Born to compete in
a new FIA Championship, the 164 Pro-Car ('Production Car'), presented in
September 1988, was never used in action.
Basically a silhouette formula, although
the exterior lines remained almost true to the original Pininfarina design,
underneath everything changed with a mid-engined rear wheel drive layout.
With over 600bhp and a weight of only 750kg it was capable of over 340km/h
whilst covering the stading kilometer in 17.5 seconds.
The body was constructed from composite
materials, plus some aluminium, using techniques developed for the Lancia
ECV2. Construction was by Brabham in the UK, who also developed the double
wishbone suspension. The engine was a stressed part of the chassis, mounting
to the central cell at four points and supporting the gearbox and rear
suspension.
The engine was a 3.5-litre 72deg 40 valve
V10 unit originally developed for F1, producing around 600bhp @ 12,000rpm.
Bosch injection was used, and a five-valve cylinder head was supposedly
under development.
Strangely, the sole example constructed
was right-hand drive. The engine was mounted directly behind the drivers
shoulder....
To keep the original body shape the rear
track was rather narrow, especially considering the wheels and tyres used,
9x17" at the front and 13,5x17" at the rear, shod with Michelin rubber.
The wheelbase remained the same as the production car.
A Hewland six speed gearbox was mounted
longitudinally behind the engine, whilst the brakes (by Brembo or AP) used
F1 carbon-fibre ventilated discs with aluminium callipers.
At the front of the car were mounted the
radiators to cool the engine coolant and the engine oil. Coolers for the
transmission and differential oil were mounted at the rear.
