Maurice Philippe | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1932-04-30)30 April 1932 Tooting,Greater London, England |
| Died | 5 June 1989(1989-06-05) (aged 57) West Byfleet,Surrey, England |
| Other names | Maurice Phillippe |
| Education | Latymer School |
| Occupation(s) | Formula One Designer Aircraft Designer |
| Years active | 1955-1989 |
| Employer(s) | Team Lotus Tyrrell Racing March Engineering De Havilland |
Maurice Philippe (30 April 1932 – 5 June 1989), was a British aircraft andFormula One car designer.[1]
Philippe was born in Tooting and attended theLatymer School in Hammersmith. He began his career as an apprentice forDe Havilland aircraft company, working on theComet 4. De Havilland's technical department was home to other motor racing enthusiasts includingBrian Hart andFrank Costin. As a member of the750 Motor Club, Philippe designed his first car in 1955, called the MPS (Maurice Philippe Special). Later, he would build a front enginedFormula Junior car alongside Hart, which was destroyed in its maiden race byPeter Warr.[2]
Between 1963-64, Philippe raced aLotus 7, and in 1965 was approached byColin Chapman to be his "design team" atTeam Lotus. Philippe and Chapman first redesigned theLotus 39, then produced theLotus 43, the classicLotus 49, the Lotus 56 gas turbine Indy car and finally the ground-breakingLotus 72 in 1970.[3][4][5][6]
In 1972, Philippe left Lotus and went to work forParnelli Jones's USAC team, working on successful campaigns in the United States with drivers Al Unser Sr, Joe Leonard and Mario Andretti winning three United States Auto Club Championships and 53 Indy car races. Philippe would go on to design the Cosworth-Parnelli VPJ4 for F1, which was raced in1975 byMario Andretti.[7][8]
In 1978, he replacedDerek Gardner as chief designer atTyrrell, with theTyrrell 008 finishing fourth in the Constructors' Championship. The 1979Tyrrell 009 ground-effect car was less successful, only scoring four third places. In 1980, theTyrrell 010 was introduced and was raced in modified form until 1981. He would be replaced byHarvey Postlethwaite.[9]
In 1988, Philippe was hired byMarch Engineering to design theirMarch 89CE Indycar, powered byAlfa Romeo.
Philippe committed suicide on 5 June 1989.[1]
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