1968 FIA Chevron B8

Lot Number: 332

1968 FIA Chevron B8

Fabulous B8, totally rebuilt around a new chassis, lots of period history, superbly presented in its 1969 'Ben Sherman Originals' livery, fully FIA-papered and welcome anywhere.

  • Sold for: £143,667

LIVE AUCTION: This lot was auctioned on Friday 25th August, 2023 at 1.00pm BST at The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, NN12 8TN

  • Body Colour

    BODY COLOUR
    Midnight Blue

  • Drive

    DRIVE
    RHD

  • Registration Number

    REG NUMBER
    N/A

SUMMARY

Fabulous B8, totally rebuilt around a new chassis, lots of period history, superbly presented in its 1969 'Ben Sherman Originals' livery, fully FIA-papered and welcome anywhere.

DESCRIPTION

The hugely-successful Chevron B8 first appeared in 1968, usually with BMW 2-litre engines but also with the Ford FVA, FVC and occasionally the Lotus-Climax. It was homologated into FIA Group 4 Sports Cars from 1st March 1968 on the basis that 50 were built (reduced to 25 in 1969). To help Chevron Cars achieve the required number (on paper), every rebuild was listed as a new car - a habit that would continue into the B16, B19 and even the B21 and, no doubt, was a practice common to other builders of limited- production racing cars. In the end, 44 of the original cars were completed.

Often described as one of the greatest racing cars of all time, the B8 was fast, forgiving and delightful. In common with the Lotus Elan and the BMW E30 M3, it was one of those cars that would not punish you for a temporary 'loss of talent' and would quietly sort itself out whilst you were considering 'Plan B'. Then, as now, it was capable of humiliating the top GTs in period at short circuits like Crystal Palace or Brands Indy where dicing with GT40s was a regular occurrence.

Offered here is Chassis CH-DBE-53 that’s lead a fascinating life, starting out racing during the late 1960s and early 1970s there is a full list of period results here: https://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/results/CH-DBE-53.html.

We pick up the story in more recent times when in 2017, Martin O'Connell, who runs a very well respected historic race team, rebuilt CH-DBE-53 to his exacting standards around a new chassis. The sheer quality of its preparation and presentation can be appreciated from our images. It's powered by a Lester Owen BMW unit and has current FIA papers. Since its rebuild, it's had several successful outings in Masters Sportscars and was running well at a BRDC track day earlier this year. Having formed part of the Ben Sherman Originals team during 1969, our vendor chose to return the car to its original livery from then as a nod to its continuous history.

Potentially competitive in the right hands, this superb historic racer should be eligible for many prestigious events including Masters, Peter Auto, Guards Trophy and many more, and could be raced most weekends of the season somewhere.

SPECIFICATION

Lot Number
332
Make
CHEVRON
Model
B8
Registration Number
N/A
Chassis Number
CH-DBE-53
Transmission
Manual
Body Colour
Midnight Blue

GALLERY

CONSIGNOR

Consignor

For further information regarding this lot please contact Harry.

CONTACT

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SEE IT IN ACTION

SEE IT IN ACTION

All cars must be removed from the venue between 9am and 2pm on Monday 28th August. Full payment must be received before any item is available to be released.

Our transport partner EM Rogers can assist with collection and delivery. Please contact them on +44 (0) 1604 755 511 or trafficdesk@emrogers.co.uk for a quote.

Any cars not collected by 2pm on Monday 28th August will be taken to EM Rogers storage facility in Northampton for a fee of £175 plus VAT. Storage will be charged at £10 plus VAT per day from the Monday onwards.

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An agreement in principle could see you arrange a finance package so the funds are ready to be paid out when you’ve bought your dream auction purchase. Please speak to their experts for a quote on 01423 590242 or visit apollocapitalgroup.co.uk/iconicauctioneers/.

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