Formula Vee
Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford. On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, all Formula 1 champions, and Scott Dixon a six time IndyCar champion raced Formula Vees in Europe, New Zealand, or America at the beginning of their careers. In Australia, V8 Supercar drivers Larry Perkins, Colin Bond, John Blanchard, John Bowe, Jason Bargwanna and Paul Stokell were also racers in Formula Vee. Formula First , raced in the US and New Zealand, employs the same chassis, but with upgraded motor, brakes and steering. Australia’s modern Formula Vee car rules are the definition for formula first in these countries Description. The class is based on a pre-1963 Volkswagen Beetle, utilizing a collection of the stock parts to form a competitive race car around a purpose-built tube frame and racing tires. The VW engine, transmission, front suspension, brakes and wheels are stock or modified stock parts. The chassis is a tube frame design and the body is fiberglass or carbon fiber. The intention of this  class is for the average person to build and maintain the car. Over the years, the rules have evolved to improve performance, lower cost, or to allow replacement of discontinued parts. In 2003, "Grassroots Motorsports" presented Formula Vee with the Editors' Choice Award. A top-running Formula Vee will go and corner at about 1.6 g. It weighs a minimum of with driver or with driver as raced in the Australian specification. In 2008, a brand new ready-to-race car would cost about US$15,000. The car could be bought as a kit for about US$8,000, minus the  Volkswagen parts. It costs approximately US$700 per race to maintain. Each year, Formula Vee is one of the classes at the SCCA Runoffs, which awards a national championship. While it is primarily a class in the Sports Car Club of America, many other organizations have adopted the Formula Vee as a class. In 2021, the Formula Vee was developed and released for the iRacing simulation software as a free vehicle available for all users. Variants. Variants of the Formula Vee rules exist in the Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Germany and New Zealand. Particularly notable is Formula First , raced in the US and New Zealand, which employs the same chassis, but with later model Beetle parts, a larger motor (New Zealand uses the variant) and other upgraded components such as disc brakes rack and pinion steering. (Formula Super Vee, although initially similar, soon moved to water-cooled VW four-cylinder engines for higher-tech and faster cars). SCCA Runoffs Winners. Michael Varacins has the most titles with seven. † Denotes President's Cup Winner