There are few cars in the pantheon of motorsport history that incite a fervor of enthusiasm without a correlating record of success quite like the six-wheeled monstrosity that is the Tyrrell P34. Ken Tyrrell’s team ran this radical outside-the-box car with four front wheels for the 1976 and 1977 seasons, finding a single victory at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix. It isn’t often that a P34 comes up for sale, though one of the most recognizable race cars in history can be yours if you’re the high bidder at RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale next month.
In total eight chassis were built, though the car in question here was built from an unfinished monocoque in 2000 for F1 winner Jody Scheckter (who raced for Tyrrell in-period). The car didn’t race in the 1970s, though it has since found victory at the prestigious Monterey Historics race in Northern California.
The P34 had a decent season in 1976, including the Swedish GP 1-2 and eight further podium finishes, but in its second year of offing the car was an uncompetitive and unreliable mess. It was shelved for 1978 in favor of a much more conventional car.
The goal of the four front steered-wheels was to increase aerodynamic efficiency, lower frontal area, and thus boost top speed, by reducing the overall diameter of the front wheels. The four small wheels proved to have as much or more grip than a pair of conventionally-sized wheels, so Tyrrell designer Derek Gardener moved to build the weird machine with two steered axles.
Aside from the extra set of wheels and steering box, the car is pretty standard Formula 1 fare for the time, making use of a Ford Cosworth DFV engine used by half the field in that era. That engine was mated to an equally ubiquitous Hewland gearbox.
If you have a motorsport collection and deep pockets, head to Monaco on May 11 to raise a paddle for this big blue machine as it crosses the block. The auction house estimates that it will sell for between 450,000 and 650,000 euros, likely a significantly discounted rate for the car not having actually raced in period. If you’re going to actually run it in vintage racing events, however, you’re far better off buying the one built most recently and never been subjected to the fatigues of racing in the 1970s. Half a million dollars is a lot for a race car, but in this case it might be a deal.