<< Prev Page 3 of 3 Left without a car, designer and driver and facing legal charges from investors and supplier, it would have been understandable had Nicholls bailed out. Instead he perservered and in record time completed a new car, which was ready in time for the fifth round of the season. It was similar to the original car and differed only in detail. The radiators were now mounted between the rear wing and the bodywork and it was painted black instead of red. Former rally driver Vic Elford was drafted to race the car and he immediately placed it seventh on the grid at Mid-Ohio. Sadly mechanical problems saw the the Shadow retire early again. Nicholls decided to withdraw to concentrate on developing Shadow's 1971 contender with the help from designer Peter Bryant. The MkII Shadow was still far from conventional.
While the bold Shadow MkI was not a success on the track, Harris knowingly and unknowingly incorporated many advanced features. The brake cooling fans, clutchless shifts and ground effects have all since become commonplace. Harris' ideas were later more successfully employed by the Tyrrell P34 six wheeler. Shadow gradually worked itself up as a leading Can-Am team, eventually winning the 1974 title with Follmer. The team also branched out into Formula 1 where the black cars were also relatively successful. Elford's Shadow has survived and has been restored to full running order and debuted in vintage racing in 2006. The remains of Follmer's damaged machine were rebuilt by Nicholls to the car's first configuration in the 1980s. This was done for German collector Peter Kaus and he displayed the unusual machine for many years in his Rosso Bianco museum.
Both surviving cars are featured above. Shown in action is the ex-Elford example, which has found a very brave owner. He explained to us that he needs to be absolutely relaxed when he gets into the car; if he gets cramped legs it would be impossible to get out. The Follmer car is pictured at the 2006 Bonham's Quail sale where it sold for $95,000 despite being a non-runner. A final word from Nicholls on why he built the unusual Shadow MkI: "If I want to be ordinary, I could have bought a McLaren." << Prev Page 3 of 3
Ultimatecarpage.com
> Cars by brand
> United States
> Shadow
Racing cars
> Can-Am
Left without a car, designer and driver and facing legal charges from investors and supplier, it would have been understandable had Nicholls bailed out. Instead he perservered and in record time completed a new car, which was ready in time for the fifth round of the season. It was similar to the original car and differed only in detail. The radiators were now mounted between the rear wing and the bodywork and it was painted black instead of red. Former rally driver Vic Elford was drafted to race the car and he immediately placed it seventh on the grid at Mid-Ohio. Sadly mechanical problems saw the the Shadow retire early again. Nicholls decided to withdraw to concentrate on developing Shadow's 1971 contender with the help from designer Peter Bryant. The MkII Shadow was still far from conventional.