Nowadays we see the impressive sports prototypes from the bygone CanAm championship only occasionally during historic motorsport events. However, during the recently held Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, we were lucky to see three original Shadow cars competing in Historic Championship CanAm & Sportscars.
A Shadow DN2, Mk.III and a DN4 were specially brought over from the United States by owner Jim Bartell supported by ERA Motorsport, the team of British-American Kyle Tilley, who is responsible for their maintenance.
During the Goodwood Members Meeting held in March, these Shadows appeared briefly on the track twice during a demo. On the spot, the German Automobile Club AvD invited the cars to participate in the Oldtimer Grand Prix. The cars ultimately became the biggest crowd pullers this year and took part in a real race in Europe for the first time in their history.
Back in the 70s, Shadow struggled to make their move in the Canadian-American Challenge (CanAm). During the early years of the championship, the General Motors V8 was more or less the standard engine used by brands such as Lola, McLaren and Shadow. McLaren in particular dominated the championship from 1967 to 1971, until the arrival of the Porsche 917, which no one could compete with.
Tony Southgate and Peter Bryant were responsible for the design of the Shadow DN2, intended for participation in the 1972 and 1973 CanAm Championship.
Peter Bryant designed the Shadow Mk.III in 1972 for Jackie Oliver and Carlos Pace with the aim of competing in that year’s CanAm Championship. Although the shape was similar to the Mk. II, the bodywork became a bit longer due to the use of larger wheels. The location of the radiators was also noticeable, now placed on the side as a wing was mounted between the front wheels. D Due to the various modifications, the type designation was changed to Shadow Mk. III
The DN2, which was also known as Mk. III, was equipped at that time with a 735 hp Chevrolet V8 big block. However, this trusted power source was anything but a match for the impressive performance of the Porsche 917/30, which easily delivered between 1000 and 1200 hp.
Shadow then placed two turbo compressors on the existing Chevrolet block, increasing the power to between 800 and 1200 hp, depending on the boost levels used, while the torque was no less than 1335 Nm. Shadow only used the turbo version during three races of the CanAm championship in 1973, and then reverted to the familiar naturally aspirated V8 version of the Chevrolet power source.
During the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix, chassis 1A appeared on the track that was driven in time by Jackie Oliver and James Hunt. Only 2 chassis of the DN2 were made, 1A with the naturally aspirated V8, while the second chassis was equipped with the turbo power source.
Shadow’s final creation for the CanAm championship was the DN4 from 1974. This model replaced the DN2 from 1973. With a DN4, Jackie Oliver took the championship at the end of 1974.
The DN4 was based on the earlier DN2 and used the same basic engineering. Imposed fuel restrictions in the championship fitted the DN4 optimally. Shadow used the proven Chevrolet V8 engine block, which had a power of 735 to 800 bhp, facing their greatest opposition from Brian Redman and his Porsche 917/30KL. Although the Porsche had considerably more power, Oliver won the first four races of that year and was crowned champion at the end of the season.
It was a unique opportunity to see the three Shadow race cars in action at the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix. This will long be remembered by the many historical motorsport enthusiasts present. Let’s hope that we can enjoy this piece of motorsport history again in the near future.
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