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Most people know of the Tyrell Project 34 six-wheeled F1 car but fewer are aware that more than one famous F1 constructor experimented with the six-wheel F1 concept. The front wheels of an open-wheeled F1 car generate aerodynamic drag. The thinking behind the Tyrell car was that this drag affect could be reduced by using smaller tyres at the front. To counteract the corresponding loss of front-end grip, Tyrell built a car with four tiny front wheels thereby overcoming the drag effect and actually increasing grip. The P34 was reasonably successful with the two cars taking a memorable 1-2 in the Swedish Grand Prix in 1976. The Tyrell team also finished 3rd and 4th overall in the championship. The car was less successful in 1977 however and the idea was dropped. Although Goodyear had manufactured special 10" tyres for the car, it had failed to match the development work on them compared to the normal sized tyres used by other teams. With all four front wheels steering the car, Tyrell also found that the P34's complicated four-wheel front suspension assembly added a lot of weight to the car. At March Cars in Bicester, designer Robin herd had watched the P34 closely and had come to the conclusion that the "four front wheels" concept was something of a blind alley in any case. In his assessment, the improved aerodynamics at the front were largely negated by the rear tyres which account for 30-40% of the car's total drag. He also felt that the extra grip they generated would be more useful at the rear end. Herd drew up plans for a six-wheeled car with four driven wheels at the rear. With all six tyres the same size as a regular F1 front tyre, the car would be much slimmer and slipperier than other F1 cars. It would also have much better traction and there would be no problem with tyre development since it would use exactly the same rubber as other Goodyear-shod competitors. With the apparent technical advantages of this concept laid out, Max Mosely (Herd's partner at March Cars) pressed for a prototype to be built. Max was more business-minded than Robin and had already noted that the P34 had been a tremendous publicity coup for Tyrell. Aside from the technical merits, he believed a March six-wheeler would be an irresistible package to present to a potential sponsor. The car was designated as the March 2-4-0 following the practice used to describe railway rolling stock: Two wheel steering, Four wheel drive, Zero differential. Unfortunately, the March team was at something of a low point financially in 1977 and developing an all-new six-wheel car would have been too expensive. As a compromise measure, a 1976-design March 761 was adapted by March mechanic Wayne Eckersley in a quiet corner of the Bicester factory using existing parts from the factory stores wherever possible. But this wasn't the only compromise. Having four driven wheels at the rear meant a totally new gearbox would need to be constructed. To counteract the increased stresses that the close-coupled four-wheel-drive system would generate, it would need to be much stronger than usual. Herd's original design for the gearbox casing recognised this and specified a series of heavy strengthening ribs to counteract the additional loading. Later on, after costing the design, it was decided that the casting would be too expensive to produce and some of the ribs were removed from the drawing. Once the 2-4-0 was partially built, the press were invited to the factory in early 1977 for a viewing of the hitherto "secret" project. In truth, the sight on offer was little more than a full-scale mock-up but it generated a huge amount of excitement. On top of this, the assembled journalists were promised a full running demonstration at Silverstone scheduled for a fortnight later. All hands at Bicester were now duly pressed into service and a proper running car was made ready on time. Unfortunately, the inevitable happened. Within half a lap the gearbox casing flexed and the gears became unmeshed. There was no time to make a new stronger casting and when the car reappeared it was minus the rear crown wheel and pinion. Effectively it had become a two-wheel drive car again. Fortunately for March, it was a wet day at the circuit and the driver (Howden Ganley) could not push the car too fast and the test was deemed a success by the assembled media. Whatever the press wrote, there was no escaping the fact that the car needed the new gearbox casing and a serious development program. Unable to afford the time and resources that this would require, the 2-4-0 project was put on the "back-burner". The car was eventually fitted with a stronger gearbox and ran at Silverstone in testing with Howden Ganley at the wheel. Although it was another wet day, the car was run up and down the Hangar Straight and, with four driven wheels, Ganley reported that the traction was incredible. The car also appeared briefly in practice at the 1977 Brazilian GP although it did not race. When it reappeared at the Belgium GP in June it had been converted back to four wheels. In 1979 the car was bought by British Hillclimb specialist Roy Lane and converted back to six wheels. Lane won two events in the six-wheeler that year. If success is measured in race wins, the March 2-4-0 was surely a failiure. Having said that, it is still believed that the 2-4-0 concept was sound and if March could have pursued a weight-shedding development program, the car would have been a major success. The concept would have adapted well to "ground-effect" which was the coming technology in F1. The William team built a "2-4-0" style six-wheeler (designated FW08B) in 1982 but, despite the added complications, couldn't make it go any faster than their four wheel FW08. Any hope of seeing a "2-4-0" race was finally consigned to history when the FIA banned four-wheel drive. The FW08B remains in William's museum. The March 2-4-0 story was not without a silver lining. As Max Moseley had surmised, the car was a huge publicity magnet for the company. In actual fact, it was the most profitable car they ever built - Scalextric bough the rights and produced a hugely popular slot-racing model of the car. March also made a small fortune from hiring the car out to trade shows and exhibitions…
