THE CHAPARRAL STORY, PART IV.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. With the Can-Am Series slated again for the fall, Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars team focused on the 1967 World Sports Car Championship, competing in select races throughout the year with its new racing coupe, the 2F Chevrolet. The team competed at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Monza, Spa, Nurburgring, the Targa Florio and Brands Hatch in England. The Chaparral 2F Chevrolet was not pretty in the sense that the 2D was, but it was brutal, purposeful and fast when it was "on." And with its booming 427 Chevrolet V8, it was often the crowd favorite.

Unfortunately for the team, results were hard to come by, with many DNFs accumulated throughout the course of the season. By the time the Brands Hatch 6 Hours was run at the end of July - aka the BOAC International 500 - the Chaparral Team was desperate for a good finish. As was the case with the previous events throughout the season, the entry list for Brands Hatch was stacked with impressive teams and drivers. Denny Hulme (with co-driver Jack Brabham) put the No. 4 Lola T70 Mk.3 GT Chevrolet on pole for the 6-hour endurance test, with the No. 2 Lola T70 Mk. 3 Chevrolet of John Surtees/David Hobbs qualifying second with an identical lap time. Phil Hill (with co-driver Mike Spence) qualified third in the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet, followed by three entries from the Ferrari factory: Ludovico Scarfiotti/Peter Sutcliffe (No. 7 Ferrari 330 P4), Paul Hawkins/Jonathan Williams (No. 8 Ferrari 330 P4) and Jackie Stewart/Chris Amon (No. 6 Ferrari 330 P4). Two factory entries from Porsche qualified next, with the No. 10 Porsche 910 driven by Graham Hill/Jochen Rindt followed by the No. 11 Porsche 910 driven by Jo Siffert/Bruce McLaren. Pedro Rodriguez/Dr. Dick Thompson was next up in the No. 3 J. W. Automotive Engineering Mirage M1 Ford, followed by Richard Attwood/David Piper in the No. 9 Ferrari 412. And three more factory entries from Porsche rounded out the notables, with the No. 25 Porsche 910 for Udo Schutz/Jochen Rindt (again), the No. 12 Porsche 907 LH driven by Hans Herrmann/Jochen Neerpasch, and the No. 24 Porsche 910 driven by Vic Elford/Lucien Bianchi. As you might imagine, it would be a ferocious fight for the overall victory.

At the end of the day, Hill and Spence delivered a milestone win for Chaparral, which turned out to be the last major international win for Jim Hall's Midland, Texas-based team. The Jackie Stewart/Chris Amon No. 6 Ferrari 330 P4 was second, and the No. 11 Porsche 910 driven by Jo SIffert/Bruce McLaren finished third. Watch a cool video from that weekend here. 

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Phil Hill and Mike Spence at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. The dynamic duo was often very quick in the Chaparral 2F Chevrolet during the World Sports Car Championship season, but the results were very hard to come by. Hill put the No. 15 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet on the front row next to the Gurney/Foyt No. 3 Shelby American Ford Mk II at Daytona but DNF due to an accident and suspension damage.

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Jim Hall qualified the No. 6 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet second to the Mario Andretti/Bruce McLaren No. 1 Shelby American Ford Mk IV at the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring. But Hall and co-driver Mike Spence retired with a differential failure. Realistically, however, the Chaparral was no match for the Ford Mk IV that weekend.

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On May 5, 1967, the Chaparral Cars team competed in the Spa 1000 Km. Phil Hill put the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet on pole almost four seconds clear of the second-place qualifiers, Dr. Dick Thompson/Jacky Ickx (No. 6 J.W. Automotive Engineering Mirage M1 Ford). Hill and co-driver Mike Spence retired with a broken gearbox; the Ickx/Thompson Mirage Ford went on to win.

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Another shot of the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet in the pits at Spa - note Phil Hill talking to Jim Hall.

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The Phil Hill/Mike Spence No. 4 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet flies in the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers. Again, Hill put the Chaparral 2F on pole, almost eight seconds clear of the second-place qualifier, the No. 1 Lola T70 Mk.3 GT driven by John Surtees/David Hobbs. But the Chaparral suffered another gearbox failure.

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The No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet driven by Phil Hill/Mike Spence pursues the No. 3 Ferrari 330 P4 driven by Lorenzo Bandini/Chris Amon during the Monza 1000 Km race. Hill again put the Chaparral on pole, with the Bandini/Amon Ferrari qualifying second. The Chaparral retired with a broken driveshaft, while the Bandini/Amon Ferrari went on to win.

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Yes, the Targa Florio in Sicily was peak insanity, made exponentially more difficult trying to wheel a 427 cu. in.-powered monster through the streets and byways that made up the race. Here's Phil Hill standing on the gas in the No. 222 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet. Why the strange number? The numbers for the cars in the Targa Florio were assigned based on the starting times during the day of the race, meaning the Chaparral started at 2:22 p.m.

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Another shot of the Chaparral 2F winging it through the Sicilian countryside during the Targa Florio. Hap Sharp co-drove with Phil Hill in this race; they retired after a blown tire caused too much damage to continue. The winners? The No. 228 Porsche 910 driven by Rolf Stommelen/Paul Hawkins. By the way, each lap of the 72 Km course took around 38 minutes for the quick cars. The race distance was ten laps.

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One more shot from the 1967 Targa Florio and the Chaparral 2F Chevrolet, just because. By the way, does it look like the high-rear wing of the Chaparral is actually leaning into the direction of the corner? Yes. It was connected directly to the rear suspension.

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The Front Row for the 1967 BOAC International 500 - aka the Brands Hatch 6 Hours - with the (obscured) No. 4 Lola T70 Mk.3 GT Chevrolet driven by Denny Hulme/Jack Brabham on pole, the No. 2 Lola T70 Mk.3 GT Chevrolet of John Surtees/David Hobbs in second position, and the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet of Mike Spence/Phil Hill.

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The No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet driven by Phil Hill/Mike Spence won the Brands Hatch 6 Hours by almost one minute over the No. 6 Ferrari 330 P4 driven by Jackie Stewart/Chris Amon.

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Jackie Stewart wheels the No. 6 Scuderia Ferrari 330 P4 during the Brands Hatch 6 Hours. He and Chris Amon would finish second to the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet driven by Phil Hill/Mike Spence.

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The No. 1 Hill/Spence Chaparral 2F Chevrolet pursues the No. 7 Ferrari 330 P4 driven by Scarfiotti/Sutcliffe during the Brands Hatch 6 Hours.

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The No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet headed to victory in the BOAC International 500 - Brands Hatch 6 Hour race.

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The iconic image from the 1967 Brand Hatch 6 Hours. Phil Hill wheels the No. 1 Chaparral 2F Chevrolet to the Chaparral team's last major international sports car victory, a glorious day for the American team. It was also the last race for the 40-year-old Hill, who retired shortly after this race.

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG