GT5 Transcripts/Chaparral 2J '70

The 2J may well be the most innovative, wildest racing machine ever created. The car, characterized by its big boxy rear end, entered the 1970 SCCA Can-Am racing series in North America, as the first machine in the series to feature active ground effects... in the form of a giant vacuum.
The Can-Am series was quite unusual as, at the time, there was no rule to limit the amount of horsepower for its race cars. Chaparral boss, Texas oil magnate Jim Hall, pulled a wild card from his sleeve when he created a race car that utilized two engines: one was a 690 HP powerplant to power the car and the other, an air-cooled snowmobile engine that powered a pair of large fans to suck the air flowing underneath the car out, thus making it "stick" to the road surface. The area between the sides of the bodywork and the ground were sealed by floating pieces of high-strength Lexan. Nicknamed "The Vacuum Cleaner", the Chaparral 2J astounded race fans and the other Can-Am drivers alike.
Aside from its odd looks, the 2J often took pole position by several seconds over heavy competition that included the previously-dominant McLaren M8D... that is, when it was running. The 2J experienced many mechanical problems in its maiden season, making every race it entered a thrilling event.
Before the start of the 1971 season, the SCCA banned the use of engines used for other than powering the car itself, and the Chaparral 2J was banished from motorsports forever.
category:GT5 Transcripts