Let me introduce you to a man named Lance Reventlow. He was born into a very wealthy family, as he was heir to the Woolworth fortune.
Instead of being your typical socialite, spending all his time partying and playboying (Which he did), he also was obsessed with cars and racing.
So much so, he decided to build his own. So, in 1958 he gave the world, the “Scarab”:
Built in Warren Olson’s sports car shop in West Los Angeles, Reventlow commenced to creating an American car to take European long-distance racing by storm. A 301-cubic-inch overbored version of Chevrolet’s small block 283 V-8 seemed right married to a Corvette four-speed gearbox. This powertrain was mounted in a light 127-pound space frame chassis wrapped with an aluminum skin to the configuration you see. The resulting racer was spectacular. Early testing showed the efficacy of the tapered-shim adjustable de Dion rear suspension, a clever innovation by Dick Troutman. Engine stroke was quickly increased to enlarge displacement to 339 cubic inches.
Alas, between creation of the Scarab concept and reality, the European sports car rules were changed to permit engines only up to 183 cubic inches (3.0 liters). An Offy engine was tried in the third Scarab − the car on display − but with the dismal results Briggs Cunningham suffered when he tried the same thing in his C6R Le Mans car. Said Scarab development engineer Chuck Daigh of the Offy: “It was 100 pounds heavier than the Chevy and had 100 horsepower less.” So the Chevy went into this car too − and in 1958 the Scarabs went racing, but only in the U.S., Daigh and Reventlow driving. No car was more successful in SCCA B-Modified during this period.
By 1962, he decided to call it quits on developing his own cars. He leased out the garage where his team worked on the Scarabs in Venice California, to another Race Car driver with visions of building his own car. One, Carroll Shelby.
Also, as a nice bonus, Reventlow’s chief mechanic came with the garage, for Shelby to employ. A fellow you may have heard of named, “Phil Remington”.
Well Knyte, you taught me something today.
