<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Reventlow debuted the 'Scarab Mk I' early in 1958, but he was not immediately successful. The first noteworthy result was a third behind two Briggs Cunningham entered Listers at a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) race on the Virginia International Raceway. The Scarab's first victory came much closer to home in Santa Barbara in June of 1958. While Reventlow raced the prototype, two more cars were assembled at the shop. Referred to as Mk IIs, they featured slightly larger tubes for the frame, wider track and right hand drive. The latter was not done for the obvious reason, but for driver comfort as the Borg-Warner gearbox protruded much further into the left hand side of the cockpit. Chuck Daigh drove one of the Mk IIs alongside Reventlow in the Mk I and together they dominated the remainder of the season. The highlight of the year was a closely fought victory during the prestigious Times Grand Prix at Riverside. Daigh beat the 440 bhp Ferrari 412 S piloted by future world champion Phil Hill after swapping the lead many times. A fitting finale of the season were two victories for Reventlow during the Nassau Speed Week.
With America conquered, Reventlow looked at taking on the Europeans on their own turf. The much tighter World Championship regulations called for a maximum displacement of just three litre. With his options limited to American engines, Reventlow commissioned the construction of a three litre version of the four-cylinder Offenhauser Indy engine. It was installed in the second Mk II, but replaced by a conventional V8 after just one race as the heavily vibrating 'four' was no match on power for the six and twelve cylinder engines used by the competition. At the end of the season both Mk IIs were put up for sale and raced with great success for several seasons in the hands of the likes of Augie Pabst and Carroll Shelby. Harry Heuer was still able to win the SCCA B-Modified championship in 1961 against the 'superior' mid-engined European racers. The Scarabs remained competitive well into the 1963 season. Reventlow had his personal Scarab converted into a road car and embarked on an even more ambitious Formula 1 project.
The Scarab name was used for three more racing cars, including the ill-fated Offenhauser engined Formula 1 cars and a mid-engined sports car. None of these were particularly successful and certainly did not live up to the expectations set by the first Scarab racing car. In the early 1960s Reventlow left the motor racing scene as quickly as he had entered it just a few years earlier. He nevertheless left a big mark and today the Scarabs are considered to be among the finest front-engined sports cars produced. They are really only rivaled by the Chaparral 1, which was also built by Troutman & Barnes. Fortunately all three front-engined Scarabs have survived and are put through their paces quite regularly. Reventlow himself was not so lucky as he was killed in a plane crash in Colorado in 1972. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Reventlow debuted the 'Scarab Mk I' early in 1958, but he was not immediately successful. The first noteworthy result was a third behind two Briggs Cunningham entered Listers at a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) race on the Virginia International Raceway. The Scarab's first victory came much closer to home in Santa Barbara in June of 1958. While Reventlow raced the prototype, two more cars were assembled at the shop. Referred to as Mk IIs, they featured slightly larger tubes for the frame, wider track and right hand drive. The latter was not done for the obvious reason, but for driver comfort as the Borg-Warner gearbox protruded much further into the left hand side of the cockpit. Chuck Daigh drove one of the Mk IIs alongside Reventlow in the Mk I and together they dominated the remainder of the season. The highlight of the year was a closely fought victory during the prestigious Times Grand Prix at Riverside. Daigh beat the 440 bhp Ferrari 412 S piloted by future world champion Phil Hill after swapping the lead many times. A fitting finale of the season were two victories for Reventlow during the Nassau Speed Week.