One to Buy: ex-Jody Scheckter 1978 Wolf WR6 Cosworth
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Whether in terms of his F1 exploits or succession of factory customised supercars, the exploits of Walter Wolf need little introduction.
Having made millions of dollars in oil exploration and trading, Wolf was able to indulge his passion for speed and ultimately established his own F1 team from the ashes of the Hesketh and Williams teams. After an unsuccessful 1976 season, during which the old Hesketh 308C was campaigned as the Wolf Williams FW04 and FW05, Walter Wolf restructured the operation for 1977, most notably parting ways with the Williams staff and bringing in designer Harvery Postelthwaite and manager Peter Warr.
Wolf also employed fellow Canadian Jody Scheckter as the team’s driver and 1977 proved a most memorable campaign; Scheckter took three wins, finished on the podium nine times and claimed fourth in the Drivers’ championship.
For 1977 Scheckter’s services were retained and Postelthwaite designed a couple of new cars for the ground effect era. The second of these (the WR6) was crashed on its second outing at the Italian Grand Prix and rebuilt around a new tub: WR6-2. Scheckter subsequently went on to finished third with WR6-2 at the United States Grand Prix and second in Canada.
For 1979 Wolf sold WR6-2 to David Kennedy who campaigned the car in that year’s Aurora F1 series. For the 1980 season it passed to Ray Mallock who ran it during the 1980 Aurora campaign, after which it was retired from competitive duty.
Today, chassis WR6-2 is on offer at the Griot’s Motors showroom in Tacoma, Washington. It is presented in superb condition, as raced by Jody Schecketr in late 1978, and comes complete with an FIA HTP valid until the end of 2024.
