COP Outcome development and evaluation

The modifications paid off. The team won the New Zealand Sports Sedan championship of 1978. By 1982, the opposition was catching up, and the team decided on more radical modifications to stay ahead. They still had an unused Hewland transaxle from the Lola. The transaxle is a gearbox that bolts directly to the rear of the engine, and runs its own differential to which the rear axles and brakes are mounted, eliminating the need for a drive-shaft. Single-seaters use transaxles so the engine can be mounted directly behind the driver, providing an ideal weight distribution, and allowing the driver to sit extremely low in the vehicle, thanks to the absence of a drive shaft down the centre of the car.

The Addis team utilised the transaxle, fitting the engine behind the driver. A new rear space frame was created to cradle the engine, transaxle, rear suspension, exhausts, and rear brakes. This space frame was bolted to a newly-modified front space frame, and could be detached and rolled out the back of the vehicle in about 20 minutes. A large duct was cut into the roof to force cool air into the engine. The suspension was once again modified to suit the changed weight distribution.

The new modifications proved most effective on the track, except for one rather alarming new tendency. At the very fast Pukekohe circuit, the long back straight has a gentle bend about halfway down its length. It would usually be taken flat out; but the Charger, now with more weight towards the rear, was lifting its nose to the extent it simply wouldn't take the bend. With the extra weight at the back, and with the wing behind the rear axle, a lever effect occurred. Mr Addis found he could compensate for the car's uncooperativeness by wind-ing on full brake bias to the rear, applying the brakes while keeping the throttle wide open through the kink, then winding the bias back before braking for the hairpin corner that followed the straight. Bear in mind, this was all happening at nearly 270kph!

Obviously, a better solution was required. An adjustable front spoiler was fitted, but the answer proved to lie in the rear wing. The team fitted a cockpit-mounted lever that allowed the driver to adjust the angle, and thus the downforce, of the rear wing while the car was in motion – an ingenious solution, and one that would prove extremely effective. So as Mr Addis negotiated the tricky corners, he'd have the wing angled to provide maximum downforce. Then, once on the fast back straight, he'd pull the lever back, flattening out the wing, reducing downforce, and increasing straight-line speed.