First Gurney Eagle F1 car set for Gooding Amelia Island sale

Mathieu Heurtault/Gooding & Company
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emailBy Vintage Motorsport | February 5, 2023 10:00 AM ET Follow @http://twitter.com/VMMagazine

Santa Monica-based Gooding & Company will offer the first-ever All American Racers Gurney Eagle (1966 Mk 1) at its upcoming Amelia Island Auction, set for March 2-3 on the grounds of the Omni Amelia Island Resort.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to bring the masterpiece that is the AAR Eagle to auction. Dan Gurney’s ambitions of building his own Formula 1 car were brought to fruition with this beautiful machine, which stands among the most important cars of its type ever built,” said Gooding & Company Specialist, Hans Wurl.

This 1966 AAR Gurney Eagle Mk 1 was the first of just four Formula 1 Eagles ever produced, fitted with a 2.7-liter variant of the venerable Coventry Climax FPF. Chassis 101 was entered in several major European and American Grands Prix, setting the precedent for future iterations of the Gurney Eagle. In this period, it was driven by some of the greatest names in motorsports, including Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant and Phil Hill. In 1967, chassis 101 was sold to Canadian racer Al Pease, who entered it in 10 races, including the 1967, 1968, and 1969 Canadian Grand Prix.

The Eagle then went on to Tom Wheatcroft, a pioneering collector of F1 cars, who tracked chassis 101 down and made it a centerpiece of his Donington Grand Prix Collection for over 38 years.