Six Wheels of Genius: How Derek Gardner’s Radical Concept Shook F1 and Gave Ken Tyrrell a One‑Off Masterpiece
Let me take you on a wild ride through the story of the Tyrrell P34 — yes, the six‑wheeled F1 car. Strap in; we’ve got designers, engineers, drivers and a little madness in the mix.
In the mid‑1970s, the British team Tyrrell Racing Organisation, led by Ken Tyrrell, was already making a name in Grand Prix racing — but by 1975 they wanted something radically different. Enter chief designer Derek Gardner, a quietly brilliant engineer who had cut his teeth installing four‑wheel‑drive systems for Matra and by early ’70s was turning his attention to chassis design for Tyrrell.
Gardner’s thinking was this: by reducing the size of the front wheels you can reduce the frontal area, thereby improving aerodynamics; but you then risk sacrificing grip. So he did something audacious: fit four small front wheels (10 inch diameter) in two banks, all steering, and two conventional rear wheels. The idea: more contact patch up front, less aerodynamic drag, better turn‑in and braking.
The car was unveiled in September 1975 (at Heathrow) and was labelled the “Project 34” (hence P34) — it raced from the 1976 season.
When the P34 hit the grid in 1976, driven by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, it turned heads. In just its fourth race it achieved a legendary 1‑2 finish at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix — Scheckter first, Depailler second — marking the only win ever by a six‑wheeled F1 car.
It was competitive: throughout 1976 the P34 scored multiple podiums and helped Tyrrell finish well in the Constructors’ standings.
But as always in F1, the devil is in the detail. The small front tyres needed by the P34 proved expensive and difficult to develop: the supplier (Goodyear) had to make special 10‑inch fronts and with limited resources their progress was slower than the standard tyres used by everyone else.
Also, while the concept improved frontal area, the complexity of the suspension and steering for four small wheels up front introduced mechanical issues and added weight. In 1977 a revised P34B version was wider and heavier, and its performance dropped markedly. The small‑wheel front just couldn’t keep pace with tyre development and the rest of the grid’s evolution.
By the end of 1977 the experiment was essentially over — Tyrrell moved back to a conventional four‑wheeled layout. And the F1 rules eventually mandated only four wheels anyway.
The P34 remains one of the most iconic — and unorthodox — designs in motor‑sport history. It’s not just about “six wheels for the sake of six wheels”; it’s a radical engineering solution borne out of necessity, cunning, and a dash of madness. It stands as a testament to the era when F1 still allowed some genuine experimentation. As wired put it, “If its various problems were solved… we could have faster, sleeker, more manoeuvrable — and most importantly — awesome looking cars today.”
For collectors, the P34 checks every box: rarity, innovation, provenance (drivers like Scheckter/Depailler), a singular grand prix win. Some chassis have been restored and run in historic events (e.g., the Thoroughbred Grand Prix series) which adds to the living legend.
So here you have it: a car that was born of daring, built by engineers who didn’t fear ridicule, raced by drivers who pushed it to its limit, and now sits in the pantheon of the weird and wonderful. The P34 may not have been a long‑term formula dominator, but it did exactly what it set out to do: prove that sometimes the wild idea works. That grand 1‑2 finish in Sweden remains a piece of history.
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