This is an accepted version of this page
86-642: The Bill Thomas Cheetah was an American sports car designed and engineered entirely with American components, and built from 1963 to 1966 by Chevrolet performance tuner Bill Thomas. It was developed as a competitor to Carroll Shelby 's Cobra . William P. "Bill" Thomas was born on May 28, 1921, and lived in Anaheim, California . In 1956 Thomas commenced work tuning and modifying Chevrolet Corvettes for racing for C S Mead Motors Co. By 1960, Thomas had started his own company, Bill Thomas Race Cars. At that time General Motors approached him to undertake performance work on
172-434: A Triumph Spitfire and Ferrari 488 Pista can be considered sports cars, despite vastly different levels of performance. Broader definitions of sports cars include cars "in which performance takes precedence over carrying capacity", or that emphasise the "thrill of driving" or are marketed "using the excitement of speed and the glamour of the (race)track" However, other people have more specific definitions, such as "must be
258-508: A mid-engined vehicle without the cost of an expensive transaxle arrangement. This design style resulted in a hot driver's compartment - an issue that would impact the Cheetah's performance on the track. Former employees believe that the No. 001 aluminum car sold to Chevrolet for evaluation and later repurchased by Thomas formed the base model for the "Super Cheetah" project. This prototype Super Cheetah
344-515: A HTP. Alan Green Chevrolet took delivery of this Cheetah in March, 1964. It was raced extensively during the 1964 and 1965 seasons, usually under the Alan Green Chevrolet banner. Its maiden race, a California Sports Car Club event, took place at Pomona, California, on March 22, 1964. Although, it was delivered in red, it was repainted "Alan Green green", in approximately June, 1964. The seventh car
430-416: A P&H Mining DAR-200 welder. The design of the car was unusual in that it was front engined, but with the engine sitting so far back in the chassis that the output yoke of the transmission connected directly to the input yoke on the independent rear suspension's central differential "pumpkin" housing, basically making the driveshaft only a universal joint linking the transmission with the differential. With
516-399: A controversial choice for a "purist" sports car. The Elan sold poorly and was discontinued after three years. The 1996 Lotus Elise , a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive roadster, was much more successful and remained in production until 2021. Roadsters enjoyed a resurgence in the mid-1990s, including the 1989-present Mazda MX-5 , the 1995-2002 BMW Z3 (succeeded by the 2002-2016 BMW Z4 ),
602-423: A fixed roof (which were previously considered grand tourers ). Attributing the definition of 'sports car' to any particular model can be controversial or the subject of debate among enthusiasts. Authors and experts have often contributed their ideas to capture a definition. Insurance companies have also attempted to use mathematical formulae to categorise sports cars, often charging more for insurance due to
688-399: A pressed-steel chassis, a gated 4-speed transmission, pushrod-actuated overhead inlet valves , a honeycomb radiator, low-tension magneto ignition , a long wheelbase, a low center of mass and a very effective suspension system. The overall result was a "safe and well-balanced machine" with a higher performance than any other contemporary production car. At the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup ,
774-427: A production Simplex 60 hp was entered only due to a specially-built 90 hp racing car being destroyed in a fire; the 60 hp famously went on to win the race. The 1910 Austro-Daimler 27/80 is another early sports car which had success in motor racing. The 27/80 was designed by Ferdinand Porsche , who drove the car to victory in the 1910 Prince Henry Tour motor race. The Vauxhall and Austro-Daimler —like
860-502: A roadster to keep Salyer from suffering heat exhaustion due to the problem of heat buildup in the driver's compartment from the exhaust pipes. Bud Clusserath purchased the fourth car (race car number 46) for the same race. Allan Green brought the fifth car (race car number 17) for Jerry Grant to race in the Challenge Cup, but he crashed in practice. The sixth car was also ordered by Alan Green Chevrolet of Burien/Seattle, Washington, and
946-449: A straight line due to its Thomas-built 377 cu in (6.2 L) displacement, dual air-meter, fuel-injected Chevy small-block V8 based engine. In 1964, race car rules changed from 100 cars needed for homologation to 1000 cars. This prompted Chevrolet to advise Thomas that they would no longer support the Cheetah project. Another major factor ending the project was the rapidly evolving race car design and true mid-engined configurations represented
SECTION 10
#17328845656151032-557: A twisting road course, the vehicle's suspension geometry continually changed and proved difficult to handle, even for experienced drivers such as Jerry Titus. Adding power only aggravated the problem; under hard acceleration, the trailing arms could bow outwards, allowing the rear wheels to toe in. Owners of the car were able to improve handling by adding gussets and triangulation to the chassis, modified (or completely re-engineered) trailing arms and disc brakes. Despite some adverse handling tendencies on road courses, few cars could catch it in
1118-601: A two-seater or a 2+2 seater" or a car with two seats only. In the United Kingdom, early recorded usage of the "sports car" was in The Times newspaper in 1919. The first known use of the term in the United States was in 1928. Sports cars started to become popular during the 1920s. The term initially described two-seat roadsters (cars without a fixed roof), however, since the 1970s the term has also been used for cars with
1204-490: Is a type of car that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling , acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and are currently produced by many manufacturers around the world. Definitions of sports cars often relate to how the car design is optimised for dynamic performance, without any specific minimum requirements; both
1290-449: Is an iconic sports car of the early 1960s, due to its attractive styling and claimed top speed of 241 km/h (150 mph). The E-type was produced for 14 years and was initially powered by a six-cylinder engine, followed by a V12 engine for the final generation. In 1962, the MG B introduced a new era of affordable lightweight four-cylinder roadsters. The MG B used a unibody construction and
1376-447: Is established for many materials, mainly metalworking but also glass . Because it is so versatile, tube drawing is suitable for both large- and small-scale production. The large-scale production of glass typically uses a one step process where glass is directly drawn into a tube from a melting tank. There are five types of tube drawing: tube sinking, mandrel drawing, stationary mandrel, moving mandrel, and floating mandrel. A mandrel
1462-406: Is notable for using a three-seat layout, where the front row consists of a centrally-located driver's seat. The location of the engine and driven wheels significantly influence the handling characteristics of a car and are therefore crucial in the design of a sports car. Traditionally, most sports cars have used rear-wheel drive with the engine either located at the front ( FR layout ) or in
1548-409: Is used in many of the types to prevent buckling or wrinkling in the workpiece. Tube sinking, also known as free tube drawing , reduces the diameter of the tube without a mandrel inside the tube. The inner diameter is determined by the inner and outer diameter of the stock tube, the outer diameter of the final product, the length of the die landing, the amount of back tension, and the friction between
1634-416: Is usually used on heavy walled or small (inner diameter) tubes. Common applications include super-high pressure tubing and hydraulic tubing (with the addition of a finishing tube sinking operation). This process is also used for precision manufacturing of trombone handslides . Fixed plug drawing, also known as stationary mandrel drawing, uses a mandrel at the end of the die to shape the inner diameter of
1720-511: The Audi RS 2 Avant . Ford Europe withdrew from the sports car market at the end of 1986 when the Capri was discontinued after a production run of nearly two decades. There was no direct successor, as Ford was concentrating on higher-performance versions of its hatchback and saloon models at the time. In 1989, a new generation of Lotus Elan roadster was released which used a front-wheel drive layout,
1806-534: The BMW 303 , Citroën Traction Avant and Fiat 508 — offered similar handling and comfort to the more expensive sports cars. Powerful, reliable, and economical (although softly suspended) American saloons began to be imported to Europe in significant numbers. Sports car ownership was increased through models such as the Austin 7 and Wolseley Hornet six , however many of these sports cars did not offer any performance upgrades over
SECTION 20
#17328845656151892-601: The Bentley Speed Six (1928-1930), with the former famously described by Bugatti's founder as "the fastest lorry in the world". Between the Great Depression and the World War II the pre-war era was a period of decline in importance for sports car manufacturers, although the period was not devoid of advances, for example streamlining . Cheap, light-weight family sedans with independent front suspension— such as
1978-509: The Jensen FF became the first sports car to use all-wheel drive . The Ford Capri is a 2+2 coupe that was produced from 1968 to 1986 and intended to be a smaller European equivalent of the Ford Mustang. A main rival to the Capri was Opel Manta , which was produced from 1970 to 1988. The 1973-1978 Lancia Stratos was a mid-engined two-seat coupe that was powered by a Ferrari V6 engine. This
2064-600: The USPTO Bill Thomas Cheetah trademark SN 86063410. The federal status of the trademark filing as at April 28, 2015, was Notice of Allowance issued. The trademark categories covered are vehicles and products for locomotion by land, air, or water; clothing products; construction and repair services. The description provided to the USPTO for Bill Thomas Cheetah is race cars, and parts for race cars - namely, structural parts, trims, and badges. C Justin O'Rourke had applied for
2150-403: The 1905 Isotta Fraschini Tipo D, the 1906 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost , the 1908 Delage , the 1910 Bugatti Type 13 , and the 1912 DFP 12/15 . Early motor racing events included the 1903 Paris–Madrid race , the 1905-1907 Herkomer Trophy, the 1908-1911 Prince Henry Tour and the 1911–present Monte Carlo Rally . The Prince Henry Tours (which were similar to modern car rallies) were among
2236-486: The 1921 Coppa Florio . Another approach— such as that used by Morris Garages— was to convert touring cars into sports cars. The first 24 Hours of Le Mans race for sports cars was held in 1923, although the two-seat sports cars only competed in the smallest class, with the majority of cars entered being four-seat fast touring cars. "This race, together with the Tourist Trophy Series of Races , organised after
2322-404: The 1948 Ferrari 166 S . A new concept altogether was the modern Gran Turismo class from Italy, which was in effect unknown before the war: sustained high-speed motoring from relatively modest engine size and compact closed or berlinetta coachwork. The 1947 Maserati A6 1500 two-seat berlinetta was the first production model from Maserati. In Germany, the motor industry was devastated by
2408-495: The 1980 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft and Giro d'Italia automobilistico marathon. The Montecarlo was a basis for the silhouette racing car , Lancia Rally 037 . In the 1970s, turbocharging began to be adopted by sports cars, such as the BMW 2002 Turbo in 1973, the first Porsche 911 Turbo in 1975, and the Saab 99 Turbo in 1978. Turbocharging became increasingly popular in the 1980s, from relatively affordable coupes such as
2494-452: The 1980–1986 Renault Fuego and 1992–1996 Rover 220 Coupé Turbo , to expensive supercars such as the 1984-1987 Ferrari 288 GTO and 1987-1992 Ferrari F40 . In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several manufacturers developed supercars that competed for production car top speed records . These cars included the 1986–1993 Porsche 959 , 1991–1995 Bugatti EB 110 , 1992–1994 Jaguar XJ220 and 1993–998 McLaren F1 . The 1980-1995 Audi Quattro
2580-497: The 1990s, all-wheel drive has become more common in sports cars. All-wheel drive offers better acceleration and favorable handling characteristics (especially in slippery conditions), but is often heavier and more mechanically complex than traditional layouts. Examples of all-wheel drive sports cars are the Lamborghini Huracan , Bugatti Veyron , and Nissan GT-R . Rear engine layouts are not typical for sports cars, with
2666-409: The 1995-2002 MG F , the 1996–present Porsche Boxster and the 1998–present Audi TT . Tube drawing Tube drawing is a process to size a tube by shrinking a large diameter tube into a smaller one, by drawing the tube through a die . This process produces high-quality tubing with precise dimensions, good surface finish, and the added strength of cold working . For this reason this process
Bill Thomas Cheetah - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-400: The Cheetah as a concept vehicle. It was designed by Thomas and Don Edmunds , his lead fabricator. Edmunds is credited with the bulk of the construction of the car. Financing for the project came from private investors, Thomas, and John Grow, a Rialto California Chevrolet dealer. Grow owned the prototype car. Using his racing connections, Thomas arranged for material assistance from Chevrolet for
2838-460: The Mercedes Simplex 60 hp— were production fast touring cars. The 1912 Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII is also considered one of the earliest sports cars, as it was a "purpose built, high performance, two-seater production automobile". The model was named after King Alfonso XIII of Spain , a patron of the car's chief designer and an enthusiast for the marque. Other early sports cars include
2924-558: The Thomas family on March 18, 2014, in the California Central District Court resulted in judgement against BTM on September 1, 2015, holding that the authorisation by William Thomas II for BTM to make continuation Cheetahs had ceased on his death on October 10, 2009. BTM ceased making continuation Cheetahs on August 20, 2015, according to their website. However, more recent updates to the website indicate an ongoing dispute over
3010-417: The basic outline of the chassis . The original blueprints of the Cheetah by Edmunds consisted of a few simple drawings showing the major components in block form, with major dimensions marked. Edmunds' design methodology for the majority of cars he built during his career was to sketch what he thought a car ought to look like, then build it. Only his last few Indy cars involved professional designers. Once
3096-479: The car appeared during the next year or two, all conforming to the same basic design and earning for themselves a reputation second to none for fast and reliable travel. The 60-h.p. cars were announced late in 1902. The cars were possessed of a very real performance superior to anything else which could be bought at the time... and the model achieved an almost invincible position among the fast cars of its day. The Sports Car: Development and Design The basis for
3182-416: The car would also compete on the racetrack to further promote the concept. The chassis had not been designed for this and therefore was not rigid enough for racing. This problem emerged once the car began to compete. Once Edmunds had the lower half of a rolling chassis built, he constructed a plywood body form or "buck" on which fit on top of the chassis. The buck included removable metal frames which showed
3268-413: The chassis shape was determined, Edmunds sketched the body. He showed his drawings to Thomas and after a few minor changes, began construction. The Cheetah was designed to be a cruising machine or styling exercise, not a racing car. Thomas wanted a prototype to show General Motors the level of work his company could do with the intent to obtain additional contract work. After construction began Thomas decided
3354-411: The development of performance cars such as the 1910 Vauxhall Prince Henry , 1910 Sunbeam 12/16 , 1910 Talbot 25 hp , 1910 Straker-Squire 15 hp and 1913 Star 15.9 hp . Following the halt in sports car production caused by World War I , Europe returned to manufacturing automobiles from around 1920. It was around this time that the term 'Sports Car' began to appear in the motor catalogues, although
3440-400: The driver, the engine was also prone to overheating, due in no small part to the failure to account for vents to draw hot air out of the engine compartment. Eventually, the overheating problems were solved by using a larger Pontiac NASCAR radiator, by cutting various configurations of holes in the hood and full-length belly pan and lastly by adding spoilers to draw the hot air out from underneath
3526-400: The early 1920s, the cost to produce a racing car was not significantly higher than a road car, therefore several manufacturers used the design from the current year's racing car for the next year's sports car. For example, the 1921 Ballot 2LS based on the racing car that finished third at the 1921 French Grand Prix. The Benz 28/95PS was also a successful racing car, with victories including
Bill Thomas Cheetah - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-432: The end of the first lap with Jerry Titus at the wheel. A water hose had come off, spraying water under the rear wheels causing the car to skid off the track at the turn. Titus raced the car throughout the 1964 season. He was a vocal advocate of the Cheetah as a contributing journalist for Sports Car Graphic magazine. In 1965, Jerry Entin became the car's owner (race car number 58) and he raced it with some success. This car
3698-414: The engine positioned in this manner, the driver's legs were beside the engine. The exhaust system headers passed over the top of the driver's and passenger's legs. The tops of the footboxes were curved to make room for Edmunds' handmade headers. This design takes the attributes of what is known as an FRM layout to an extreme. Consequently, this design gave a front/rear weight distribution roughly approximating
3784-433: The exact number of cars produced, but best estimates indicate as many as 23 cars were built to varying degrees of completion and configuration. This estimate is based on the number of fiberglass bodies produced by the chosen manufacturer selected by Thomas and by the documented production number of the last known original Cheetah. Bob Auxier of BTM Race Cars places the number at 19 chassis and 33 bodies. The following based on
3870-463: The exact origin of the name is not known. The decade that followed became known as the vintage era and featured rapid technical advances over the preceding Brass Era cars . Engine performance benefited from the abandonment of " tax horsepower " (where vehicles were taxed based on bore and number of cylinders, rather than actual power output) and the introduction of leaded fuel , which increased power by allowing for higher compression ratios . In
3956-467: The first supercars . Other significant European models of the 1960s and 1970s which might be considered supercars today are the Ferrari 250 GTO (1962-1964), Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (1963-1964), Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (1966-1968), Maserati Ghibli (1967-1973), Ferrari Daytona (1968-1973), Dino 246 (1969-1974), De Tomaso Pantera (1971-1993), Ferrari 308 GTB (1975-1980) and BMW M1 (1978-1981). In 1966,
4042-516: The first World War by the R.A.C. , appealed to the public imagination and offered to the manufacturers of the more sporting cars an excellent opportunity for boosting sales of their products." The classic Italian road races— the Targa Florio , and the Mille Miglia (first held in 1927)— also captured the public's imagination. By 1925, the higher profits available for four-seater cars resulted in
4128-473: The front upper and lower a-arms had ball joints and the rear chassis area was enlarged to allow for more fuel capacity. The project was never finished by Thomas because of Chevrolet's decision to withdraw its support. Originally, the car was designed with Dave MacDonald in mind as the driver; Thomas and MacDonald had established a long-standing racing relationship in Corvettes. Carroll Shelby offered MacDonald
4214-438: The hood (the first hood spoiler was actually a rope that ran across the hood from fender to fender.) Another major problem was due to the aforementioned mid-stream change in purpose for the vehicle; because the car was originally designed as a proof-of-concept, the chassis lacked the rigidity necessary for road racing (little triangulation was incorporated into the original design). Under changing loads such as those experienced on
4300-799: The inherent risk of performance driving. There is no fixed distinction between sports cars and other categories of performance cars, such as muscle cars and grand tourers , with some cars being members of several categories. Traditionally, the most common layout for sports cars was a roadster (a two-seat car without a fixed roof). However, there are also several examples of early sports cars with four seats. Sports cars are not usually intended to transport more than two adult occupants regularly, so most modern sports cars are generally two-seat or 2+2 layout (two smaller rear seats for children or occasional adult use). Larger cars with more spacious rear-seat accommodation are usually considered sports sedans rather than sports cars. The 1993-1998 McLaren F1
4386-556: The late 1920s were AC Cars , Alfa Romeo , Alvis , Amilcar , Bignan and Samson, Chenard-Walcker , Delage , Hispano-Suiza , Hotchkiss , Mercedes-Benz and Nazzaro . Two cars from the Vintage Era that would influence sports cars for many years were the Austin Seven and MG M-type "Midget". Successful sports cars from Bentley during this era were the Bentley 3 Litre (1921-1929) and
SECTION 50
#17328845656154472-526: The list of frames from Bob Ryan's journal. Owned now and raced at historic events by Duncan Pittaway After Bill Thomas stopped making the Cheetah, Fibreglass Trends made a replica of the Cheetah called the GTR from 1965 till at least 1989. Their version was primarily aimed at drag racers. It had an A pillar from the roof to the base of the windshield, something Bill Thomas' original Cheetah race car design did not have. According to some sources Dean Morrison bought
4558-453: The major components - the Corvette 327 engine, Muncie transmission, and independent rear-end assemblies. Other components were stocked from the larger GM parts bin, such as Chevrolet passenger car spindles, and NASCAR spec Chevrolet drum brakes. Following delivery of the drivetrain components, Edmunds laid them out on the shop floor and began taking measurements. Using chalk, Edmunds sketched
4644-507: The mass-produced cars upon which they were based. The highest selling sports car company of the 1930s was Morris Garages , who produced 'MG Midget' models of the M-Type , J-Type , P-Type and T-Type . The K3 version of the K-Type Magnette was a successful racing car, achieving success in the Mille Miglia , Tourist Trophy and 24 Hours of Le Mans . The Bugatti Type 57 (1934-1940)
4730-526: The middle of the vehicle ( MR layout ). Examples of FR layout sports cars include the Caterham 7 , Mazda MX-5 , and the Dodge Viper . Examples of MR layout sports cars are the Ferrari 488 , Ford GT , and Toyota MR2 . To avoid a front-heavy weight distribution , many FR layout sports cars are designed so that the engine is located further back in the engine bay, as close to the firewall as possible. Since
4816-559: The new Chevrolet Corvair . He also prepared the 1962 409 Bel-Airs and Biscaynes for drag racing and another Chevrolet stock car for Louis Unser who won its division of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb . He was also contracted by GM to develop the Chevy II . Bill Thomas died October 10, 2009. In 1963 Thomas gained covert support from General Motors Performance Product Group head Vince Piggins to develop
4902-783: The notable exception of the Porsche 911 . The front-wheel drive layout with the engine at the front ( FF layout ) is generally the most common for cars, but it is not as common among traditional sports cars. Nonetheless, the FF layout is used by sport compacts and hot hatches such as the Mazdaspeed3 . Sports cars with an FF layout include the Fiat Barchetta , Saab Sonett , or Opel Tigra . The ancestor of all high-performance cars had its origin in Germany. The 28-h.p. Cannstatt-Daimler racing car of 1899
4988-532: The opportunity to drive the Cobra, which MacDonald accepted. However, MacDonald died on May 30, 1964, driving at Indianapolis. The Cheetah was to debut at the 1963 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix but crashed in practice two days before with Don Horvath at the wheel. Its aluminium body was replaced by a fibreglass one. Its first event was at the Cal-Club, Riverside International Raceway event on February 1, 1964. It crashed at
5074-409: The original Cheetahs. The interior was widened for driver comfort with two more inches on either side of the foot pedal, the steering rack-and-pinion moved to rear steer position of the front spindles (unlike Bill's first design front steer position on the 1964 model), the front frame section had 7° caster built into it, the front shock tower area had new diagonal tubing installed to limit chassis flex,
5160-715: The outline of the windows. Once completed, the body buck and forms were sent to California Metal Shaping for an aluminium body and Aircraft Windshield Co for the windows. Once returned to Thomas', it was finished by Don Borth and Edmunds. A second car was also constructed with an aluminum body in December 1963, for testing by the Chevrolet Engineering Center. The remainder of the cars were bodied in fiberglass. The production models used fiberglass bodies. The first were produced by two different companies - Contemporary Fiberglass and Fiberglass Trends. Contemporary Fiberglass
5246-451: The philosophy of achieving performance through minimizing weight and has been rated as one of the top 10 sports cars of the 1960s. The Elan featured fibreglass bodies, a backbone chassis, and overhead camshaft engines. A different style of roadster was the AC Cobra , released in 1962, which was fitted with V8 engines up to 7.0 L (427 cu in) in size by Shelby . The Porsche 911
SECTION 60
#17328845656155332-423: The production of two-seat sports cars being limited to smaller manufacturers such as Aston-Martin (350 Astons built from 1921 to 1939) and Frazer-Nash (323 cars built from 1924 to 1939). Then by the late 1920s, the cost of producing racing cars (especially Grand Prix cars) escalated, causing more manufacturers to produce cars for the growing sports car market instead. Significant manufacturers of sports cars in
5418-423: The rights to make replica Cheetahs. He sold these in 1983 to Buford Everett. In 1996 Bob Auxier built his first Cheetah and through of BTM Race Cars built continuation Cheetahs with Thomas' agreement from 2001 until at least 2013. About 46 cars were built by BTM. Sometime in the 2000s, there appears to have been a possible dispute or disagreement between Auxier and the Thomas family. Legal action filed by BTM against
5504-545: The sporting events of the period, bringing renown to successful entrants. The Prince Henry Tours started the evolution of reasonably large and technically advanced production sports cars. In England, the development of sporting cars was inhibited by the Motor Car Act 1903 , which imposed a speed limit of 20 mph (32 km/h) on all public roads. This led to the 1907 opening of the Brooklands motor circuit , which inspired
5590-408: The sports car is traced to the early 20th century touring cars and roadsters , and the term 'sports car' would not be coined until after World War One. A car considered to be "a sports-car years ahead of its time" is the 1903 Mercedes Simplex 60 hp , described at the time as a fast touring car and designed by Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler . The Mercedes included pioneering features such as
5676-476: The sports car, but also the most important and diverse technical developments [and] very rapid and genuine improvement in the qualities of every modern production car; assisted by new design and manufacturing techniques a consistently higher level of handling properties has been achieved." In Italy, a small but wealthy market segment allowed for the manufacture of a limited number of high-performance models directly allied to contemporary Grand Prix machines, such as
5762-463: The trademark on March 10, 2011, but did not proceed with it. According to BTM's website in 2016 BTM and some of the Thomas family were involved in a dispute before the Trademark Appeals Board over the ownership of Cheetah trademarks. BTM asserts that Bill Thomas transferred trademarks to BTM in 2006 under an agreement between Thomas and Robert Auxier. Sports car A sports car
5848-465: The trademarks. Allied Fiberglass also offered replica bodies for sale for a time. Since about 2010 Ruth Engineering and Racing Inc of Grafton Ohio have made an updated version called the RER Cheetah Evolution which uses contemporary running gear. Shell Valley Classic Wheels of Nebraska also currently make a kitcar version. On September 12, 2013, William P Thomas III applied for and was granted
5934-399: The tube and the die. This type of drawing operation is the most economical, especially on thick-walled tubes and tubes smaller than 12 mm (0.47 in) in diameter, but does not give the best surface finish. As the tube thickness increases the surface finish quality decreases. This process is often used for the tubing on low-cost lawn furniture. Rod drawing is the process that draws
6020-441: The tube with a mandrel inside the tube; the mandrel is drawn with the tube. The advantage to this process is that the mandrel defines the inner diameter and the surface finish and has a quick setup time for short runs. The disadvantages are that lengths are limited by the length of the mandrel, usually no more than 100 feet (30 m), and that a second operation is required to remove the mandrel, called reeling . This type of process
6106-469: The tube. This axial force is given by friction and pressure. The greatest advantage of this is that it can be used on extremely long lengths, sometimes up to 1,000 feet (300 m). The disadvantage is it requires a precise design otherwise it will give inadequate results. This process is often used for oil-well tubing. Tethered plug drawing, also known as semi-floating mandrel drawing, is a mix between floating plug drawing and fixed plug drawing. The mandrel
6192-400: The tube. This process is slow and the area reductions are limited, but it gives the best inner surface finish of any of the processes. This is the oldest tube drawing method. Floating plug drawing, also known as floating mandrel drawing, uses a mandrel that is not anchored whatsoever to shape the inner diameter of the tube. The mandrel is held in by the friction forces between the mandrel and
6278-473: The war, but a small number of manufacturers returned it to prominence. In 1948, the Porsche 356 was released as the debut model from Porsche. The significance of the Porsche 356 and its successors was described in 1957 as "future historians must see them as among the most important of mid-century production cars". The 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is another significant car from this era. The 1961 Jaguar E-Type
6364-530: The wave of the future. For instance Shelby Daytona coupes were rendered obsolete by the Ford GT40 . Thomas, faced with these negative factors as well as a fire that destroyed his factory on 9 September 1965, made the business decision to end production of the Cheetah and move on to other projects, including collaboration on the Nickey Chevrolet Camaros . The last documented Bill Thomas produced Cheetah
6450-415: Was a pioneering all-wheel drive sports car. The 1995 Porsche 911 Turbo (993) saw the 911 Turbo model switch to all-wheel drive, a drivetrain layout that the model uses to this day. The BMW M3 was released in 1986 and has been produced for every generation since. The 1993-1996 Mercedes-Benz W124 E36 AMG was the mass-produced AMG model. Audi's equivalent division, called "RS", was launched in 1994 with
6536-604: Was also acquired by Allan Green, for his wife for normal road use. The eighth car was not raced until more recently at vintage events by Skip Gunnell. Jack Goodman purchased ninth car the Dixon Cadillac (race car number 33) and after it was sold to James Phillips it was modified, winning the 1968 A/SR championship for the Southern Pacific Region of the SCCA in 1968. Don Grieb drag raced the tenth car. Besides heat impact on
6622-671: Was an unusual arrangement for a car used to compete in rallying, nonetheless it was very successful and won the World Rally Championship in 1974 , 1975 , and 1976 . The Lancia Montecarlo was produced from 1975 to 1981 and is a mid-engine two-seater, available as a coupé or a targa-top. It was sold as Lancia Scorpion in the USA. Its racing variant, Montecarlo Turbo, won the 1979 World Championship for Makes in its division and overall for 1980 World Championship for Makes and 1981 World Endurance Championship for Makes . Montecarlo also won
6708-609: Was another significant sports car of the pre-war era and is now among the most valuable cars in the world. The T57 was successful in sports car races, including winning the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans . Another successful Bugatti sports car was the Bugatti Type 55 (1932-1935), which was based on the Type 51 Grand Prix racing car. The decade following the Second World War saw an "immense growth of interest in
6794-471: Was built to racing specifications. It raced in the USRRC race series (race car number 15). Its outstanding documented racing record includes 10 Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) events in 1964-65. In 2009, this Cheetah received a FIA-issued Historic Technical Passport (HTP). The HTP makes this Cheetah eligible for any FIA-sanctioned vintage event in the world. This is the only Bill Thomas Cheetah to have
6880-643: Was intended to become the new 1965 improved street Cheetah, which was also rumored that it was going to be raced at Le Mans . Work started on the Super Cheetah early in 1964, roughly within the same timeframe as Carroll Shelby's "Ferrari-focused" Shelby Daytona racing coupe. A 4130 chrome moly steel space frame was produced for the Super Cheetah, incorporating changes suggested by Chevrolet during its evaluations at Riverside with input from Bob Bondurant, Jerry Titus, and others from June 1963 to 1964. The redesign also incorporated changes learned from experience with racing
6966-546: Was ordered in the fall of 1965 and delivered in April 1966. Given their provenance, high performance potential coupled with some race successes, and popularity with slot car fans for their unique shape, the remaining original cars have appreciated in value and are largely considered collector items. A gathering of Cheetahs was held at Road America in 2014 to celebrate the cars 50th anniversary. Members of Bill Thomas' family attended. No official records are known to exist documenting
7052-678: Was produced until 1980. Other successful lightweight roadsters include the Triumph Spitfire (1962-1980) and the Alfa Romeo Spider (1966-1993). The Fiat X1/9 (1972-1989) was unusual for its use of a mid-engine design in an affordable roadster model. A late entrant to the affordable roadster market was the 1975 Triumph TR7 , however by the late 1970s the demand for this style of car was in decline, resulting in production ceasing in 1982. The original Lotus Elan (1962-1975) two-seat coupe and roadster models are an early commercial success for
7138-662: Was released in 1964 and has remained in production since. The 911 is notable for its use of the uncommon rear-engine design and the use of a flat-six engine . Another successful rear-engine sports car was the original Alpine A110 (1961-1977), which was a successful rally car during the Group 4 era. In 1965, the BMW New Class Coupes were released, leading to the BMW 6 Series which remains in production to this day. The Lamborghini Miura (1966) and Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1967) mid-engined high-performance cars are often cited as
7224-459: Was selected to produce the bodies following some problems with the Fiberglass Trends molds. Fiberglass Trends went on to produce their own version of the Cheetah under the name GTR , which was used for drag racing. The Cheetah's chassis was constructed of Drawn Over Mandrel (DOM) cro-moly tubing that was heliarc welded (more commonly referred to as TIG or tungsten inert gas welding) using
7310-556: Was used in the Elvis Presley movie Spinout . The third car, the first fibreglass bodied, was sold to Ralph Salyer in 1964 and converted to a roadster . He raced it in 1964 Challenge Cup at Daytona. It was the most successful racing Cheetah, winning 11 minor events between 1964 and 1965. Salyer's car (race car number 25) was known as the Cro-Sal Cheetah, named after its mechanic Gene Crowe as well as Salyer. Crowe converted it to
7396-417: Was without a doubt the first attempt to give real performance to a road car. Many of its features, such as a honeycomb radiator and gate gear change, were continued on the much improved version which Paul Daimler designed in 1899-1900. This was of course the famous Mercedes. It also laid down standards of chassis design which were to be followed, almost unthinkingly, for the next thirty years. Several variants of
#614385