Single seat GT 40?

Aug.22/11
From all the discussion about gt40's I gather that most often for racing the car is driven
mainly by a single driver. Has any one ever considered building a competition model with
only a single seat in the centre a la Mclaren F1. This would add to the space for extra large
fuel tanks.. It would also add to the safety for the driver from side impact. It might also
give the driver a better view of the road ahead. Moving the steering wheel and pedals and
shifter would seem relatively easy modifications during the construction phase. Any reactions? What do the racers think?
Jake1

 

[David]

No reason in theory you couldn't do it unless there are rules in place to prevent it.
Normally of course the coolant runs down the centre of the car which would make life a bit tricky to convert but if you are starting from scratch not a problem.

IIRC some at least of the race cars (MkIV?) ran the coolant down the LHS of the cabin which would make life simpler.

IMO Side impact wouldn't be improved much because the biggest side impact issue is the sill mounted tanks to which there is no easy solution. F1 type fuel cells are an improvement and you can manage to fit a smaller tank elsewhere but you really are pressed for room.

The best 'improvement' would be to update the 60's rear suspension to a modern double wishbone/multi-link, use the space freed up by the loss of the radius arms to fit fuel tanks behind the firewall (with a good heat shield!). You can then run better aerodynamics in the sills, even if you want fit bigger doors.

You quite quickly get to the stage that its just a shell covering quite a different car and then you run into all sorts of compromises to keep within the shell.