Sauber SHS C6
Encyclopedia
The Sauber SHS C6 was a Group C
prototype
racing car built by Swiss manufacturer Sauber
and engineering firm Seger & Hoffman (hence the unique SHS designation), intended for competition in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
series. Seger & Hoffman left the project later in 1982, leaving the car completely under Sauber's control.
Following Sauber's return to sportscar racing with Group 5
BMW M1
s, Peter Sauber
decided to return to the top echelon with the creation of a new scratch built sports car in association with Team GS-Sport, who would run the team. Among the more notable features of the SHS C6 was the large "whaletail" rear wing, centrally mounted on the chassis.
where it unfortunately failed to finish due to fuel pump failure. Following this, the car appeared in its first Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
at the Nürburgring
, where it again failed to finish due to an accident. Brun and Sauber's luck however would increase as the year went on, with an SHS C6 finishing 13th at Silverstone
, earning its first WEC championship points, although its second entry failed to finish. However, for the next few WSC and DRM races, neither SHS C6s would be able to finish, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
. Following Le Mans though, Brun and Sauber would improve again, as they finished 7th at Norisring
, 4th at Hockenheimring
, and 8th at Hockenheimring
again in DRM, then followed by a 9th at the 1000km Spa
and 5th at 1000 km Mugello in WEC. With these results, Sauber managed to finish tied for 5th in the World Endurance Championship for Manufacturers.
With 1982 over, Sauber decided that the SHS C6 needed improvement, and decided to develop a replacement, the Sauber C7
, and to use a BMW motor in place of their Ford
Cosworth
they had used for the bulk of 1982. With no longer being needed for 1983, the two SHS C6 chassis were retired.
split the Group C category into two classes, with the lower class designated Group C Junior and intended for less wealthy private teams. For ther 1985 season, French racer Roland Bassaler, needing a cheap chassis for competition in the class (which was now designated as Group C Junior), decided to buy an SHS C6 and install a BMW M88
3.5L I6. Debuting at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
, the car finished a distant 23rd. The only other finish for the year was a 17th at the 1000km Spa
, leaving the teams with no points in the 1985 championship.
Roland Bassler would continue into 1986, again starting at Le Mans where he failed to finish, then followed by a 17th place finish at Brands Hatch
. Roland Bassler would then score their only points at the Nürburgring
with a 12th place finish, in an event which was actually won by a Sauber C8
. After the 1986 season, Roland Bassler would stop participating in the World Championship, but continued to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans until 1988, scoring no finishes in the two attempts.
. The car was still outfitted with a 3.5L BMW I6, although the bodywork was radically different from how the SHS C6 had started life in 1982. Unfortunately the car would not finish due to an accident, leading to the final retirement of the chassis after 11 years. This also meant that the SHS C6 out lasted the next five chassis that Sauber had built to replace the SHS C6.
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
racing car built by Swiss manufacturer Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....
and engineering firm Seger & Hoffman (hence the unique SHS designation), intended for competition in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series...
series. Seger & Hoffman left the project later in 1982, leaving the car completely under Sauber's control.
Following Sauber's return to sportscar racing with Group 5
Group 5 (racing)
Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defined a Special Touring Car category and from 1970 to 1971 the classification was applied to limited production Sports Cars restricted to 5...
BMW M1
BMW M1
The BMW M1 is a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981.In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to...
s, Peter Sauber
Peter Sauber
Peter Sauber is the team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, most visibly the eponymous Sauber Formula One team.- Motorsport career :...
decided to return to the top echelon with the creation of a new scratch built sports car in association with Team GS-Sport, who would run the team. Among the more notable features of the SHS C6 was the large "whaletail" rear wing, centrally mounted on the chassis.
Initial racing history
Launched in the 1982 season, the SHS C6 first ran at the World Endurance Championship 1000km Monza1000km Monza
The 1000 Kilometres of Monza is an endurance race mainly for sports cars held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy.The "Coppa Inter-Europa" was first held in 1949, on the circuit. The race expanded to 1000 kilometres in 1954, and moved to the 10-kilometre circuit in 1956. The event was...
where it unfortunately failed to finish due to fuel pump failure. Following this, the car appeared in its first Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series...
at the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
, where it again failed to finish due to an accident. Brun and Sauber's luck however would increase as the year went on, with an SHS C6 finishing 13th at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
, earning its first WEC championship points, although its second entry failed to finish. However, for the next few WSC and DRM races, neither SHS C6s would be able to finish, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. Following Le Mans though, Brun and Sauber would improve again, as they finished 7th at Norisring
Norisring
The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, on the former Nazi party rally grounds site of the NSDAP party conventions. As the city's German name Nürnberg would lead to confusion with the already famous Nürburgring, the old name Noris was chosen for the simple track which is nowadays approx...
, 4th at Hockenheimring
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
, and 8th at Hockenheimring
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
again in DRM, then followed by a 9th at the 1000km Spa
1000km Spa
The 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.- History :The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races followed. As on the Nürburgring, both a 24-hour race for touring cars and GTs is held, and an...
and 5th at 1000 km Mugello in WEC. With these results, Sauber managed to finish tied for 5th in the World Endurance Championship for Manufacturers.
With 1982 over, Sauber decided that the SHS C6 needed improvement, and decided to develop a replacement, the Sauber C7
Sauber C7
The Sauber C7 was a Group C prototype race car built by Swiss manufacturer Sauber for competition in the World Sportscar Championship.Meant to replace Sauber's previous effort, the SHS C6, the C7 would continue Sauber's initial failed development of the BMW M88 3.5L I6 engine in the SHS C6...
, and to use a BMW motor in place of their Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
they had used for the bulk of 1982. With no longer being needed for 1983, the two SHS C6 chassis were retired.
Return to racing
In 1983, the FIAFédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
split the Group C category into two classes, with the lower class designated Group C Junior and intended for less wealthy private teams. For ther 1985 season, French racer Roland Bassaler, needing a cheap chassis for competition in the class (which was now designated as Group C Junior), decided to buy an SHS C6 and install a BMW M88
BMW M88
The BMW M88/3 is an in line 6 cylinder piston engine. It was based on the M88/1 that was used in the BMW M1's street version, with double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder. The M88/1 was in turn based on the M49 engine which was used in the BMW 3.0CSi...
3.5L I6. Debuting at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
, the car finished a distant 23rd. The only other finish for the year was a 17th at the 1000km Spa
1000km Spa
The 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.- History :The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races followed. As on the Nürburgring, both a 24-hour race for touring cars and GTs is held, and an...
, leaving the teams with no points in the 1985 championship.
Roland Bassler would continue into 1986, again starting at Le Mans where he failed to finish, then followed by a 17th place finish at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
. Roland Bassler would then score their only points at the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
with a 12th place finish, in an event which was actually won by a Sauber C8
Sauber C8
The Sauber C8 was a Group C prototype race car introduced in 1985 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the first in a partnership between Sauber and Mercedes-Benz....
. After the 1986 season, Roland Bassler would stop participating in the World Championship, but continued to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans until 1988, scoring no finishes in the two attempts.
Returning again
Roland Bassaler would again bring his SHS C6 chassis out of retirement for a second time in 1993, again to participate in the C2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. The car was still outfitted with a 3.5L BMW I6, although the bodywork was radically different from how the SHS C6 had started life in 1982. Unfortunately the car would not finish due to an accident, leading to the final retirement of the chassis after 11 years. This also meant that the SHS C6 out lasted the next five chassis that Sauber had built to replace the SHS C6.