New!

Description

GEKO Sport prototype – 1970 – built by French engineer JEAN-PIERRE ELLENA

Chassis no. 01 of only three built, powered by a Renault Alpine 1800 4-cylinder engine.

Initially named Gécko, then simply Geko, it was raced at Montbrison, Nogarò, Mont Ventoux, Roanne, Beaujolais, de Guè Chervais, Circuit Bugatti, La Chatre, and the 24 Hours of Mans (June 15-16, 1974) driven by Frenchman F. Lolom.

Passed to an expert collector in northern Italy around 2010, it was successfully raced and attracted much interest in the following races:

. MONTE MADDALENA CLASSIC Brescia 2012

. ADAMELLO HISTORIC "Trofeo Montecampione" 2014

. 1st Nave-Caino-Colle di Sant'Eusebio Memorial (Brescia)

. 50th CAPRINO SPIAZZI 2016

. 2nd edition of the LANGHIRANO TROPHY 2016

. VERNASCA SILVER FLAG 2017 (no. 155)

. VERNASCA SILVER FLAG 2018 (no. 152)

. Salita del FANTASMA (Parma)

and other major events.

As a final body upgrade, headlights were installed for participation in nighttime endurance races.

It is sold with a second set of wheels and rain tires, an additional passenger seat, and a quick-release garage jack.

It comes with the original magazines in which it was published:

- CONSCRUCTEURS SANS PATENTE - Dominique Pascal, pg. 124

- ECAPPAMENT, Special Barquettes and Protos no. 52 - FEB 1973, pgs. 81-12

- EPOCAUTO no. 8 - 25 APR 2015, pg. 30

Model history and curiosity

We have a written statement from the constructor Jean-Pierre Ellena (26.06.2011) where he states that in 1969 he made his debut as a "constructor" of racing cars in Bourg-en-Bresse. He was 31 years old and, together with his friends R. Grand and P. Penet, in 1968 they began building their prototype from scratch and spent an entire year: a good 1,600 hours in lost days and weekends and an expenditure of 14,500 francs on materials. The initial idea was to satisfy the request of a driver who would have supplied them with a 2-liter Chrysler engine to participate in the "Chrysler Cup" championship, but then they decided on a simpler standard NSU 1000 TTS to compete in the class up to 1,300 cc or the Renault Alpine 1800 engine to compete in the class up to 2,000 cc.

Gallery