Three-quarter front view of a Blue, 1976, Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler Formula One race car, on display at the 2023 Silverstone Festival
The Tyrrell P34 (Project 34), commonly known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One (F1) race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer. The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch diameter (254 mm) wheels and tyres at the front, with two ordinary-sized wheels at the back. Along with the Brabham BT46B "fancar" developed in 1978, the six-wheeled Tyrrell was one of the most radical entries ever to succeed in F1 competition and has been called the most recognisable design in the history of world motorsports. The P34 was introduced in September 1975 and began racing in the 1976 season. It proved successful and led other teams to begin design of six-wheeled platforms of their own. Changes to the design made for the 1977 season made it uncompetitive and the concept was abandoned for Tyrrell's 1978 season. The other six-wheeled designs ended development and F1 rules later stipulated that cars must have four wheels in total. The cars later had some success in various "classics" race events, but today are museum pieces. More recently, the P34 has been a popular sight at historic racing events, proving competitive once more. This was made possible when the Avon tyre company agreed to manufacture bespoke 10-inch tyres for Simon Bull, the owner of chassis No. 6. In 1999 and 2000, the resurrected P34 competed at a number of British and European circuits as an entrant in the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix series. Driven by Martin Stretton, the car won the TGP series outright in 2000, Chassis repeating that success in 2008 in the hands of Mauro Pane; this example is now owned by Pierluigi Martini alongside chassis number 2. Stretton also achieved numerous pole positions and class wins at the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco. The P34 has also been seen a number of times at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Size: 4916px × 3484px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -quarter, -wheeler, 1976, 2023, 2993, 3000cc, 75th, 90°, aluminium, anniversary, car, cc, demonstration, derek, dfv, festival, ford-cosworth, formula, front, gardner, grand, hanson, james, longitudinally, mid-engine, monocoque, mounted, p34, prix, silverstone, tyrrell, v8, view
