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BACKGROUND

Yamaha started life as a piano and reed organ manufacturer in 1887. It then expanded to building motorcycles during 1954.

Having become known for its high performance engineering prowess, the firm later collaborated with Toyota to help design the fabled 2000 GT. Once ready for production, Yamaha was contracted to build the car between 1967 and 1970.

In 1989, Yamaha began to compete in Formula 1 by virtue of an engine supply deal with Zakspeed for the 3.5-litre OX88 V8 power unit. However, Zakspeed only qualified for two of the 16 races that year and, at the end of the season, team sponsor Imperial Tobacco withdrew its support.

Zakspeed left F1 while Yamaha took a year out to regroup.

The Japanese firm returned in 1991 with the OX99 engine, an all new 3.5-litre V12 supplied to Brabham.

With drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell, the Yamaha-powered Brabhams only missed the cut for qualifying on three occasions. Brundle took a season best fifth place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix while Blundell managed sixth in Belgium. Yamaha were not content to continue as just an F1 engine supplier though and wanted to build an image enhancing supercar; the proviso was for a machine that gave drivers a true Formula 1 experience and price was no limit.

A subsidiary called Ypsilon Technology which had been set up in England to service Yamaha’s F1 engines was earmarked to handle the forthcoming supercar assembly.

Design and development was contracted to another English firm, International Auto Design (IAD), who brought in ex-March designer Robin Herd as a consultant.

IAD started work in early 1991. Twelve months later, the first prototype was ready.

Known as OX99-11, the new car had originally been conceived as a single seater, but Yamaha wanted space for two passengers so a tandem layout was adopted that reflected Yamaha’s motorcycling heritage.

CHASSIS

Built around a narrow carbonfibre monocoque manufactured by DPS Composites, the chassis far more closely resembled a Formula 1 car than either of the tubs used by the Bugatti EB110 or McLaren F1.

Suspension was via pushrod-activated double wishbone suspension with fabricated uprights and inboard spring / damper units.

The engine was bolted directly to the monocoque and acted as a load bearing structure for the gearbox and rear suspension.

AP Racing supplied the cast iron ventilated disc brakes along with the six piston calipers used at the front and the four piston calipers fitted at the back.

Centre-lock 17-inch diameter magnesium alloy wheels were shod with Goodyear Eagle tyres. The rims measured 9-inches wide up front and 12-inches wide out back.

Cavities either side of the cockpit were used to house a pair of 60-litre FIA bag-type fuel tanks (for a 120-litre overall capacity).

ENGINE / TRANSMISSION

Yamaha’s OX99 Formula 1 engine was a naturally aspirated dry-sumped 3.5-litre 70° V12 mounted longitudinally in the chassis.

Equipped with dual overhead camshafts and five valve cylinder heads, the all-alloy power unit displaced 3498cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 84mm and 52.6mm respectively.

In racing trim, it was good for around 600bhp at 13,000rpm.

To make the engine tractable for road use, it was detuned to produce 420bhp and limited to 10,000rpm.

Compression was set at 11.0:1 and the torque rating was 295lb-ft at 6500rpm. Digital engine management was employed along with a pair of three-way catalytic converters.

Transmission was through an FF Development six-speed manual gearbox with multi-plate AP Racing clutch and limited-slip differential.

BODYWORK

Despite its state-of-the-art underpinnings and radical appearance, the OX99-11’s bodywork was created in a most traditional fashion - hand-beaten aluminium panels were formed by ex-Aston Martin employees and gave the car a very high standard of finish.

Stacked headlights were located under clear covers, but what most grabbed attention was the massive nose wing that left a gaping front aperture.

Behind the narrow aircraft style cockpit canopy which opened with a single gullwing door was an F1-style engine cooling scoop.

Two huge intakes were carved out from along each flank to feed the massive side-mounted engine radiators.

Remarkably, the back end was devoid of any spoilers. A truncated tail housed four circular lights in an open oval fascia, below which were venturis for the underbody aero.

INTERIOR

Most of the interior surfaces were left in exposed carbonfibre.

Both seats were upholstered in fire-resistant black fabric.

The main instrument pod directly behind the three-spoke alacantara-trimmed steering wheel housed a 12,000rpm tachometer and 330km/h speedo. Additional read outs for fuel, water temperature, oil pressure and oil temperature were located in a separate binnacle off to the left. The gear shift was positioned to the driver’s right-hand side. With a single slim A-pillar, forward visibility was excellent.

WEIGHT / PERFORMANCE

Yamaha quoted a weight of 1150kg, a 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds and top speed of 217mph.

DEVELOPMENT

Following completion of the first cars, an extensive test programme took place at Millbrook Proving Ground in England. However, by the time the OX99-11 was shown to the press in early 1992, IAD had quit the project over financial disagreements.

Yamaha subsequently handed the task of getting the car production-ready to Ypsilon Technology, but the six month timeframe given to finish it was unrealistic.

Ypsilon Technology planned to make a number of cosmetic alterations for production to include a bigger roof intake, a mesh grille to cover the nose aperture, larger side intakes, a Gurney flap for the tail and re-profiled sills.

Unfortunately, with the project well behind schedule, it was eventually cancelled during early 1993.

In addition to the aforementioned delays, Yamaha’s decision was influenced by the early 1990s financial crisis which hit Japan particularly hard. At a predicted price of $800,000, it was thought there would be few buyers for the OX99-11.

As a result, only three prototypes were completed: chassis 001, 003 and 007.

Despite having abandoned the OX99-11 project, Yamaha continued to supply their engines in Formula 1. The Japanese outfit teamed up with Jordan, Tyrrell and Arrows but major success proved elusive and, at the end of the 1997 season, Yamaha quit the sport for good.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Yamaha - https://global.yamaha-motor.com