Formula Vee

Description

The class is based on the pre-1963 Volkswagen Beetle, utilizing a collection of stock parts to form a competitive race car around a purpose-built tube frame and racing tires. The VW engine, transmission, front suspension, brakes, and wheels are stock or modified stock parts. The body is fiberglass or carbon fiber. The intention of this class is for the average person to be able to build and maintain the car.

Over the years, the rules have evolved to improve performance, lower cost, and to allow the replacement of discontinued parts. In 2003, Grassroots Motorsports presented Formula Vee with the Editors' Choice Award.

Unlike many open-wheel formulas, Formula Vee cars are not permitted to use wings or ground effect to produce aerodynamic downforce. The lack of these features, the limited engine power, and the similar performance of the cars makes taking advantage of slipstreaming a key tactic.

The engines are based on either the 1200cc or 1600cc variants of the Volkswagen Beetle engine. Unlike many amateur categories, competitors are permitted to build and tune their engines themselves, within strict limitations on the extent of modifications from stock permitted. The 1600cc engines used in the Australian Formula Vee series produce approximately "70-75hp"; the original 1200cc engine produces considerably less. This makes Formula Vee cars among the least powerful vehicles used in circuit racing (for comparison, the contemporary Formula 4 category uses 160 hp engines).

A top-running Formula Vee car will go 120 mph and corner at about 1.6 g. It weighs a minimum of 1025 lb with driver or 500 kg with driver as raced in the Australian 1600 cc specification.

Purchasing and running a Formula Vee car is relatively affordable compared to most motorsport categories. In 2022, a brand-new race car for the Australian Formula Vee series was estimated to cost approximately AU$50,000 to AU$55,000 (approximately $US37,000), with competitive second-hand cars costing much less. Renting a car for a race meeting was estimated at $A1000 (approximately $US700).

In the US, Formula Vee is one of the classes at the SCCA Runoffs, which awards a national championship. While it is primarily a class in the Sports Car Club of America, many other organizations have adopted Formula Vee as a class.

Variants

Variants of the Formula Vee rules exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK & Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Particularly notable is Formula First, racing in the US and New Zealand, which employs the same chassis, but with later model Beetle parts, a larger 1600 cc motor (New Zealand uses the 1200 cc variant) and other upgraded components such as disc brakes and rack and pinion steering.

(Formula Super Vee, although initially similar, soon moved to water-cooled 1.6 L VW four-cylinder engines for higher-tech and faster cars).

List of Formula Vee championships and Events

References

References

1. "Grassroots Motorsports {{!".
2. Williams, Bruce. (6 February 2018). "Under the skin: Formula Vee".
3. [https://cdn.connectsites.net/user_files/scca/downloads/000/061/570/GCR%20-%20April%20Updated.pdf?1648665222 (SCCA GCR 2022 specs)] {{webarchive. link. (2008-05-31)
4. "Archived copy".
5. McCarthy, Dan. (2022-01-02). "The Cost of Racing: Formula Vee".