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Jody Schekter's 1976 #3 P34 F1 Tyrrell
Six Wheeler
International Trophy Race at Silverstone Test Car - by TrueScale Miniatures #10184
Only 3000 Built
This is a BRAND NEW, NEVER OPENED, 1/18 scale collector's replica produced by TrueScale Miniatures. It is a Limited Edition of only 1,500 cars. This is their first F1 release and it is FANTASTIC!!! - the famous Tyrrell P34 (Project 34), otherwise known as the "six-wheeler." This was a Formula One race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer, as a response to new regulations due to come into force in 1976. Having had the EXOTO version of this car in our collection, we carefully examined the pre-release picture. WE then sold the Exoto car & are replacing it with this new TSM creation. For a MSRP of only $170, this is as good a replica of any of the CMC or Exoto cars that cost almost twice as much.
The car used specially manufactured 10-inch diameter wheels and tyres at the front with two ordinary sized wheels at the back. The idea of the smaller front tyres was to increase air penetration and have a smaller 'frontal area' which would reduce drag. However, smaller diameter tyres would have resulted in a loss of contact area between the rubber and the tarmac surface of the track and hence poorer mechanical grip for cornering. To remedy this, the P34 was given four 10-inch front wheels. Thanks to a complex suspension design, all four front wheels could be steered.
When unveiled, the cover was peeled away from the back forward and the collective gasps from the world's press said it all. The six-wheeled Tyrrell was one of the two most radical entries ever to succeed in F1 competition, and has specifically been called the most recognizable design in the history of world motorsports. The P34's golden moment came in the Swedish Grand Prix. Scheckter and Depailler finished first and second, and to date Scheckter is the only driver ever to win a race in a six-wheeled car. He left the team at the end of the season, insisting that the six-wheeler was "a piece of junk!"
For 1977, Scheckter was replaced by the Swede Ronnie Peterson, and the P34 was redesigned around cleaner aerodynamics. The P34B was wider and heavier than before, and, although Peterson was able to string some promising results from the P34B, as was Depailler, it was clear the car was not as good as before, mostly due to the tyre manufacturer's failure to properly develop the small front tyres. The added weight of the front suspension system is also cited as a reason for ending the project. Thus, the P34 was abandoned for 1978, and a truly remarkable chapter in F1 history was over.
This car shown in the photos is a display model. The one that you will receive is BRAND NEW in a UNOPENED box. Length: ~10"
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