Scuderia is a streamliner dragster.[1]

Overview
ManufacturerWilliams-Devine-McDougall (racing team)
DesignerJack Williams
Body and chassis
ClassTop Gas
Body styleSlingshot streamliner dragster
RelatedNone
Powertrain
Engine404 cu in (6,620 cc) Chrysler hemi
Chronology
PredecessorNone
SuccessorNone

In 1963, Jack Williams' Vancouver, British Columbia–based drag racing team (Williams-Devine-McDougall) rebuilt Williams' old slingshot rail with a new aluminum body (painted in blue metalflake), with a very long, pointed nose, faired-in engine, and blue-tinted Lexan canopy over the cockpit.[2] The car's front wheels were spoked motorcycle wheels, the exhausts long "weed cutter"-style pipes (exiting horizontally, rather than vertically).[3]

The engine was a 404 cu in (6,620 cc) Chrysler hemi with a front-driven Potvin supercharger. Ron Lowe replaced Devine and McDougall.[4]

Scuderia made her debut at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, California in Top Gas, recording a best pass of 8.83 seconds at 169.17 mph (272.25 km/h) before mechanical trouble sidelined her. She also won the "Best Appearing" award.[5] At Arlington, Scuderia set a Top Gas record (average of two passes) at 162.22 mph (261.07 km/h).[6]

The car was retired in 1967. In the 1980s, Scuderia made a comeback when Williams entered her in West Coast nostalgia drag races, crashing at Fremont. He restored the car and returned to racing in the early 1990s.[7]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Taylor, Thom. "Jack Williams-Ron Lowe Syndicate Scuderia Dragster", in "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone", p. 42.
  2. ^ Taylor, p. 42 and photo.
  3. ^ Taylor, p. 42 and photo.
  4. ^ Taylor, p. 42.
  5. ^ Taylor, p. 42.
  6. ^ Taylor, p. 42.
  7. ^ Taylor, p. 42.

Sources edit

  • Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp.30–43.