Elfin MR5 | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Elfin Cars |
Production | 1971-1972; 4 built [1] |
Designer | Garrie Cooper |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Formula 5000 [1] |
Powertrain | |
Engine | mid-engine, longitudinally mounted, 4,994 cc (304.8 cu in), Repco Holden, 90° V8, NA [2] mid-engine, longitudinally mounted, 4,942 cc (301.6 cu in), Ford, 90° V8, NA [3] |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Elfin Type 100 Mono [1] |
Successor | Elfin MR6 [1] |
The Elfin MR5 is an Australian Formula 5000 racing car produced from 1971-1972 by Elfin Sports Cars.
Designed by Elfin owner/driver Garrie Cooper, the MR5 was the first car built by Elfin for Formula 5000 racing which had formed the basis of Australia's top open-wheel category, Australian Formula 1, from 1971. A total of four MR5's were built and the cars were powered by Repco-Holden 5.0L V8 or Ford V8 engines.
John McCormack drove an MR5 to victory in the 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship, [1] the 1973 New Zealand Grand Prix, the 1974 New Zealand Grand Prix and the 1974 Lady Wigram Trophy. [4]
Denis Clive Hulme was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grands Prix, resulting in eight victories and 33 podium finishes. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972.
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.
Larry Clifton Perkins is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.
James Howden Ganley is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of 10 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.
Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialised manufacturing, for which it gained a high reputation. It is now best known as a retailer of spare parts and motor accessories.
Graham Peter McRae was a racing driver from New Zealand.
Vernon John Schuppan is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula. The '5000' denomination comes from the maximum 5.0 litre engine capacity allowed in the cars, although many cars ran with smaller engines. Manufacturers included McLaren, Eagle, March, Lola, Lotus, Elfin, Matich and Chevron.
Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959.
Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jack Allen. Since its closure in 2010 it has been (re)developed into housing.
John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a Holden Torana in the Touring Car Masters series.
The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. From 2005 to 2014 this category was Formula 3 and the championship was promoted as the Formula 3 Australian Drivers' Championship. Each year, the winner was awarded the CAMS Gold Star. The title was revived in 2021 for the new S5000 category.
Garrie Clifford Cooper was the founder of the highly successful Elfin Sports Cars and a competitive racing driver in his own right, winning the 1968 Singapore Grand Prix, the 1968 Australian 1½ Litre Championship, and the 1975 Australian Sports Car Championship - all in Elfin cars of his own design.
The 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to drivers of Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 cars. It was the seventeenth Australian Drivers' Championship and the championship winner was awarded the 1973 CAMS "Gold Star".
Leo Geoghegan was an Australian former racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. While his younger brother Ian "Pete" Geoghegan had much of his success in touring car racing, winning five Australian Touring Car Championships, Leo spent most of his racing career in open wheel racing cars.
John McCormack is a former Australian racing driver. Originally from Tasmania, McCormack became one of the leading Formula 5000 racers in Australia during the 1970s.
Johnnie Walker is a former Australian racing driver, born in Adelaide, South Australia. He first raced in the early 1960s at Mallala in his Holden FE road car. After competing in the Australian Formula 2 Championship he graduated to Formula 5000 in 1972, driving an Elfin MR5 and a Matich A50 before switching to the Lola marque in late 1973.
The Matich name was applied to a series of sports racing cars and open wheel racing cars produced in Australia between 1967 and 1974 under the direction of Sydney-based racing driver and engineer Frank Matich.
Birrana was the name of two motor racing organisations, both associated with South Australian racing driver and engineer Malcolm Ramsay. From 1971 to 1978 Birrana constructed a series of successful open-wheel racing cars under the Birrana name. It also constructed a Holden Kingswood HQ for Ramsay to compete in Group C Improved Production Touring Cars racing.
The Mildren name was used on a series of racing vehicles constructed for, or acquired by, Australian racing team owner Alec Mildren during the 1960s and early 1970s.