Plymouth HEMI Cuda de course

Hemicuda to awaken from summer chilling

Hello to you Hemicuda fans out there. The summer vacations are over and it means back to RACING business. The Oly Cuda is being prepped at AMMAS and will hit the track during the Spa Six Hours week-end on September 23-24.

Hemicuda racing season about to kick off

The guys at the MOPARSHOP are busy as ever getting the Hemicuda ready for the coming season. Our first test session is scheduled at Spa Francorchamps on coming Saturday, March 19. We hope to see most of you Hemicuda fans there! In the meantime, here are some pictures of our 2010 race at the legendary Belgian rollercoaster track.

First race of HemiCuda at Spa shows cars huge potential

I must say that the guys at the MOPARSHOP did a great job setting up the drivetrain and getting the Cuda ready for its first race at the Spa RMU 2010. The handling is absolutely phantastic! Thanks to some good weight analysis and picking the right parts from MOPAR, the Cuda was a dream to drive. Braking was also great, so coupled with the handling, driver confidence was building up. Best lap time was in the upper part of our CRL field and a couple of GT40s and numerous Lotus were way behind our swift E-Body coupe!

1974 Spa 24 Hours racer inspiration for Cuda fender enlargements

Some fellow racer lately asked me why I choose to enlarge the front and rear fenders like this.The answers is fairly logic: to do it the same way as Belgian endurance racer Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps did in 1974 when he prepared his Hemi'Cuda to race at the 24 Hours of Spa. This was the onl way to fit the huge slicks on 9 to 11x15" rims under there. We will content with 10x15" rims, which is still plenty!

1975 was the last race for Hemicuda at Spa

After 1974, Yves Bertinchamps sold the Cuda to Jean-Charles Goris. It was repainted to accomodate new sponsors, but still runs the same wheels and tyres as the year before. It was heavily bent in a an early race accident and never seen since again. Who knows, it may just be sitting in a barn near the Spa Francorschamps track!

Hemi Cuda at Spa 24 Hours in 1973-74

Thanks to a hint from German Mopar forum member Panther Pink, here are some great shots of the Bertinchamps Cuda at Spa in 1974. There are also pictures of the car as it ran Group 1 in 1973. These and more excellent pictures of the day can be found on the European Touring Car website! By comparing the pictures, you can see that the 1974 Group 4 version was heavily flared.

Wolf Motor Oil HEMI Cuda at Spa 24 Hours

While surfing the net, I found more informations on the Belgian HEMICUDA. It was indeed a former Chrysler France car. Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps bought it after the 1973 season from Chrysler France racing boss, Henri Chemin. Bertinchamps went on to win the Belgian roadracing championship in 1974. During that season, he co-drove it with Yves Desprez at the 24 Hours of Spa.

Plymouth HEMI Cuda at the Spa 24 Hours

After the end of Chrysler France Hemi Cuda racing team program, the five official cars were sold to either former teammembers, racing amateurs and even scrapmetal dealers! At least one ended up in Belgium, where amateur racer Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps entered it in the 1974 and 1975 Spa 24 Hours race. As you can see on the picture, its wild paint scheme and huge fender flares make it stand appart from its Group 1 version of 1970!