Sauber C4

[henk4]

Long before becoming famous for his co-operation with Mercedes in sportscar racing Peter Sauber had already been involved in constructing sportscars since 1970, with his first model being designated C1. The C would be used all along for further cars and was simply the first letter of his wife’s name, Christine.

The subsequent models were all two seaters, normally employed in the European 1600-2000 cc classes and Ford engines were mainly used. The first three models (C1,2 and 3) were tubular chassis, but the C4 broke some ground by becoming the first Sauber car with an aluminium monocoque. The engine was the ubiquitous Ford BDG 2 litre plant.

The car had some success in national races in Switzerland in 1975, which is itself already remarkable as motorracing in Switzerland is hardly allowed, but was also raced in various other European countries. It was followed by the C5 in 1976, which became a much more successful car overall.

Only one C4 (Chassis C4-001) was ever built and has fortunately survived. It is shown here in its original livery in the Laguna Seca paddock during the Monterey Historics in 2005.