WSC60 Chevron B8 FVA

3d Model design by: DobriD

Cam & Pawl diff, Ford FVA 1600cc engine

Despite receiving no formal training, Derek Bennett had made quite a name for himself preparing, repairing and modifying a colourful variety of road and racing cars. He had set up shop in Bolton in North England in the late 1950s where he mainly repaired accident damage, often by welding undamaged halves of two cars together. Today this method is heavily frowned upon, but Bennett's meticulous repair work brought many wrecks back to as-new condition. In his spare time he showcased his other talent on the racing track where he successfully campaigned a host of custom racing cars. Both his mechanical and driving skills resulted in a large number of fans for the modest Englishman.

In the past his creations were simply known as Derek Bennett Specials. After brainstorming for weeks to find an appropriate name for his cars, Bennett glanced over the Highway Code symbols. One of them had the simple description 'Chevrons', which immediately appealed to him. So Chevron it was.

Orders for more cars came in after the Chevron's successful debut and four additional Clubman racers were constructed along the lines of the first cars. The success of the B1 and B2 as they were later referred also sparked the interest for a 'GT' version to take on Lotus' other dominating circuit racer, the Elan.

Instead of modifying the existing design, Bennett played around with the idea of completely new, mid-engined racer. For the time being it only resulted in a small model placed on his office desk to remind him of what could be up next. When a potential customer, Alan Minshaw, visited the factory and saw the model, he became so interested that he put down a 100 Pounds deposit.

Excited by the prospect of building another new car, Bennett set out to turn his imagination into a race winner again. Apart from the spaceframe chassis, the rear uprights and the wishbones, most of the mechanicals were again sourced from a wide variety of race and road cars. Following the latest trend, Bennett decided to mount the engine between the driver and the rear axle.

Two completely different four cylinder engines were considered, the Ford 1.6 litre twin cam lifted from an Elan and the German BMW 2 litre unit of the 2002 road car. Two cars were constructed, the Ford engined B3 for Martland and the BMW powered B4 for Bennett to race himself and to serve as a rolling test bed. An aluminium body was created that was both purposeful and attractive. Peter Gethin shook down the B3 at the local Oulton Park track and although much of the bodywork was not yet fitted he was impressed with Bennett's latest creation. A third car was sold on the spot. A few days later Martland drove the B3 to Chevron's 'traditional' debut victory at the same track.

A 'production' run of a B4 derived GT car was planned for 1967. Bennett had to increase his workforce, but he did not have to look far. Many of his friends already helped him in their evening hours and were more than happy to spend the day time in the 'factory' as well.

The main differences between the production B6 and the B4 was body, which was now constructed from fiberglass by Specialised Mouldings. Owens went back to Munich with a van to collect the engines himself. Seven cars were completed, six with the modified two-litre BMW and one with the Ford twin-cam unit.

Martland received the first example and promptly drove it to another debut victory. A dozen more major victories were scored that season with a B3, the B5 and the B6s. Especially Brian Redman's win with the BRM engined B5 in the in the international Group 6 race at Brands Hatch was noteworthy. It was not only Chevron's first 'international' win, but it also was the first in Chevron for Redman who would later become the team's highly successful works driver.

For international racing the Chevron B6 was considered a prototype and was required to run in the Group 6 class against advanced Ferraris and Porsches. Bennett took a bold step and set out to construct enough examples of the mid-engined racer to homologate it for the Group 4 GT class.

In order to qualify at least 50 examples were required to be produced. With no type indication yet in place all versions were considered the same so 'just' 39 additional chassis were required to be build. With a Formula 3 single seater commissioned by a customer designated B7, the 1968 'GT-racer' was dubbed B8.

By the time the FIA dropped by to count the cars, there were not sufficient cars completed, but there were enough supplies available to construct the remaining cars. Satisfied with their findings, the FIA homologated the new racer. Eventually 44 examples were constructed, equipped with a wide variety of engines.

Unusually, the B8 had to wait almost a month to score the maiden victory, the first of many. It was not until 1969 that the B8 started to rack in Group 4 victories, including a class win in the prestigious Daytona 24 Hours. The ultimate version of the B8 body style appeared in 1968, when the unique B12 appeared, with a 3 litre Repco engine, which in proper Chevron style won its first race on its debut in Silverstone.