Yamaha ox99-11 for Sale The Situation is Still good Full Specification :Last week we brought you the Previously little known story of the Kawasaki race car. Well, also had a Yamaha factory effort focused on the design and construction of, not exactly a race car, but an exotic supercar using a detuned version of Yamaha's then Formula One V12 engine and built to the highest levels of automotive engineering and sophistication, the car was known as the OX99-11.
One of the key individuals involved in the project, Dave Sullivan, tells us how this car came about. You might notice the extreme contrast between this effort and the Kawasaki race project. Of course the purpose was completely different but Nevertheless, it tells the story of forays into the automotive world not well known outside of those who were directly involved. Unfortunately, however, there is a similarity to these two very different stories, at the end, both projects events derailed just short of ultimate success.
There's little I can add so I'll let Dave tell you all about it:
In 1991 I was working for a company called IAD on the south coast of England. IAD were a design and engineering Consultancy for the motor industry, we had worked on the Mazda Miata, Lincoln Town Car and Bentley Continental, to name but a few. I started as a Structural engineer on the Town Car in 1988, and I was also doing chassis work by 1991.
Had conceived the Yamaha OX99-11 several years earlier, but had been struggling to find a partner who could help them realize their ambition. Strangely it was the Sporting goods division (with products ranging from Yachts to squash racquets), rather than the motorcycle arm, that was leading the project, and it was part of a master plan that included the Formula 1 engine program.
Support to the Formula 1 project Yamaha had set up a subsidiary company called Ypsilon Technology in Milton Keynes, UK, where the engines would be serviced. The factory was chosen to be big enough to produce the OX99-11 and a small team, mostly from the Aston Martin race team, were hired to set up the factory and help engineer the car.