Racecarsdirect.com, the leading online race car sales specialist, is pleased to offer for sale by auction, a unique, 1979 Williams FW07 Grand Prix winning Formula One car driven by Alan Jones. It is fully restored and ready for the track.
The car is the 1979 Williams Formula One Car #27, chassis number FW07/01, in which Alan Jones won the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix.
The auction is now open for bids and bidding will conclude at 5.00pm BST Saturday 31st march.
The FW07 was Williams Grand Prix Engineering’s first attempt at a ground effect car. This example, FW07/01, was raced eight times during 1979, in the hands of Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni, with Jones claiming victory in the Dutch GP at Zandvoort.
FW07/01 went on to race in the 1980 Aurora AFX British F1 Championship, with four poles and three wins. Eliseo Salazar secured two victories, while Emilio de Villota also took the chequered flag.
After this stint in the Aurora series and various other race outings, FW07/01 was exhibited as part of the Williams Grand Prix Collection, one of the largest private collections of Formula 1 cars in the world.
FW07/01, along with its sister car FW07/02, took pride of place in a collection which spans the entire history of the Williams Formula One team.
In 2013/2014, the car underwent a complete, ground up restoration by John Cadd of JC Historics. Cadd started his race career at Williams in 1979, coincidentally at the same time that FW07/01 made its debut. He was initially part of the test team, before becoming part of the race team.
Cadd continued this role until he took over custodianship of the Williams Grand Prix Collection, which he continued to do for the next ten years.
The restoration project took over 1,000 man hours and FW07/01 was painstakingly restored as close to the original specification as possible, in some cases with original Williams parts. When original parts were not available, replacement items were manufactured to the highest racing standards, using original drawings or templates.
Both engine and gearbox have been completely rebuilt by specialists Geoff Richardson Engineering and BPA Engineering Ltd and the car now wears the livery which it ran, when Jones and FW07/01 won their first race together at Zandvoort in 1979.
Now fully restored and powered by the ubiquitous Ford-sponsored Cosworth DFV (V8) engine, the #27 FW07/01 is back on the track where it belongs, so that others can admire this truly historic car – as was the case over three decades ago.
On 2 June 2017, the FW07/01 was invited to Silverstone, to mark 40 years of Williams. In front of over 50,000 spectators, the FW07/01 lined up alongside other iconic cars from the team’s Formula One history.
Starting with Williams’ very first car, the Patrick Neve March 761/7, followed by the FW06 and the FW07 (this car being one of two 07s invited to take part in the event), culminating in the Massa/Stroll 2017 FW40, some 18 cars in all lined-up in The Wing paddock.
On a day where FW07/01 took to the track alongside cars such as the six-wheeled FW08B, Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Championship-winning FW14B and the FW40, FW07/01 rightly took its place as part of the unique heritage which only a team like Williams can offer.
SPECIFICATIONS
MAKE: Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd.
TYPE: Formula One.
MODEL: FW07. Chassis number FW07/01.
YEAR: 1979.
ENGINE TYPE: Ford Cosworth DFV V8; four-stroke; V configuration (rebuilt by Geoff
Richardson Engineering in 2013).
ENGINE NUMBER: DFV 20.
ENGINE CAPACITY: 2993cc
BHP/TORQUE: 462.5hp @ 8,000rpm / 275nm @ 10,000 rpm.
CHASSIS: 0.45in aviation honeycomb, with 22 gauge aluminium outer skins.
SUSPENSION: coil springs; top rocker; lower wishbones; inboard dampers.
GEARBOX: Hewland FGA-002 five-speed (rebuilt by BPA Engineering Ltd in 2013.
IGNITION: Coil.
INJECTION: Lucal [mechanical].
LUBRICATION: dry-sump oil cooler, rebuilt in 2013 by Serck Motorsports.
FUEL CELL: single Aero Tec Labs (ATL) fuel cell to FIA Standard FT-3.5-1999.
BRAKES: front and rear hydraulic discs.
STEERING: magnesium rack & pinion; ten-inch steering wheel by Personal.
WHEELS: Dymag die-cast magnesium.
BODY: fibreglass with aluminium honeycomb sections to engine bay; vertical skirt box with
honeycomb inner and carbon-foam sandwich outer skins.
Safety: Lifeline extinguisher system.
Wheelbase: 2,692mm.
Track: front 1,738mm; rear – 1,600mm.
Weight: approx 575kg.
Restoration: 2013-2014.
HISTORY
Long Beach, 8 April 1979
Static Display
Jarama, 29 April 1979
Driver: Alan Jones [Australia]
Qualified: 13th – 1m 16s
Result: Retired [gear selection]
Zolder, 13 May 1979
Driver: Alan Jones [Australia]
Qualified: 4th – 1m 21s
Result: Retired [Electrics]; Led the GP
Silverstone, 14 July 1979
Driver: Alan Jones [Australia]
Qualified: 1st – 1m 11s
Result: Retired [water pump]; Pole; Led the GP
Osterreichring, 12 August 1979
Driver: Clay Regazzoni [Switzerland]
Qualified: 6th – 1m 35s
Result: 5th (+1) – 1h 28m 26s
Zandvoort, 26 August 1979
Driver: Alan Jones [Australia]
Qualified: 2nd – 1m 15s [FW07/04]
Result: 1st (+1) – 1h 41m 19s [FW07/01]
Monza, 9 September 1979
Driver: Clay Regazzoni [Switzerland]
Qualified: 6th – 1m 35s
Result: 3rd (+3) – 1h 22m 50s
Montreal, 30 September 1979
Driver: Clay Regazzoni [Switzerland]
Qualified: 3rd – 1m 30s
Result: 3rd (+0) – 1h 53m 20s
Watkins Glen, 7 October 1979
Driver: Clay Regazzoni [Switzerland]
Qualified: 5th – 1m 37s
Result: Retired [collision]
The auction is now open for bids and bidding will conclude at 5.00pm BST Saturday 31st march.
