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19th November 2015 5:00pm EST
Kreepy Krauly Sweeps 24 Hours of Daytona
In the modern era, perhaps no designer’s name is more revered in motorsport than that of Adrian Newey. The list of his accomplishments in the arena of competition machines is astonishing; Ten Formula 1 Constructor’s Titles and two Formula 1 Driver’s Titles. The 1985 CART Championship and the Indianapolis 500 of the same year were captured in cars of his design. To this day, Adrian Newey remains one of the most celebrated and sought-after race car designers on the planet. This car, 83G-04, will always be directly tied to this modern-day master, as the most-decorated example of the very first race car he designed, the 82-85 March G GTP/ Group C Prototype. This automobile’s competition accomplishments include: The 1983 Camel GTP Driver’s Championship for Al Holbert, the 1983 Camel GTP Manufacturer’s Championship for March, all of this before it captured its greatest single victory… First Overall at the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona.
- Bodied by Porsche aerodynamicist Max Sardou, famous for the “Pink Pig” design.
- Carried Al Holbert to 1983 Camel GTP Driver’s Champion Title
- Captured the 1983 Camel GTP Manufacturer’s Championship for March
- Purchased by Current Owner with Car in CRC/ Red Roof Inn Livery
- Restored to Kreepy Krauly Livery for the 50th Ann. of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, January 28–29, 2012
- Engine Rebuilt by Andial, Santa Ana, CA (Now Carson, CA after purchase by Porsche AG)
- Circa Early 2000s - Ground Up Restoration by Noted Porsche Specialist
- Six Top-Ten Finishes in 1984 IMSA Camel GT Season
- Original Kreepy Krauly Livery Stencils Included
- Upgraded to March 84G Specifications, During 1984 IMSA Camel GT Season
- Andial Porsche 935 Engine Porsche 956 5-Speed Transaxle
This ‘Hat-Trick of Firsts’, for a man many consider the pre-eminent race car designer of the modern era, shines on 83G-04, a brilliant light that is growing brighter. It seems clear that as the market self-educates, collectors of fine automobiles will increasingly seek out Adrian Newey-designed examples. As with every other great designer, they will ask, “Which was the first? Which delivered the first Driver’s Title? Which brought the first Manufacturer’s Title”? The answer to all of the above, is the March/ Porsche 83G-04 on offer by Keno Brothers Fine Automobile Auctions.
One of five land-bound rockets produced in 1983, 83G-04 is unique as the only one built with Porsche power. Along with two of its sister cars, 83G-04 was originally purchased by the legendary Al Holbert, of Holbert Racing. The other two examples had Chevrolet power, but ’04’ ran, and still does run, a Porsche 935-derived, single turbo, 3.1 liter, flat-6 that develops 600HP at the lowest boost setting, and a staggering 800HP at the highest setting. As a result, 83G-04 is welcome at all Porsche Racing and Reunion Events.
“Although it is not widely known, one of the most successful Porsche powered racecars ever was not a Porsche. It was a March GTP car, an 83G that, in the hands of Al Holbert, not only won the 1983 IMSA Camel GT Championship, it then went on to win the 1984 Daytona 24-Hour race outright, in the hands of its new owners, the South African-based “Kreepy Krauly” cars.”
- 1983Charlotte 500 Km: Holbert/Trueman; 1st
- Brainerd: Holbert/Trueman; 1st
- Minnesota: Holbert/Trueman; 1st
- Portland 3 Hours: Holbert/Trueman 1st
- Sears Point 3 Hours: Holbert/Trueman 1st
- Daytona finale: Holbert/Trueman 1st
- 1st Overall for season, and Series Champion for both car and constructor
- 1984Rebuilt to 84G Series specifications
- Daytona 24 Hours: Van der Merwe/Martin/Duxbury; 1st Overall
- Miami G/P: Van der Merwe/Martin/Duxbury; 8th OA
- Sebring 12 Hours: Van der Merwe/Martin/Duxbury; DNF
- LA Times GP/Riverside: Van der Merwe/Martin/Duxbury; 6th
- Laguna Seca: Van der Merwe; 3rd
- Charlotte: Van der Merwe; DNF
- Lime Rock: Van der Merwe; 1st
- Mid-Ohio: Van der Merwe/Martin 5th
- 1985Sold to John Hotchkiss
- Riverside 500 Km: Hotchkiss/Adams; 5th
- 1986Sold to Monte Shelton
- 1987Sold to Rasim Tugbert
- 2005Sold to Len Rusiewicz
While this March/Porsche 83G-04 has an exceptional history in racing, including winning one of the world’s most significant endurance events, the 24 Hours of Daytona, its future value and significance may be influenced more by the man that created it. Finely tuned from the March 82G chassis, Newey’s very first design, the March/Porsche 83G/84G has already gained prominence, along with the cachet of its creator.
One of the most visually-stimulating endurance-racing cars of all time, is the fluid and tasty “Pink Pig” Porsche 917 Long-tail, raced at the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. Max Sardou, was responsible for the body of that car, and is also responsible for bodying this one. Thus in one car, two generations of race-car design mastery can be found.
After its retirement from competitive racing in 1986, the car was sold to collector Rasim Tugerk, and received a complete overhaul of all mechanicals, including a complete rebuild of the engine and a repainting in its original Red Roof Inns livery. It is believed that, in the approximately 18 years with Mr. Tugerk, the car made only one on-track appearance, during the parade laps at the Rennsport Reunion at Daytona, in 2004.
The car has been with its current owner since 2005, with whom it has made several track appearances, including the 50th-anniversary celebration of the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2012. It was for this event that the car was repainted in its Kreepy Krauly livery, to honor its most significant accomplishment.
How will the collector’s market of the future view cars which came from the design hand of Adrian Newey?
- The best example of a first design is almost always the most highly-regarded and sought-after.
- The first Driver Championship and Manufacturer Championship-winning car will be the most highly-regarded and sought-after. This car won both, multiplying the impact.
- A car that won a major international race such as the 24 Hours of Daytona will be highly sought-after.
The March 83G is a spectacular machine, standing out prominently from a very competitive field in terms of design and execution. The utterly unique livery also serves to make it a beautiful and thought-provoking display piece. These attributes, and the recognition of its design significance, will contribute to its continuing appreciation.
A Designer’s view
The 1980’s saw the birth of one of the most entertaining prototype race car series of its day, the IMSA GTP, later known as the IMSA Camel GTP. Similar in appearance to the high-budget, automaker-dominated Group C race cars of the same era, IMSA GTP offered a compelling brand of racing, enabling smaller manufacturers to develop competitive prototype race cars, for private customers. Even restricted by smaller development budgets, IMSA GTP designs utilized much of the same aerodynamic know-how seen in Group C cars. They sported similar low-slung silhouettes, with audaciously long tails, capped with high-mounted wings. The use of flat floors and ground-effect-generating rear diffusers all worked in concert to help push the limits of their performance to astounding levels.
March was a leader in IMSA GTP customer race car development, and the design heritage of their extremely successful March 82G – 85G Series was nothing short of spectacular. Tapping the talents of a young, up-and-coming design engineer by the name of Adrian Newey (who later went on to become the world’s pre-eminent F1 race car designer), March developed an aluminum honeycomb chassis that could accept a variety of power plants. This customer-friendly, adaptable chassis was then dressed in a sleek body designed by Max Sardou - the father of the 917/20 “Pink Pig” bodywork - which was one of the most aerodynamically-efficient race car bodies of the time. Given the success of lessons learned from the 917/20’s low drag body, it is no surprise that the March 83G incorporated a similar low-slung silhouette and a long tail, capped with a large, adjustable wing.
The teardrop greenhouse was designed to minimize drag and maintain attached airflow over the car, extending all the way to the outer edge of the tail section. This optimized the effectiveness of both the high-mounted, adjustable rear wing and the undertray – similar to the solution used by Porsche on the 956. The most unique and important design feature of the 82G - 85G Series cars was undoubtedly the catamaran-like front end, which featured flow-through aerodynamics, with front fenders shaped like inverted boat hulls. They shroud the front wheels and protrude forward to help channel airflow efficiently around the nose. These two hulls are then “connected” by an adjustable, floating-wing plane, mounted above the car’s main hood surface. This surface begins as a splitter at the front of the car’s floor, and flows back to pick up the windscreen. The advantage of this “flow through” front end was that it allowed for a greater level of front-end aerodynamic tuning, through alteration of the angle of attack of the front wing.
While flow-through front ends that rammed air up and over the cockpit were utilized in many Can-Am cars, and similar solutions were seen on contemporary Group C cars, the March’s floating-wing plane adjustability was a unique feature. It allowed tremendous variation in tuning the car’s aero balance, as the team could dial in more or less front-end down-force, as needed. This front end was nicknamed the “Lobster Claw” a year earlier in 1982, when a Red Lobster-sponsored 82G displayed a paint scheme depicting two large lobster claws on the front fenders.
“Apart from becoming a mainstay in March GTP design, it is clear that this innovative feature inspired future designers to research other floating and adjustable aerodynamic solutions.”