'Point and Squirt' - The Controversial Tale of Traction in Formula One

         "Ferrari's traction control system debut at Portugal was thus met with the suspicious eyes of the Englishman. Dubious about the new switch on his steering wheel, Mansell turned it off suspecting it a ploy to make his car slower!"

Traction control is often berated as a driver aid that undoubtedly takes away from driver input and therefore the spectacle. Yet the performance advantage was so great that even the legendary Michael Schumacher was a fan of flying out of corners with the computer managing wheel spin rather than his foot. In response to critics on the eve of its legalisation in 2001 he countered "maybe a monkey could drive - but not as fast"; indicating that the sacrifice of skill was worth the pushing a car to extreme speeds. 

The Advantage

The energy going through a racing car is mesmorising. Huge G forces try to wrestle the car off the track while monumental power from the engine presses the car towards the horizon. Therefore its not hard to see how both of these forces act on the rear axle and ultimately tyres. Miscalculate the power delivery and these forces could see you facing the other direction in a cloud of smoke and gravel. 

A Road Car Technology

Before the dawn of the digital age engineers realised the importance of less wheel spin and more traction and provided a mechanical solution. A 'limited slip differential' transfers drive from a slipping tyre to the opposing side through the use of clever gear trains feeding the axle. Yet the traction was not 100% efficient, in that the slipping tyre would still sap a little power.

Traction control was actually born out of mass produced road cars, pioneered by Buick in the 1971 'Riviera'. Rudimentary yet ground-breaking digital technology allowed a computer to detect difference in speed between the front and rear wheels through 2 sensors. If its ham-footed driver hit the throttle too hard and span up the rear tyres the engine power was cut back through ignition control until things settled down. The advantages were especially big when driving in low grip conditions such as snow or rain. Unfortunately such a system must have seemed space age to your average early 70's hick backwater U.S garage mechanic and was unreliable. Couple this with cost of production and politics and it was dropped a couple years later.

It would be well over a decade before Europe and Japan took notice. With the advent of Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) high-end vehicles now had sensors monitoring the speed of individual wheels. This allowed the system to be more precise and also worked in conjunction with ABS to apply individual brakes to stop wheels from spinning. These systems are now nearly standard on today's vehicles and its development has seen the old mechanical limited slip differentials phased out. Indeed you certainly could feel like Schumacher on a hot lap as you enjoy slingshotting out of bends with control in your road car. But when did this technology break into Formula 1? 

Fireworks At The Debut

It was 1990 and Harvey Postlewaite and his Ferrari technicians designed a basic traction control system ready for the Portuguese Grand Prix. At this time their driver Alain Prost was fighting for the championship against Ayrton Senna, while team mate Nigel Mansell was struggling with team favouritism.

Earlier that season Mansell had grabbed pole position in front of his home crowd at Silverstone. In envy Prost ordered the team to swap his car with Mansell's without the latter's consent. When this all transpired Mansell was furious, throwing his gloves into the crowd after his gearbox failed in the race and announcing his retirement from the sport at the end of the year. Ferrari's traction control system debut at Portugal was thus met with the suspicious eyes of the Englishman. Dubious about the new switch on his steering wheel, Mansell turned it off suspecting it a ploy to make his car slower! The traction control worked, Prost launched off the line as Mansell nearly lost control of his car with wheel spin. Unfortunately for Prost he had to swerve to avoid this and lost position allowing Mansell past to ultimately win the race. When teams returned to Portugal again a fortnight before Christmas for testing in the wet, Ferrari's two second advantage attracted attention. Once the wheel sensors were spotted it became apparent and traction control became common place. 

The first systems employed were basic in that they cut the spark from the ignition system; misfiring the engine in order to reduce power. This raised stresses and exhaust temperature dramatically. Overfuelling was also an issue, leading to oil being washed away which could lunch the power unit entirely. Alternative systems cut fuel which helped reduce consumption. However it wasn't until McLaren introduced 'fly-by-wire' in 1992 - that is the throttle being operated by a sensor on the pedal rather than by cables - that a whole new area opened up for traction control. When the team finally turned it on at the Hungarian Grand Prix the cars electronic brain was able to limit power by controlling the air through the throttle butterflies. This was greatly efficient and helped Senna win the race, though not enough to beat Mansell's active suspension Williams to the Championship. 

The End of Science Fiction Race Cars

With the combination of traction control and other driving aids such as active suspension, anti-lock brakes, automatic gearboxes (and even four wheel steering in the works) electronics were paramount by 1993. The increasing lack of driver input and ramp up in speed made the FIA extremely nervous. This led to a large scale ban on driver aids and an end to this 'science fiction' era. Unfortunately the decade so far had seen the cars developed to rely on these aids to keep the cars glued to the race track. With the carpet literally swept from underneath 1994 would see drivers struggling for control and huge accidents. Two of these accidents would claim the lives of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola. 

Raised Eyebrows

Further damage to the sport's integrity would surface that year with claims of teams illegally using traction control at races, namely Benneton. With Michael Schumacher's blistering race starts seeming to good to be true, finger pointing began. Team boss Flavio Briatore has bent more rules in the sport than his string of supermodel escapades. However he flat-out denied all allegations in a year that saw his team win the World Championship. It wasn't until the FIA analysed the cars electronics that these allegations reached fever pitch. It was possible for teams to 'hide' programming code for traction control through complex methods making 

policing extremely difficult. This time however 2 months of intense investigation revealed that code was covertly present. Benneton's defense was this system was only activated for rare use in testing and the FIA were unable to prove the contrary. 

As the season developed it seemed Benneton were not the only ones under the spotlight. Eyebrows were raised at Ferrari and McLaren from leaks and whispers in the paddock. Fast forward to 2001 and the FIA finally admitted defeat with policing this technology. The ever increasing complexity of hiding code made scrutineering extremely difficult. 

Final Hoorah

This new era of traction control in the sport would be much different. The system itself could now combine ignition timing, fuel cutting and throttle butterflies to control the wheel spin accurately within milliseconds - not possible in the comparatively slow and bulky micro-processing of the early 90's. All this allowed the driver to simply 'point and squirt' the car out of the bends with perfect traction. Couple this with huge strides in downforce and screaming engines nudging 1000 horse power, the early 2000's saw lap times only beaten in very recent years of the sport. While the driver still needed to ensure he didn't apply too much throttle to overshoot and run wide, the days of undesired wheel spin were out of the equation - much to the anger of purists.

The final nail in the coffin came however in 2008 when the FIA finally implemented a standardised engine control unit used by all teams. With the code now in the hands of the FIA they seized their opportunity to ban the technology, welcomed by a vast number of fans who wanted further driver skill. While I was one of them one can not dismiss the enticing rabbit hole of innovation and speed the search for traction led us down!

Orange Dawn - A promising new millenium at Arrows brings demise

Throughout the 90's Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows outfit continued to transverse second half of the field in Formula 1. A few flashes of brilliance were marred by reliability issues and shoestring budgets. The sting from their involvement with self-styled Nigerian prince and convicted fraudster Mailik Ido Ibrahim was starting to heal, with a recent cash injection from some big sponsors at the dawn of the new millennium.

In fact 'Prince' Mailik Ido Ibrahim's involvement with Arrows is so farcical and humorous it is easy to overlook the financial devastation. Promising big money for 1999 for the desperate team, the grinning conman was simply enjoying the ride and vanished in a flash when Tom Walkinshaw began to itch to the fact that they hadn't yet received a penny. He later re-appeared years later in America trying the same stunt in NASCAR, landing him in a Texas jail. 

The self-styled Prince and convicted conman Ibrahim

Thankfully the team secured a new deal with UK mobile network giant Orange for the 2000 season. Things were further improved when Paul Stoddart's European Aviation was to provide even more money and logistical support. This climate of positivity was enhanced by a promising new car. Mike Coughlan and Sergio Rinland had penned a slippery design dubbed the A21. Breaking the lap record in pre-season testing it easily had the highest top speed of the field. With a strong driver line up of Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen good results seemed inevitable. Indeed the car proved to be quick, narrowly missing the podium on two occasions and putting in strong points finishes. However mechanical failures and an outdated Renault re-badged as Supertec engine robbed the team of decent results. The result was 7th in the Constructors Championship.

Hoping to build on a decent car design the 2001 car was simply an evolution. However when Supertec dropped out as engine supplier in the sport Tom Walkinshaw had to find a new engine contract. While the accounting books were looking better with new help, the team still could not afford an expensive customer engine contract. Mike Coughlan took a misguided judgement that the doomed Peugeot engine that was on the table would suit the new car. Perhaps from an engineering perspective this was true on paper, but the outdated design rebranded as 'Asiatech' was unreliable. In what was to be common place in modern F1, Walkinshaw took the decision to drop the talented Pedro de la Rosa in favour of money-backed rookie Enrique Bernoldi. With just 1 point scored the year was a disaster, leading to sponsor Eurobet terminating their contract. Further to this European Aviation's important financial and logistics support ended, with owner Paul Stoddart purchasing the Minardi team.

The design team pushing the limits at Monaco

For the following season both Coughlan and Rinland decided to push the boat out with the new A23. The car featured a new 'twin keel' front end, a design first seen on the ill fated Honda F1 test program in '99 and later the 2001 Sauber C20. In an effort to claw back downforce from new front wing regulations, the car featured two 'keel's either side of front bulkhead. This allowed for free space for aerodynamics below the front of the car yet not compromising the lower suspension mounting points and thus its effectiveness.  The design would set the tone for the next few years of F1 design, with the field split on the philosophy. While there were performance benefits there was also the added complexity of increasing the structural strength of the thin keels to ensure they didn't flex under suspension loads and thus lead to poor mechanical grip. The advantage soon dwindled in later years with the advent of more advanced front wing design, but the decision to adopt this in its infancy along with McLaren and Jordan was highly innovative.

The innovative 'twin keel'

Thankfully the cursed Peugeot 'Asiatech' engine was gone and a new customer contract with Cosworth was signed. However question marks arose whether the team could afford this. The pressures on privateers in the sport were increasing exponentially. Big automobile manufacturers lavished rivals with enough money to run testing rigs and wind tunnels through the night or jet around the world for testing - all for a couple tenths of a second. Debts were mounting and new star signing Heinz-Harold Frentzen even accepted a 'modest' £500,000 to drive for the team. Tom Walkinshaw needed to find a way out or risk the team crumbling.

As the season got under way the A23 showed good potential. At the Malaysian Grand Prix Enrique Bernoldi was even able to fight back a charging Ferrari of Michael Schumacher for 3 laps. Frentzen went on to score solid 6 place finishes at Spain and Monaco. Off track however the dire financial situation was beginning to get public.

As the circus rolled into Silverstone engine supplier Cosworth had taken the team to court over debts to the tune of $4.7 million. An attempt by ski intructor-come businessman Craig Pollock to win investment failed to materialise. On the edge of the abyss the cars turned up a the next race in France, only to back off at the end of their qualifying lap and avoid entering the race. By doing so they had legally honoured their Concorde Agreement contractual terms of competing in every race. Putting mileage on an their remaining engines with little hope of points was a huge cost as there were no new engines available. 

Favouring their chances at the next race in Germany at Hockenheim, a double retirement would prove the last race for the team. Appearing a few races later in the garage in Belgium, Tom Walkinshaw was waxing lyrical of a new purchase of the team by an American mining magnate. The cars never made it out of the garage and the FIA were enquiring why the team had missed the previous races, potentially forfeiting their share of any monies from the sport if judged to be insolvent. Sadly it was end of the road and the gates at the Leafield factory were shut.

The late Tom Walkinshaw

An attempt to re-enter the sport for the following season was quashed. The designs and cars were raided by Paul Stoddart to aid his Minardi team. He later sold these on to the new Super-Aguri team for 2006.  Former Arrows engineer Mark Preston along with other ex-employees would modify the cars for use that season with Super-Aguri also being based at the former Leafield factory. Tom Walkinshaw would move to Australia to manage in Touring Cars, a sport that he had successfully raced in Winning the 1984 European Championship. Sadly he would succumb to cancer in 2010 dying at 64 years old. Known to be a towering figure both physically and in accomplishment Walkinshaw's legacy is as colossal as the man himself.

   

The 2002 car living on 4 years later, albeit modified form as the Super Aguri SA05

1996 Ferrari F310 - Prancing Horse or Lame Donkey?

The acquisition of Michael Schumacher for the 1996 season would become a catalyst of remarkable success for the Scuderia. Yet it would be four more years until the World Drivers Championship was secured after a long a painful road.

Dismayed with Peugeot's lack of commitment to F1, Frenchman Jean Todt left his compatriots to become team manager at Ferrari during 1993. He would be the first non-Italian to take the helm of the once illustrious mark. The team had suffered under the domination of McLaren and Williams throughout the 80's and early 90's, coupled with a lingering rawness from the loss of founder Enzo Ferrari in '88. The organisation seemed fragmented with the design office and chassis manufacturing taking place in the UK under John Barnard. This unusual arrangement came about with Barnard refusing to re-settle himself and his family in Italy. While Ferrari envisaged a small design operation, reluctance for composites to be manufactured in Italy saw it grow. The Englishman had also abolished the tradition of the mechanics being served bottles of wine during testing days, much to their annoyance!

John Barnard had bought innovation so far

Todt attempted to increase efficiency and organisation under the immense pressure of the Tifosi, Italian press and bank-roller FIAT. However he successfully wooed Michael Schumacher with an unprecedented $60 million dollar contract over two years. At the time the UK operation had been fighting cost cutting from Todt, who then increased budget to facilitate the Schumacher drive. Barnard however was concerned this should "have been done three years earlier so that we'd have been fully ready when he arrived. That kind of thing really annoyed me".

When engine size regulations reduced from 3.5 litre to 3.0 litre in the previous season Ferrari were the only team to use a 12 cylinder. Even with the reduction in size the engine produced decent power and a glorious soundtrack to boot. However rivals Renault were more successfully demonstrating what could be done with two less pistons. Ferrari had already been testing a 10 cylinder unit that made the car quicker. Less peak power but more torque and driveability mean't quicker lap times, and the V10 layout was adopted for 1996.

Hopes of using their lightweight gearbox casing material from the previous harmonious twelve cylinder caught the team out. The heavy vibration from the naturally unbalanced engine caused fatigue cracks after the first race in Melbourne. Having to address this the team had to revert back to an early gearbox casing. Unfortunately for the F310 this had a major effect on handling, since the rear suspension was mounted to specific points on the casing designed for the older car. The result was poor rear end mechanical and aero grip. Schumacher's Irish team mate Eddie Irvine described driving as being "scared to turn the steering wheel...in half a second, a second you had no idea what it would do".

Issues with the rear end were also made worse by other aerodynamic disadvantages. Barnard and his team adopted the new regulations on bulky cockpit protection by the book. Alternatively rival Adrian Newey had found a loophole in regards to the rules defining the dimensions of the cockpit sides. They were defined externally but not cross sectional, therefore in theory only the edges of the cockpit had to comply. This resulted in his Williams FW18 adopting small 'winglets' to meet the rules and greatly improving aero efficiency. The Ferrari was also the last car to adopt the old conventional nose cone of yesteryear. All teams had now understood that a raised nosecone allowed for better airflow to the floor of the car yet a conservative approach didn't see the raised nosecone retrofitted later on in the season at Imola. The bulky outward appearance made the F310 look like an Indycar when compared to the sleek Newey Williams FW18.

From the off it became apparent that there were serious reliability issues with the car, suffering from a multitude of failures. Irvine took the brunt of this with a run of eight straight retirements in the first half of the season. This highlighted difficulties within the current organisational set up of the team. Jean Todt would address this for 1997 with the departure of the UK operation, reverting back to Ferrari under one roof.

Thankfully in light of the F310's serious shortcomings was a ray of light in the outstanding performance of Michael Schumacher. While Irvine struggled to keep the car pointing in the right direction Schumacher seemed to sadistically wrestle it into submission. Driving through the handling issues displayed amazing ability, with Irvine further commenting "He drove it to every milimeter of the road. I couldn't stand to get in it"

Schumacher's legendary Spanish rain dance

This came a head with Schumacher's masterful display in the wet at Catalunya, winning with a dominant 45 seconds gap to Jean Alesi in the Benneton. He would go on to rack up 3 wins and finish 3rd in the Championship, enduring a considerable amount of retirements along the way. What seemed a dog of a car was well developed in the latter part of the season. The steering wheel was the first to feature the famous Ferrari 'Magnetino' switches and a display which soon would be adopted by the rest of the sport and Ferrari road cars. The F310 would become more competitive in revised form for 1997. Barnard would soon retire from the sport as the UK branch of Ferrari shut up shop. His ground breaking paddle-shift gearbox technology developed at his time at Ferrari revolutionised F1, leaving the F310 a blip on his successful career.

Baptism of Fire - Peugeot in Formula 1

Its common knowledge that drivers of modern Peugeots are the worst on the road. With the last glory days of the 205, 405 and 206 now long gone the company has continually produced passionless lumps of steel. This seems to take the fancy of people with little interest or knowledge of driving. Ironically the name is intrinsic to the history of the automobile.

Peugeot entered some of the earliest Grand Prix races

In fact Peugeot were competing in motorsport before Enzo Ferrari was even conceived. Their later debut into Grand Prix racing would follow in 1912, revolutionising the world with the first double overhead-cam engine. Fast forward seventy years to glorious scenes of their 205 turbo monster being thrashed around rally stages by Ari Vatanen and you would be hard pressed to understand why their F1 program was such a disaster.

Group B rally madness

As the Grand Prix circus rolled into the 90's McLaren were enjoying the wave of success from their Senna/Honda partnership. Unfortunately for the Woking outfit, Honda were to pull out for as an engine supplier in 1993 to prepare for competing in the American CART series. Testing followed on the look out for a new partnership with encouraging performances from Lamborghini and even Isuzu. For 1993 the team would have to endure a lacklustre Ford V8. The engine was throttled to ensure that Benneton had the best performing Ford unit, leaving McLaren outraged. When Senna departed at the end of the season for Williams it seemed he was abandoning a sinking ship.

As promising as the Isuzu test proved, the Japanese giant took a u-turn to focus on the commercial vehicle market. Thankfully the Chysler-backed Lamborghini V12 engine was already promised to McLaren for 1994 before any contract was signed.

Enter Peugeot. Recent rule changes in Group C Sportscars had engines homologated to bring them inline with F1 specifications. This meant it was cost effective for the French manufacturer to simply modify the engine in the back of their successful 905 and shoe horn it into an F1 car. This was the assumption however, and it was an assumption that Peugeot sport boss Jean Todt disagreed with. He was dismayed with the lack of investment into the program and left for many sucessful years at Ferrari.

Peugeot hoped to use a revised version of their 905 sportscar engine

McLaren boss Ron Dennis still saw potential in being supplied by such an industrial powerhouse. At the time Peugeots arch rivals Renault were the dominant force of F1 powertrains. Dennis hoped this could spark an inter-French engine war to his advantage.  Much to Chysler's dismay the contract was signed for the 1994 season and the Gaelic lion would adorn the engine cover of the McLaren.

Ron Dennis was eager for Alain Prost to drive the car that season and he joined the team for pre season testing in Estoril, Portugal. However after the first few laps in the car it seemed he was unimpressed.  Worse still, Martin Brundle was next in the race seat only for the Peugeot to throw a conrod with such force that it flew though the sump and damaged the race track.

With Prost now out of the picture it seemed the talented Brundle would get his chance, finally at the wheel of a pedigree marque. However it became quickly apparent at the start of the season the engine still had a very dangerous flaw:

                "The car had a throttle mechanism that was geared, and at Interlagos the gears kept jamming. So I spent the weekend flying off the road with the throttle stuck open. I was having quite a good race, and I got past people like Jos Verstappen and Eddie Irvine.And then it did its party trick of throwing its flywheel off, which it did on a number of occasions. Ron was on the radio saying. 'Try to get it back to the pits.'


And then I found myself in a gravel trap, and I couldn't work out what was going on or how I'd got there. I'd had a big accident basically, and been hit on the head by Verstappen's car. There was a big mark on my helmet, but luckily for me the rollover hoop took a lot of the energy. It was the closest I ever came to dying in a racing car" - Martin Brundle

This was a sign of things to come, with the unreliable unit being nicknamed a 'hand grenade' for its horrendous reliability. The first 2 races resulted in retirement for both Brundle and team mate Hakkinnen. At Imola a revised unit with more horsepower allowed Hakkinen a 3rd place finish, but for the rest of the season it proved troublesome.

At Silverstone the engine let go in spectacular fire-ball spitting fashion as Brundle began his formation lap. When Brundle returned to the garage Peugeot sport engineers carried out a post inspection and claimed that the engine was still completely usable and the team should have continued racing. It seemed politics and finger pointing were taking hold, as they failed to include in this press release the fact that half the oil was missing as well as severe fire damage to the bodywork and rear suspension.

To add insult to injury Peugeot were keen for their French accident-prone driver Phillippe Alliot to replace Brundle for the rest of the season. This enraged Ron Dennis, only conceding Alliot a drive at the Hungarian Grand Prix in place of Hakinnen who was sitting out a one race ban. By the end of the season with no wins and 17 DNFs, McLaren announced they would be parting ways with Peugeot. A new contract was signed with Mercedes for 1995 that would last for 20 years and herald a golden era for the team.

Martin Brundle and Ron Dennis

Peugeot soldiered on, supplying Jordan with engines the next three years with some promising podium finishes. For 1998 they joined the new French super team of Prost, but both reliability and a poor car hampered decent results. A miserable 2000 season saw the team score no points and Peugeot finally pulled the plug on their disastrous foray. The engines continued to be campaigned for a further 2 seasons, being purchased by the Asiatech consortium with the hope of plundering the technology for a future Asian F1 team. Pie-in the sky thinking resulted in the failed project being sold back to Peugeot and later auctioned off.

The Prost-Peugeot partnership bought more heartache

Thankfully things weren't all doom and gloom for Peugeot Sport who enjoyed 3 consecutive World Rally Championships from 2000-2003. Later in the decade they returned to top-tier sports car racing, taking on the might of Audi with impressive performances culminating in a win at LeMans in 2009. With the creation of the new 'hypercar' sports car class for 2022 Peugeot have renewed their commitment to top level motorsport, although the bitter experience of massive financial losses means a return to F1 is unlikely.

Top 10 F1 inspired road cars

Why invest all that money into the most expensive sport in the world and not see a little bit of return? Slap a few badges over the top and some clever engineering and you have appeal to a petrol junkie of crystal meth.


10 - Rover 200 BRM

When the Chinese got the Rover consortium board members drunk on shots to purchase their marque for peanuts the British car industry went up in smoke. Smoking like a K series engine with a failing head gasket. Yet for all their unreliability and bargain bin build quality the last generation of cars from the firm actually had quite a few positives. The 200 was quite a hoot to drive, and the VVTi engine was revy and lightweight even if it seemed to be cast from aluminium about as pure as Katie Price on her third wedding night. I recall a chunk of my cylinder head coming off in my hand when attempting to tighten a stud.

Mix a little BRM into the cocktail however and things become a little more glamorous. The illustrious marque competed in 197 Grand Prixs, winning 17 and taking the World Championship in the hands of Graham Hill in 1962. They also had historic connections to Rover when they joint fielded a zany gas turbined car at Le Mans.  Unfortunately BRM folded twenty years before the birth of this 200 so this is celebration rather than collaboration.

The proud orange nose may seem garish but it adorned BRMs of yesteryear, and the car sits nicely on 5 spoke alloys. The interior also sees a lift with some nice cross stitched red leather. Beyond aesthetics the cars 20mm lower ride height as well as stiffer springs, revised dampers means a highly rated drive. Yes, from new you were guaranteed the head gasket would fail before 30,000 miles but once done and looked after it was more reliable than you think.


9 - BMW E90 3 Series 320si

The 320i of previous generations could offer you the luxury of a smooth 6 cylinder engine but without the performance of its bigger brothers. Even worse the fuel consumption wasn't better either meaning only and idiot like me would own two of them. With that it mind how can this seemingly run of the mill 4-cylinder 3 series make the cut here?

Unbeknown to most however this isn't your normal sales rep mobile. The 'si' is much rarer with only 2,600 made. And its link to the pinnacle of motorsport is the engine. Hand built at the Sauber F1 factory, these small units rev all the way up to 8,000rpm thanks to a shorter stroke. Underneath a stunning carbon fibre rocker cover lies aluminium-alloy liners and forged piston rods. Gone is the complicated valvetronic BMW system, replaced with conventional rocker arms. The result is 173hp which won't hold a candle to an M3. So what the hell is the point in sexing things up with the help of the Swiss F1 outfit?

The simple answer is racing homologation. The World Touring Car Championship of the time was limited to 2 litre with engine components having to be linked to production technology. The Sauber built engine was a great bass line to be modded for their title fight, which they executed brilliantly under the hands of four time WTCC champion Andy Priaulx.

8 - Honda Civic Jordan

1999 was the pinnacle for the Jordan team. Heinz Harold Frentzen had a realistic shot at the championship with consistent results and two race wins. To celebrate Honda built the Honda Civic Jordan. Strangely it wasn't based on a Type-R but rather a VTi trim of their normal EK4 3 door. Things weren't exactly sluggish however thanks to their howling 160hp V-TEC pulling the front wheels. I always remember seeing one as a teenager shooting up and down the local seafront and longing for one. My first car however was on the other end of the spectrum in the shape of a Metro 1.1.

In an example of pure marketing spin the only Jordan influence was simply trim and paint. A plaque denoted you were one of only 500 as well as yellow and black interior. But it does have an ace up its sleeve, adorning the beautiful yellow paint is a Jordan decal. You could have even fit a wasp decal on it a-la 1999 F1 car. And that makes it cool.


7 - BMW E60 M5

How can a hefty four door that weighs three times as much as an F1 car be called inspired? Simple answer - V10 engine.

In the current era of vacuum cleaner noise levels many racing fans romanticise about the days of the aggressive piercing sound of a V10. At the time of the E60 M5, BMW had produced arguably the best of them all for Williams F1 team. It allowed them to be the only real challenge to Ferrari when so often rivals McLaren-Mercedes struggled to finish races. To celebrate the E60 M5 offered all the thrill of a V10 from the comfort of a big German saloon.

I've been lucky enough to floor a slightly ropey example in sports mode and you could very well be Juan Pablo Montoya gunning it along the old Hockenheim straights. Or setting that average speed record around Monza. The aural experience is surreal as is the acceleration thanks to the award winning S85 engine. But if you were thinking this was the same unit as in the back of the Williams you would be wrong. Considering you can't even crank and F1 car unless the oil is warmed to perfect temperature BMW thought it wise to produce their own road car engine to deal with the demands and comfort of everyday use.

However like its V10 racing cousin the power unit worked to very tight tolerances. Even new owners looking for something to show off to the neighbours that neglected regular maintenance would quickly find worn main conrod bearings potentially destroying the engine. Furthermore, BMW forever walking the fine line between engineering brilliance and crappy plastic parts, found plastic gears that controlled the throttle breaking very easily. Needless to say the car may be an absolute beast but a very brave second hand buy. What do you expect - its a high performance V10!

6- Renault Clio Williams

The first car I drove after passing my test was my parent's dark blue Renault Clio MK1. With Wolf Race five-spoke alloys it really looked the part of a faux Clio Williams. A fortnight in and much to my parent's dismay the quarter panel had a coming together with our parking bay wall.

The real Clio Williams is a hot hatch classic. With an aggressive bonnet scoop and gold alloys gave it road presence that deceived its small stature. The 145hp from its two litre engine is plenty for this roller skate. Flaw it through corners and the uprated suspension set up gives surprisingly good grip even on those piddly wheels. That classic lightweight hot hatch feel is forever present. Nothing like this will ever go into production again.

Ironically something so well tuned wasn't breathed on by an F1 team. Like Honda years later, Renault looked to capitalise on its successful partnership with Williams on track. As Alain Prost won the World Championship in a Williams-Renault, a sporty Clio bearing the brand was released in 1993. However lack of input from the F1 outfit wouldn't matter. Its highly experienced and legendary Renault Sport division would develop the car that had the pedigree and homologation for rally car conversion if required. Three fazes followed as well as the start of the infamous Renault Sport Clio series.


5 - Honda NSX

In the eyes of the vast majority of F1 fans the cult of Ayrton Senna takes on an almost metaphysical and spiritual form. The great Brazilian took his second World Championship in his Honda powered McLaren in 1990. At the time the Japanese industrial giant was looking to produce the ultimate every day sportscar and drew on the greatness of Senna for his feedback and development.

However much hype is made of this involvement across the online world that you would actually think Ayrton penned the car himself. In reality the original development of the car lies with the genius of Honda engineers and Japanese race driver Satoru Nakajima battering it around Suzuka race circuit. It wasn't until later in development Ayrton was invited down to Suzuka for the day to have a go. Adorning aviator glasses and a crazy combination of white socks and brown leather slip on shoes, Senna immediately pushed the envelope of the prototype. His feedback was to stiffen the chassis to improve handling response, something his other-worldly intuition echoed in his mind. Senna's interest was sparked and he agreed a few more sessions including time at the mighty Nurburgring circuit, focusing on suspension development.

What followed was a very sharp and often challenging drive that set a benchmark of high performance motoring. You could have all the fun of a mid engined supercar but not break down like other exotics of the time. And ofcourse, a certain Ayrton Senna played an influencial role...


4 -Ferrari F50

As we venture into the world of the unattainable the Ferrari F50 was arguably the first car that claimed to be a Formula 1 racer for the road. While its predecessor the F40 stunned the world with its performance whilst being superglued together with no carpets or even side window handles, the F50 featured a V12 as a stressed member like Alain Prost's then F1 car. This resulted in pin sharp response at the cost of comfort. Jeremy Clarkson famously reviewed the car and hated this sensation, quoting it being akin to the engine being bolted to your back.

Some say the styling was flawed, which seems to not have aged terribly well. A nose-cone inspired front end was fitted with fans to suck the car down even at low speeds - a technology actually banned in F1. Unlike many in this list the engine was actually developed from the 3.5 V12 found in Prost's chariot, all be it in bigger and refined 4.7 litre form. Even a subdued F1 engine is something to behold, with the F50s party piece being the scream of those howling twelve cylinders. Unfortunately the Marenello outfit faced some stiff hyper car competition in the UK from McLaren and Jaguar which beat the F50 in headline grabbing top speed. Yet for all its flaws the F50 remains something very special and captures the raw essence of racing brilliantly.


3- Lotus Esprit Essex Turbo

The Esprit has always captured my imagination . As a young boy I idealised the 'wedge' as it cut its way on screen through James Bond, Pretty Women and the atrocious Teen Agent. In what seems to be a celebration by Colin Chapman of Lotus' then F1 title sponsor, the 'Essex' was the first turbo Esprit. Thankfully this isn't your 'Essex-ed' up motor. The red leather interior invited you to be cocooned into a seriously focused road car.

This was 1980 British car industry stuff, with a slightly garage built build quality. The long throw of the gearbox could irritate. But why does the dream of driving an Esprit persist? Gunning the whistling 4 cylinder early turbo engine is said to bring smiles to the face. The engine sits low thanks to its dry sump oil system and the chassis is made to be thrown around. Weighing in at under a tonne even a now wheezy 210hp is enough for decent performance.

2 - Ferrari Enzo

The 'F60' was an evolution of the concept of the F50 yet executed brilliantly. The car featured trick aerodynamics with bodywork that looked very prototype racer. Some say its form-over-function made this just as ugly as the F50 and very un-Ferrari. Catch it at the wrong angle and that rear could look bulky. But as the suspension and gearbox dug the car into the ground and the full force of the V12 sent you the horizon, your opinion may have changed. On the road the choppy gearchange trying to lock the rear up would get your attention in the wet. Certainly not a GT cruiser just like the previous generations of Ferrari hypercar.

The reality was the gearbox and engine wasn't as much the same to an F1 car as the F50. Yet the downforce created was immense. Ferrari released a crazy FXX model which was wasn't road legal. You had to cough up enough money to be 'invited' to purchase a car only to be used official Ferrari track days. An 'MC12' Maserati was its sister car, yet producing more downforce and intended to compete in GT Championships.

1 - McLaren F1

The boot space of a fiesta and two passengers meets 248mph. The McLaren remained on at the top of the ultimate hypercar mantle throughout the 90s and for good reason. Mix Gordon Murray genius, a BMW V12 engine and absolute disregard for cost and you have a formidable machine.

Isuzu were actually approached to produce the V12 to sit in the back of it. As crazy as that idea sounds the hopes were to flog their very decent prototype F1 engine. However the accolade for possibly the best road car engine ever goes to BMW. Sharing little but basic principles from other V12 engines from the Bavarian manufacturer, the S70/2 was an absolute tour-de-force of linear power delivery. Push down on the chain-linked throttle pedal and the independent throttle bodies open up to give you a 618hp kick in the backside.

Legendary Formula 1 engineer and designer Gordon Murray produced a chassis way ahead of anything else of the time. Using McLaren resources the car was the first in production to feature a carbon fibre monocoque. With budget no being a question the engine bay was even lined with gold to offer the best heat resistance. A central driving position allows a formula car experience with enough room for two passengers either side.

The cold hard truth is probably the best car ever made is also a proposition that would make a millionaire's eyes water. With annual running costs estimated at £20,000 even a tyre change involves McLaren 'running in' at least two tyres around a race circuit. But ask yourself what is the price of a dream?