It was
a pioneering and unique prototype in Argentine motorsports
, ahead of its time that, for example, incorporated the aerodynamic concept of "ground effect" a decade before Formula 1 itself. It is the
Pronello Huayra,
which half a century later he will have his well-deserved recognition at the international level and will be a star figure at the next edition of the
Goodwood Festival
, between July 13 and 16.
In this way,
the work of Heriberto Pronello
will be exhibited in the Paddock of the largest sports car festival on the planet together with other contemporary Sport Prototypes, in this case those that will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
And also, surely at the hands of a famous pilot, he will make the famous climb up the winding circuit in front of Goodwood Castle, which is already a trademark of the mythical event.
The Pronello Huayra Spyder, in an Autoclásica exhibition.
The invitation came through the management of two Argentines linked to cars and living on British soil,
the historian Gabriel de Meurville and the engineer Sergio Rinland
, with extensive experience as a designer in F1.
"It is a way that we found to pay tribute to Pronello and Huayra,"
explained Rinland in dialogue with Clarín
.
"Personally, cases like yours, Oreste Berta's or Tulio Crespi's were my source of inspiration when I began to dream of the career that, fortunately, I ended up doing," he said.
"I want to show what Argentina was capable of doing in the 1960s and that those 20 years that I was in Formula 1 were also partly thanks to these advanced players who have been at the forefront for a long time," he added.
The Pronello Huayra in action in the Ovalo de Rafaela.
The idea arose during his visit to Buenos Aires at the end of 2022, when he visited Pronello and there he met Ricardo Zeziola, the current owner of the Huayra.
“I was able to see the car in more detail, which he had met some time before in Autoclásica.
And I told both of them that it had to be at Goodwood, because of the way it's kept and the history it has," he recounted.
In this sense, before arriving at Goodwood, Rinland himself
will take the opportunity to take the car to the wind tunnel of his design company
and subject it to various tests to find out in detail how Pronello's development works on its famous ground effect, a a phenomenon that improves the grip and speed of the car on the track by creating a zone of high pressure below itself and a zone of low pressure above it.
This previous work will allow them not only to study it like never before, Rinland himself explained, but also
to add value to their presence at the festival
.
“The car is going to be on display at Goodwood with all the features well explained, but also with the detailed results of the wind tunnel tests so visitors know they are in front of a real gem,” he celebrated.
The Pronello Huayra introduced ground effect to motorsport.
Pronello Huayra: living history at the
Goodwood
The Huayra was forged in the second half of the 1960s by Pronello in his workshop in Villa María, Córdoba, with the idea that it would compete in the Argentine Sport Prototype Championship, a vernacular variant of the Endurance World Championship.
It was powered by the same Ford V8 engine that was mounted in the F-100 pickup at the time, although its aerodynamic coefficient, of course, was quite different: its 1:5 scale model had just 0.22, a figure that compensated for the moderate 270 horsepower. of force from the block – which itself gained power from four vertical twin-barrel Webber carburettors – and
helped it exceed 300 km/h top speed.
Lole Reutemann and her stamp with the Huayra Pronello.
The measurements of this prototype were 4.35 meters high, 1.88 wide and 1.10 high,
a favorite even of figures such as Carlos Reutemann
.
“The Huayra were very strong.
He was one of the first to have the concept of ground effect
.
It had a wing shape, that is, the air passed under it and pulled the car down, which is the beginning of the ground effect.
In Rafaela it was a car of 270, 275 kilometers per hour.
He was walking very strong," Lole said at the time.
One of the two units that Pronello built of the Huayra will be the one that arrives at Goodwood
, the unmissable event for lovers of sports and competition cars that is held every year in West Sussex, England.
There, for four days, thousands of people, from wealthy collectors to mere fans, come to experience a party atmosphere that celebrates the past but also looks to the future of the industry and competition in general.
Pronello and the Huayra, together with the Lole Reutemann.
The idea of Rinland and all those involved is that Pronello, 87, can attend the event
, which this year will celebrate its 30th edition. Throughout its history, the festival has not only offered an experience that places cars as the epicenter, but it offers many more attractions.
The Goodwood Festival is an event that combines motor sports with culture, entertainment, and where activities ranging from aircraft displays to live concerts are displayed.
In this mythical tunnel of time where other emblems of motorsport with a national stamp have already paraded, such as the
LR de Sport Prototipo by Oreste Berta (in 2010), or the Brabham BT44 by Lole Reutemann
(from 1975), the Huayra will now leave its stamp Pronello.
A well-deserved space in the Olympus of speed.
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