1971 | Chevron B19

We are pleased to offer this genuine and immaculate 1971 Chevron B19, chassis B19-71-19, for sale.

The Chevron B19 was designed and introduced by Chevron founder Derek Bennett at the beginning of 1971 and followed on from the successful B8 and B16 models. As before, the car was aimed firmly with the privateer in mind, with ease of maintenance and low running costs being vital factors in its design, as well as being a competitive alternative to rival manufactures Lola T210. Over the following months some 35 individual B19s would be built.

When the Chevron B19 was announced in early 1971, Eris Tondelli was also named as the new Italian Chevron agent and six complete cars were exported to Italy during 1971, including our car, B19-71-19, which was delivered in June of that year. Painted red and fitted with an 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine, it was one of two cars, along with B19-71-01, retained by Tondelli for his own use under the Chevron Italia racing banner and was raced and hillclimbed on a rent-a-drive basis in 1971 on a few occasions by Italian club racer Domenico Scola who put the car to good use winning the Trofeo Luigi Fagiolli hillclimb at Gubbio in late August.

For 1972 Tondelli rebuilt and re-engined the car with a Ford 1600cc BDA, as well as rename the car the Tondelli BT1600. As per the new bodywork regulations introduced for the sports car world championship, the car had been updated to B19/21 spec with a B21 open cockpit section, and a pair of flaps were fixed behind the rear wheels to comply with the new enclosed rear-end regulation. The flaps were accepted for the cars first race at Monza, but from then on a proper B21 style tail was used. The standard B19 nose was retained.

Partnered by Mauro Formento, Tondelli finished 6th in the 72 Monza 1000 Kms in the BT1600 and won the 1600cc Group 5 class. They then repeated the class win at the 72 Targa Florio, and then finished 5th and take another class win at the 72 Coppa Monza, a round of the Italian Championship.

With the increasing demand from Italian customers for the newer B21 and B23 models taking preference, B19-71-19 was no longer used or raced and after having done very few events over the two seasons, was retained and placed in storage by Eris Tondelli until at least 1990 when the car was seen on the occasion of Chevrons 25th anniversary. At some point after that the car was sold on and stripped of its parts to the bare chassis frame, was offered for sale by a French classic car and autojumble parts trader from whom the prior owner purchased the bare chassis in 1995. On inspection the chassis frame was deemed to be original and complete. Subsequently placed in storage for some years, the bare chassis was fully build up by Vin Malkie of Chevron Racing Ltd in 2010 and was fitted with a Geoff Richardson prepared 1800cc Ford Cosworth engine. After its rebuild, the car was raced in the Classic Endurance Racing series and Le Mans Classic in 2014. It also won the 2015 Spa Classic where it was driven by guest driver Jamaer.

B19-71-19 was subsequently sold to its current owner who, during the last few years, has only used the car sparingly during track days. The car is presently offered for sale in excellent condition with its Richardson rebuild FVC engine only having 5 hours. In addition, it has a rebuilt gearbox, a new set of KONI shocks and new fuel cells valid until 2027. Its FIA HTP was renewed and is now valid until the end of 2030. Spares include 2 sets of wheels (1 set is new), spare nose (painted), gear-ratios and exhaust silencer (with support).

This genuine and immaculate B19 is eligible for all prime istoric sports car races such as Le Mans Classic, Peter Auto's CER1 and Masters World Sportscars.

...For more information please visit www.rmd.be.

...For more information please visit www.rmd.be.