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  Eagle Mark 1 Weslake      

  Article Image gallery (59) Chassis (3) Specifications User Comments (1)  
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Country of origin:United States
Produced from:1966 - 1967
Numbers built:3 (4 Mark 1s in total)
Designed by:Len Terry for All American Racers
Predecessor:Eagle Mark 1 Climax
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:December 21, 2018
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Click here to download printer friendly versionThe 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.

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  Article Image gallery (59) Chassis (3) Specifications User Comments (1)