In the early 2000s, Brazilian endurance racing was experiencing a golden age, with the arrival of imported cars such as the Lister Storm and Audi TT DTM leading to the development of several local projects to compete with foreign cars. In this context, cars such as the ZF01, GeeBee R1 and Alfran 450A were born, as well as other projects that never made their debut in official competitions.
In this second condition is the Minelli V6 prototype, built by the renowned Minelli Racing at the request of Brasilia drivers Aloisio Albuquerque and Vicente de Paula. The duo, who competed in the 2001 Mil Quilômetros de Brasília with a Fúria prototype with modernized fairing and Alfa Romeo V6 engine, decided to embark on a new project to seek better conditions for victory.
With a molybdenum steel chassis, the prototype received an Alfa Romeo V6 engine and a Hewland FT200 transaxle, with four-piston Brembo disc brakes and pushrod suspension on all four wheels, developed by José Minelli himself. The mechanical assembly received a barchetta-type fairing in fiberglass.
Despite being finished, the car never debuted and remained off the track until December 2024, when it resurfaced on the weekend of the last Road to Mil Milhas to undergo a shakedown, at the hands of the experienced Mauro Kern, with some fairing updates and now with a Nissan V6 engine.
About Minelli Racing
José Minelli’s history as a car manufacturer begins with the Milli-Volkwagen, a Division 4 prototype with a Volkswagen engine that debuted in 1971. Minelli then went on to develop several single-seaters for Formula V, and more recently in Formula Ford (M3), Inter (MG-15) and Delta (M4)..
Tech Analysis
The BlueBird’s fairing is in the barchetta style, with the driver on the right side and an individual roll bar. At the front, the brake air intakes (1) and the central air intake with an unidentified function (2) stand out.
On the side, we can see the openings just after the wheel arches (3) and the side intakes (4) which we believe feed the radiators.
In the upper section, we have louvres (5) to ventilate excess heat from the engine compartment, and two NACA ducts (6) that appear to carry air for cooling the rear brakes.
Finally there is the rear spoiler with an element and lower support (7) and the diffuser (8) which also receives the exhaust pipes.
Acknowledgment
I would like to give a special thanks to my partners at Entusiastas sobre rodas, Paulo Abreu and Rodrigo Carelli, who were on site at Interlagos and shared recent photos that illustrate the technical analysis of the Minelli Blue Bird.
You might also be interested in:
TM1 (2003 – 2004)
The TM1 is a grassroots project from the early 2000s, built on a Muffato Formula 2 chassis and with bodywork “inspired” by the Toyota GT-One.
KTT II Chevrolet / Avant Chevrolet (2014-)
A beautiful prototype developed with a Chevrolet V6 engine and several elements from Formula 3 single-seaters.
Fontes:
New Brazilian Prototypes. Disponível em: https://www.dailysportscar.com/archive/subscribers/news/other/2005other/other781.htm.
MINELLI. Disponível em: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/minelli/.
Protótipo Minelli-Ferrari. Disponível em: https://blogdamilmilhas.blogspot.com/2015/12/prototipo-minelli-ferrari.html.
