The TDF-1 is the Formula 1 car you can buy (kind of)

27th January 2020

Bob Murray

Driving a Formula 1 car is an impossibility for most of us – or is it? Enter the TDF-1, a new take on the ultimate track toy – a real Formula 1 car re-engineered for private owners. And before you ask, the engine starts on the press of a button and it only needs servicing once a year. F1 for everyone? Quite possibly…

The idea is to “repurpose” redundant Marussia or Sauber chassis from 2011-12 to make them a feasible reality for individual drivers. It’s the brainwave of TDF, the UK firm staffed by ex-Formula 1 engineers that already looks after many historic F1 cars. The company says the TDF-1 offers a “genuine, race-proven F1 experience in a package that is more reliable, useable and affordable to maintain”.

The TDF-1 looks like the real thing and with a top speed past 200mph, 0-62mph under 2.0 seconds and 4.0g cornering and 4.5g under braking it should whip around a circuit like the real thing too; TDF says it offers 95 per cent of the on-track performance of an equivalent F1 car.

Chances are it won’t sound like a 2011/12 F1 car though, for inevitably in the quest to make it reliable and useable some things have had to change – including the engine. Both the 2011 Marussia MVR02 and 2012 Sauber C31 on which the TDF-1 are based came towards the end of the 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 era of F1. The engines sounded great but needed to be preheated before running and rebuilt after each race weekend. So TDF has updated the powertrain with a 1,730cc turbo four-cylinder from Mountune.

It’s a racing engine but one that shouldn’t need a team of people to look after. At 600bhp, it develops around 90 per cent of the power of the car’s original V8 but, says TDF, has wider power and torque windows, making the TDF-1 easier to drive for the majority of drivers. The engine starts on a button and with a modest (by F1 standards) rev limit of 9,000rm is designed to keep going with maintenance needed only every 1,800 miles (3,000km), what TDF believes will be once a year for most owners.

The engine is mated to a six-speed semi-automatic gearbox and both form a structural part of the chassis in keeping with the original design. TDF says the complete package is designed to maintain the original car’s chassis/engine geometry. The aerodynamic package has similarly been retained, including the drag reduction system (DRS) which has been modified so that it automatically closes the rear wing during a steering or braking input, for added stability.

Other changes, such as fewer steering wheel functions, have been made to make the cars simpler to drive so “drivers can focus completely on the driving experience and less on the systems management”.

The seat, pedals and steering wheel are tailored for individual owners within the original Marussia or Sauber chassis, each of which competed on track in the 2011 or 2012 season. TDF says crash test or development chassis are not used.

Carbon-fibre, titanium and magnesium materials are all true to the F1 cars and result in a dry weight of 600kg, for a power-to-weight ratio of 1,000bhp/tonne. Öhlins dampers are as originally used, as is the braking system: Hitco carbon discs and carbon pads all round with AP Racing or Brembo four-piston calipers. The OZ Racing wheels are bespoke and Pirelli provides the rubber – of course in soft, medium, hard and wet compounds.

W Series racing star, Jessica Hawkins, is the TDF-1 development driver. She told us: “We’ve worked hard to develop a range of set-ups that suit all levels of experience and ability. The end result is a package that helps drivers build confidence and start to push the limits. I’ve been behind the wheel of some impressive cars in my career, but nothing comes close to the TDF-1.”

The price for all this? If you have to ask… But whatever it is, it does come with one-to-one driver coaching with Jessica, access to TDF’s own F1-grade driver simulator and invitations to TDF-hosted driving days at circuits such as Circuit de Barcelona and Paul Ricard in France.