Roger Penske has been one of the most successful men in American road racing for the better part of five decades now. He started out as a driver but would really dominate as an entrant of other manufacturers' and also his own cars. After he had won the Indy 500 and Can-Am championship in the early 1970s, he expanded his operation to take on the European teams in Grand Prix racing. Penske set up shop in Poole, England and had Geof Ferris design a bespoke Formula 1 car. Taking on seasoned teams like Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren proved to be Penske's biggest challenge yet. In 1976 John Watson did manage to score the 'Captain's' first victory at Zeltweg in this Penske PC4. It was a bittersweet win as Penske's principle driver Mark Donohue had lost his life at the same Grand Prix a year earlier. Despite Watson's victory, Penske left F1 at the end of 1976 and reset his focus on the American road races. The rest, so they say, is history.
John Watson's Zeltweg winning machine was sold to a privateer and it was raced for some time after. Fortunately it has survived and is currently owned by an American enthusiast, who also has an earlier PC3 in his collection. He raced the Austrian Grand Prix winner at the recent Monterey Motorsports with great verve. We captured every angle of this, the last American car to win an F1 race, in a 18-shot gallery.
With our eyes caught by the latest muscle cars, we missed another exciting Chicago debut last week; the Hyundai Veloster Rally Car. This pocket rocket has been created by Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) to compete in the American Rally Cross championship. Based on Hyundai's latest hatchback, it features a 500 bhp four cylinder engine and all-wheel drive. Thanks to extensive use of exotic materials, RMR have managed to keep the weight down to just 1205 kg (2657 lbs).
Enjoy the links:
1976 Penske PC4 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information
1964 Brabham BT11 BRM - Images, Specifications and Information
2011 Hyundai Veloster Rally Car - Images, Specifications and Information
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