In the world of 1960’s slot car racing, looks were everything. Even an adolescent boy could tell that the 1/32 scale Chaparral would be fast. With that big airplane wing in the back and those ultra-sleek lines, how could it lose?

 

Even the name elicited speed. The Chaparral was named after the Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). A good name choice; the speedy bird would always out-run the Wiley Coyote!

 

The Chaparral name is most recognized by race and non-race fans alike for the famous “vacuum cleaner” car (Chaparral 2J), but there is much, much more to the Chaparral legend.

 

Jim Hall is the Texas oil magnate/renaissance man responsible for the development of the Chaparral and ultimately, the evolution of the modern racing sports car. A very large statement I know, (appropriate for the state of Texas!), but let’s walk through Hall’s accomplishments and the various iterations of the Chaparral, then you can make up your own mind!

 

The Jim Hall Chaparral sports car legacy extended beyond the famous “vacuum cleaner” (Suckdowmcyx fastashellianus) that literally and figuratively gripped the collective imagination of the world in 1970. There were many innovations and a number of models of Chaparral that came before the 2J.

 

The Chaparral 1 (1961-1963) was the first car to carry the name. Hall financed the development and construction of the car. The team of Troutman and Barnes (of Scarab fame) designed the vehicle. The car utilized a front-mounted small block Chevrolet engine, four-wheel independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Hall raced two of the Chaparral 1 cars with considerable success and the Texan used the design, which was rapidly becoming outdated, to test his own ideas.

The first true Chaparral, the Chaparral 2, was perhaps the most innovative racing sports car to ever be designed and built in America. Hall served as chief designer, builder, financier and part-time driver of this vehicle. Hall utilized a monocoque chassis and a small block Chevy motor as the basis for the car. Some of the prototypical applications on the car that made it revolutionary included the use of a GRP (glassfibre reinforced plastic) body, and an “automatic” transmission, comprised of a torque converter equipped with a single-speed gearbox rather than the conventional friction clutch design. The use of the semi-automatic transmission and GRP materials allowed this car to be the dominate force in SCCA racing from 1962 to 1965. The Chaparral 2 won 22 of the 39 races it entered in that period.

The Chaparral 2B remains a mystery as it was never raced and there are no pictures. Some believe that it was an aluminum sports car produced for research purposes.

The Chaparral 2C was a one-of-a-kind that entered just three races in 1965. The 2C’s first race was Jim Hall’s last win in competition. The second race it did not finish and the third ended in a crash. Hall designed a foot operated moveable rear wing mounted in the bodywork that could be adjusted horizontally for low drag conditions, such as the straight-aways by pushing on a foot pedal. When the car entered a corner and the foot was removed to brake the car, the wing would return to a high drag/down-force position for additional traction. This time, the dependable Chevy small block was paired with a 2-speed automatic transmission. Another change was the color- all white would become a Hall trademark for all true Chaparrals to follow.

The Chaparral 2D coupe was designed to compete with Ford and Ferrari at international endurance events. The 2D was actually the 2C chassis that was transformed into a coupe version. The best finish was a win at Nurburgring in 1966. This Chaparral also competed at the 1967 Daytona 24 hours and the Sebring 12 hour, but did not finish either race. The car utilized a big block Chevy and a 3-speed automatic transmission.

The Chaparral 2F was created for the 1967 endurance racing season. Hall widened the chassis and used wider tires. He used the movable rear wing of the 2E and kept the front aerodynamic “door”. This car was extremely fast but was plagued by mechanical problems, possibly stemming from the large block Chevy (7.0 liters) and the 3-speed automatic transmission. The car won the only race that it finished.

The Chaparral 2G (1967-1968) was actually a second generation 2E, Hall’s favorite car. There was only one 2E aluminum chassis available. Hall decided to go ahead and enter the Can Am series with the one car. The 2G again featured wider tires to help offset the big power (427 Chevy) with the lightweight chassis. The 2G was very competitive (3 second place finishes) but did not win a race- a big disappointment by Chaparral standards.

The 2H replaced the 2G in 1969. This car was a direct descendent of the original Chaparral 2. Hall returned to GRP material for the chassis and introduced the new aerodynamic concept of reducing the drag by decreasing the frontal surface area and spoil as little airflow as possible. This car was narrower and had the driver sitting low in the cockpit. Astronaut John Surtees was hired to drive the Chaparral but he had limited success and no wins.

The Chaparral 2I, like the 2B, is a bit of a mystery. Most people believe that this version was never raced and was simply a forerunner of the 2J.

In 1966 the legendary Can-Am series was born. It was intended to be as “rule-less” as possible and an unlimited sports car class of the Federal Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The Chaparral 2E was initially a new aerodynamic concept on the existing 2C aluminum chassis, with a small block Chevy and a 2-speed transmission. A second type 2E was built from the ground up, specifically for the Can Am series. This version used Hall’s most advanced aerodynamic concepts to date and it provided a paradigm for virtually all racing cars to come after it.

The most visually apparent feature of the 2E was the huge movable rear wing that was attached directly to the rear suspension, about three feet above the rear wheels. The wing operated as a reverse airplane wing, providing down-force instead of lift. The car sported bulbous, sweeping lines and the very “airplane-like” side mounted radiator intakes. Hall also utilized an integrated ducted nose that directed airflow to create additional down-force. The moveable rear wing was ultimately banned by the FIA based on the “no moveable aerodynamic components” rule. Hall went forward with a fixed-wing which was not adjustable by the driver during a race.

The 2E is said to be Jim Hall’s favorite Chaparral design because of its smooth handling and adaptability to different racing conditions.

The 2E body design was also a consistent winner on the slot car tracks in the backrooms of hobby shops!

 

Perhaps the most unusual Chaparral, and definitely the most famous, was the 2J created for the 1970 Can-Am season. The so-called “vacuum cleaner” or “sucker car” utilized ground effects created by two 17” fans powered by a single 45 hp snowmobile engine. The fans provided down-force by “sucking” air from under the car, and Lexan-plastic skirts to help “seal” the car to the ground. The car had amazing gripping power and allowed tremendous maneuverability at all speeds.

Driven by the legendary Jackie Stewart, the 2J proved to be the fastest car on the circuit by winning the pole position in a number of races. Rival racing teams (mainly McLaren) complained to the FIA about the Chaparral 2J’s superior handling and speed.  Even though the car experienced numerous mechanical problems, and had not won a sanctioned event, the car and the engineering principle were outlawed due to the “no moveable aerodynamic components” rule; the same rule applied earlier to the 2E’s adjustable wing.

After a sabbatical from racing, Hall returned with the Chaparral 2K in the 1978 Indianapolis 500. Under the technical direction of John Barnard, the last Chaparral was a yellow Lola look-alike driven by Johnny Rutherford. It was a ground effects car that brought Formula One wing-car techniques to the Brickyard. After nearly winning in 1979, Hall returned in 1980 and captured the title. The car also won the CART championship that same year. Soon after, Hall decided that it was time to retire the Chaparral.

Jim Hall took a sport that was generally treated as an art and introduced a more empirical approach that advanced the theories of aerodynamics and applied physics. Jim Hall’s Chaparrals set the standard for race cars of today and the cars of tomorrow.

 

Designed for the 2025 revival of the LA Times Grand Prix, the General Motors Chaparral Volt uses advanced EREV propulsion, energy collection, generation and management systems to create an entirely new category of racing machine. The Volt collects and generates its own energy from three different clean renewable and abundant resources: Earth, Wind and Fire.

Earth (Geologic) Gravity and momentum-capture regeneration, along with aero-thermal resistance which provide high levels of braking efficiency and active energy regeneration.

Wind (Aero-Thermal) the Volt utilizes the basic idea from the Chaparral 2J; with rear turbine extractors for cooling of the power cells, down-force and (in reversed direction) a combination of aero-assist braking and energy regeneration.

Fire (Radiant Sunlight) integrated thin-film PV panels for the car’s body take advantage of the world’s most abundant resource, the sun, and converts it for use as the Chaparral Volt’s primary power source.

When I first laid eyes on the Volt, it took me back to those days “when looks were everything”. If they ever produce a 1/32 scale version of the Chaparral Volt, I might have to get back into the slots!

By R.J. Magill

RJ Magill lives in Colorado with his wife and two children. He enjoys writing, skiing, cooking, golf, fishing, reading, and hiking with his dog Boomerang.

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