| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Williams-Devine-McDougall (racing team) |
| Designer | Jack Williams |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Top Gas |
| Body style | Slingshot streamliner dragster |
| Related | None |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 404 cu in (6,620 cc) Chrysler hemi |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | None |
Scuderia is a streamliner dragster. [1]
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]
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard, while the 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
The front engine dragster is a type of racing car purpose built for drag racing. Commonly known as a "rail", "digger", or "slingshot", it is now considered obsolete, and is used only in nostalgia drag racing. Wheelbases ranged from 97 to 225 in.
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 NHRA Winternationals are an annual drag racing event held by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.
Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 149,058.
Top Gas (T/G) is a former NHRA drag racing professional class.
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]
