F1 cars are single-seaters by design, and have been
since the Alfa Romeo grand prix racers in the pre-war era. But every once in a
while, someone makes one with an extra seat or two. And a couple of those have
come up for sale.
Listed by Heritage F1 on RaceCarsDirect are not one,
but two examples of the Arrows AX3. They were made in 2001 when Arrows Grand
Prix International was title-sponsored by Orange and owned and operated by Tom
Walkinshaw – a legendary race-car constructor (and Holden tuner) in his own
right.
The cars pack a Hart V10 engine (with 92-dba
silencers available for tracks that impose noise restrictions) in an
open-cockpit, open-wheel chassis that were just like the ones that Arrow
campaigned in the Formula One world championship at the time. Only they had
extra seats: two of them, positioned aft of (and offset from) the driver in a
setup not unlike the McLaren F1’s. Thus, the passengers taken along for the
ride get a full view of the track, while experiencing the immense performance
of a modern grand-prix racer. That’s something that not many get to experience
first-hand.
These aren’t the only F1 passenger-demo cars ever
made. There’ve been others made with tandem two-seat configurations, and a
handful more with this kind of three-seat setup. But seldom do such cars ever
come up for sale – let alone two at a time. That makes this something a rare
opportunity for those with the means to acquire them. They’re listed for
€ 595,000 (US$ 700k) apiece.
