1974 | Surtees TS16

We are pleased to offer this iconic, high-airbox 1974 Surtees TS16, chassis 02, for sale.

In 1970 John Surtees produced his first Formula 1 car, the Surtees TS7, which was followed in subsequent years by the TS9, TS9B and TS14 models until the introduction of the TS16 in 1974.

Our car, TS16/02, was prepared for the 1974 season with sponsorship from Bang & Olufsen, Matchbox and FINA and assigned to the young upcoming Brazilian Carlos Pace. The Brazilian had shown his talent the year before taking lap records at the Nurburgring and Osterreichring. A strong run in the Argentine GP, which ended in engine failure, followed by a 4th in Brazil bode well for the remainder of the season. For the South African GP, things looked even more promising when Pace qualified on the front row of the grid in 2nd place. This promise though was never fulfilled as reliability issues hampered the development of the TS16. Pace left the team mid-season and Jochen Mass took over TS16/02 for two races before he too quit the team. Derek Bell took over the seat for the German GP and finished 11th, but Jean-Pierre Jabouille failed to qualify for the Austrian GP. Surtees then lost his Bang & Olufsen sponsorship and the car didnt race again in 1974.

For 1975 team Surtees did a deal with toy car maker Matchbox to run a single car team and signed Brabham refugee John Watson to drive the car. TS16/02 was primarily Johns spare car for the season, but was pressed into action for the Monaco GP. The only other race the car did in 1975 was at the British GP with National Organs owner Dave Morgan at the wheel. Dave, along with a lot of other drivers, got caught out in the torrential rain storm which flooded the circuit and he joined the pile up of F1 cars which had all aquaplaned off the track at Copse Corner. The damage was minimal and the car was retrieved but was never raced again by Team Surtees who placed the car in storage. (The detailed race history can be found in the History section further below.)

In 1999, TS16/02 was bought directly from John Surtees by amateur racer Chris Perkins. Restored in yellow/blue Matchbox livery, Chris raced TS16/02 in historic F1 until selling it to Peter Tyer in 2002. In 2004 the car was sold to Belgian historic racer Alain-James de Wagter who rebuilt the car in its original red/white/black Bang & Olufsen livery and raced it in the 2005 Thoroughbred F1 series. De Wagter then sold the car to Yves Saguato who only raced it once, at Dijon in 2007, before selling the car back to de Wagter in 2009. Raced in the 2010 TGP series and the 2010 Monaco GP Historique, de Wagter sold TS16/02 to Hugues Taittinger in late 2011. Raced for a year in 2012 by Hugues, including the Monaco GP Historique for a second time, TS16/02 was then used for display purposes only and was resident in the Stavelot Museum at Spa-Francorchamps from 2014 to 2019 until being sold to the current owner who has since raced TS16/02 in the 2020 and 2021 Masters Historic F1 series, the 2022 and also the 2024 Monaco Historic GP. (The full ownership history can be found in the History section below.)

Since acquiring TS16/02 in 2019, the car has been maintained with no-expense-spared by UK preparer OC Racing Ltd. A lot of development has been done - including a wind tunnel test - and the car is properly sorted with excellent balance and handling, and is a thrill to drive. It is sold in 100% race-ready condition with a fresh Richardson DFV-engine, with all date-related items current and with extensive spares (wheels sets, nose, etc.) and FIA HTP valid until 31/12/2029.

This iconic high-airbox Surtees TS16 in splendid Bang & Olufsen livery is ready to continue its historic racing career in Masters F1 Racing Legends with its next owner/keeper.

...For more information please visit www.rmd.be.

...For more information please visit www.rmd.be.