. Most importantly it also scored a rare, historic victory in the championship dominated by European teams/manufacturers. All four cars have survived their career unscathed and are accounted for today. Fortunately they are all in full running order and demonstrated at special occasions.

Chassis: 101

Chassis 101 was the first ever Eagle produced by All American Racers. Powered by the 'Indy' version of the Coventry Climax FPF engine, it debuted at the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix. At the second outing Gurney finished fifth in the underpowered machine and he repeated that feat later in the year in Mexico. After the 1967 season opener in South Africa, Gurney sold the car to Canadian privateer Al Pease, who gave the Climax engined Eagles sporadic outings with three consecutive Canadian Grands Prix as highlights.

Shortly after the final contemporary outing, at the September 1969 Canadian Grand Prix, chassis 101 was sold to Tom Wheatcroft for his soon-to-be-opened Donnington Collection. The first Eagle was preserved in the museum for four decades. By 2010 the car was back in American hands and carefully refurbished by Richard Griot. The highly original condition was meticulously preserved and many parts were just cleaned before reassembly. The engine was rebuilt and a fresh coat of paint was applied. The first ever Eagle subsequently re-appeared at the 2010 Monterey Motorsports Reunion where Dan Gurney was celebrated.