Legendary Chevron B16 in full detail and new high performance Astras ...

With the self-taught Derek Bennett at the helm, Chevron quickly emerged as a leading racing car manufacturer in the second half of the 1960s. Late in 1969 the British manufacturer burst onto the international stage with the B16, which made its first ever race appearance at the Nurburgring. Clearly the challenge, of what is generally considered one of the most difficult tracks in the world, did not bother Bennett or his lead driver Brian Redman. Facing incredibly strong opposition in the 500 km race from the works Abarths, Redman achieved what would become something of a Chevron speciality; a debut victory. Redman's driving skills partially compensated for the handling issues that the car still suffered from and would take some time before it was fully sorted. By that time the orders had piled up and in early 1970 around 25 examples were built. They were raced with considerable success with Redman claiming the European Championship for Chevron, using the new B16 Spyder in the final race of the season.
Today the B16 is considered one of the all-time great sports cars, so much so that many continuation cars have been constructed since the 1980s. This season we were fortunate to capture a highly original example, which was campaigned in the CER series sporting the ever attractive DART colours. This inspired us to write a detailed history on what is also one of our favourite cars, illustrated by a 18-shot gallery of chassis 29 in action.
This morning Opel and Vauxhall released the first details of their respective hot Astras; the OPC and VXR. Based on the GTC 'coupe' variant of the Astra, the high performance model features a 280 hp turbocharged engine and suspension that has been honed on the Nurburgring by "Smokin' Jo" Winkelhock. The new OPC and VXR are expected in the Opel and Vauxhaull showrooms during the first half of 2012.

Enjoy the links:

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/99/Chevron-B16-Cosworth.html"]1969 - 1970 Chevron B16 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4984/Opel-Astra-OPC.html"]2012 Opel Astra OPC - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4983/Vauxhall-Astra-VXR.html"]2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4982/Chevron-B16-Spyder-Cosworth.html"]1970 Chevron B16 Spyder Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]