www.QV500.com - De Tomaso 505 Part 1: 505
 

505-381, factory rollout, Modena
Having successfully built a front-running Formula 2 car in 1969, Alessandro De Tomaso felt the time was right for his company to re-enter Grand Prix racing. During the summer of that year, he had handed the running of his promising F2 contender over to Frank Williams whose little racing team were getting a reputation for punching well above their weight. After testing at Modena, Williams friend and driver, Piers Courage qualified the car second for the Vallelunga F2 race in October. De Tomaso was so impressed with the Englishman's outfit he thought the two should join forces for a full Formula 1 campaign in 1970.
   
De Tomaso had built Formula 1 cars already of course, a batch of five broadly similar machines being completed between 1961 and ‘62 with 1.5-litre OSCA and Alfa Romeo engines. There had also been the complex 801 from 1962 that featured an elaborate 1480cc flat-eight De Tomaso powerplant. This new car would be designed by an acknowledged genius, Giampaolo Dallara having been attracted to De Tomaso on the promise of creating top flight racing cars. Dallara had already masterminded such legendary machines as the Lamborghini Miura and the Tipo 505 (as it would become known) went from drawing board to completed car extremely quickly. Work began immediately after the Vallelunga F2 race in October 1969 and the finished article made its press debut on February 12th 1970. The agreement was for De Tomaso to supply the car whilst Frank Williams would take care of the engines and gearboxes, the mechanics and the transportation to and from races. He also had to pay Piers. This amounted to De Tomaso's financial commitment being roughly a third what Williams' was putting in. An additional sweetener came in the form of a Mangusta for Frank and Piers to share whilst despite being campaigned in De Tomaso's works livery (red with an Argentinean tricolour), the 505's would be run under the banner of Frank Williams Racing Cars. Dallara had the right idea by building a fairly typical early seventies F1 kit car and utilising many of the high quality off-the-shelf components that were available. Essentially a beefier version of the beautifully manufactured 103 F2 car, the 505 monocoque was predominantly AT16 aluminium with cast magnesium for the front and rear bulkheads.
 

505-381, 1970 South African Grand Prix 		210-litres of fuel could be carried in three separate tanks, one in each of the bulbous sides panels and another under the drivers seat. The engine was bolted directly onto the rear bulkhead and also featured a separate tubular steel subframe. The suspension, a conventional independent wishbone arrangement with adjustable coil spring/damper units and anti-roll bars, was clearly derived from the Brabham BT26 that Frank Williams had so successfully campaigned ithroughout 1969. In this privately entered car, Courage had taken second place finishes at the Monaco and United States Formula 1 events.
   

Brakes were Girling-sourced discs (ventilated at the front) whilst the wheels were unique cast magnesium rims built specially by Campagnolo. Available in a range of sizes, the 13-inch diameter fronts could be had in 10, 11 and 12-inch widths, the 15-inch diameter rears coming in widths of 14, 15 and 17-inches. Sourcing an engine was an easy choice as Cosworth's DFV was the class of the field and available to anyone who could stump up the money. With a displacement of 2993cc, output was 440bhp at 10,000rpm and the V8 was coupled to Hewland's ubiquitous DG300 five-speed gearbox. Although the finished article looked a little bulky and weighed 552kg (making it the heaviest car on the grid for the opening race), the 505 was extremely well made and soon lost some of those excess pounds. As promised, the first car (chassis 505-381) was unveiled (still unpainted) on February 12th 1970 at a factory press reception. Alessandro De Tomaso, Frank Williams, Giampaolo Dallara and Piers Courage were all on hand during what was a particularly hectic time for De Tomaso, the Pantera having debuted just days earlier at the New York Motor Show. Plans were outlined for a second car to be ready by the middle of March with up to four being built for the 1970 campaign. A brief test programme was carried out at Vallelunga after which the car was painted red. Sponsorship came mainly from suppliers like Dunlop, Castrol, Autolite and Ward Tools. Three 505's were eventually built, the chassis numbers of which are listed below. Click here fore the De Tomaso Monoposto Chassis Index.

     
Chassis Date History
505-381 February 12th 1970 505-381 completed at the factory.
- Pictured on page 14, 15, 16 & 17 of Autosprint magazine # 7 dated February 16th 1970
  February 1970 Tested unpainted at Vallelunga by Piers Courage without numbers.
- Pictured on page 36 & 37 of Autosprint magazine #8 dated February 23rd 1970
  March 7th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Driven by Piers Courage, number 22. Now painted red with white and blue centre-stripe. Qualified 20th but DNF (suspension).
- Pictured on page 8 of Autosprint magazine #10 dated March 9th 1970
- Pictured on page 15 of Autosprint magazine #11 dated March 16th 1970
  April 19th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. Driven by Piers Courage, number 12. DNS due to a qualifying accident. Car written off.
- Pictured on page 6 of Autosprint magazine #16 dated April 20th 1970
  Later Reputedly sold to a Swiss De Tomaso collector who has the remains mounted on his wall. Other reports state parts from this car were used for the production of chassis 505-382.
     
505-382 June 7th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Driven by Piers Courage, number 7. Qualified 12th but DNF (oil pressure).
  June 21st 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Driven by Piers Courage, number 4. Qualified 9th but DNF (fatal accident). Car destroyed.
- Pictured on page 18 of Autosprint magazine #25 dated June 22nd 1970
- Pictured on page 7 of Autosprint magazine #26 dated June 29th 1970
     
505-383 April 26th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Daily Express Silverstone International Trophy, England. Driven by Roy Pike and Jackie Stewart in Saturday qualifying as Courage was in Italy contesting the Monza 1000kms. Number 14. Courage was back for the race and started from the back of the grid finishing 3rd.
- Pictured on page 9 of Autosprint magazine #19 dated May 11th 1970
  May 10th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo. Driven by Piers Courage, number 24. Qualified 7th but not classified (steering).
- Pictured on page 19 of Autosprint magazine #21 dated May 25th 1970
- Pictured on page 2 of Autosprint magazine #24 dated June 15th 1970
  July 19th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. Driven by Brian Redman, number 25. Practiced but did not qualify (broken driveshaft).
  August 2nd 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Driven by Brian Redman, number 25. Did not qualify.
- Pictured on page 15 of Autosprint magazine #32 dated August 10th 1970
  August 16th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Austrian Grand Prix at Osterreichring. Driven by Tim Schenken, number 26. Qualified 19th but DNF (engine).
- Pictured on page 8 of Autosprint magazine #33/34 dated August 24th 1970
  September 6th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Driven by Tim Schenken, number 54. Qualified 19th but DNF (engine).
  September 20th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the Canadian Grand Prix at St. Jovite. Driven by Tim Schenken, number 10. Qualified 17th but not classified (broken damper).
  October 4th 1970 Entered by De Tomaso Automobili for the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Driven by Tim Schenken, number 30. Qualified 20th but DNF (broken rear suspension).
  Then Retained by the factory until 2005 when it was partially dismantled and had no engine.