THE Cheetah Formula Holden open-wheeler that Craig Lowndes raced during the formative years of his career is now on the market.
The Australian-built Cheetah Mk. 9 was built in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne by Brian Shead’s business, and the Lowndes-driven car is in fact the very first Formula Holden built for the category.
Debuting in 1989 the class became the top open-wheeler category in the country competing for the Gold Star in the Australian Drivers’ Championship.
All cars were powered by 3.8-litre Holden V6 engines as used in the Commodore road car of the time, though modified for racing purposes.
The category was originally known as Formula Holden before changing its name to Formula Brabham in 1991 and then reverting back to its original Formula Holden name from 1996 onwards.
Historic racer Luke Doidge has made the decision to sell his Cheetah that Lowndes drove in the 1994 championship.
Formerly owned by Brian Sampson (and leased to Lowndes and his father Frank for the 1994 campaign), the car competed in Sampson’s hands in Formula Holden both before and after Lowndes raced it.
The future Supercars star finished fourth overall aboard this chassis in the 1994 Australian Drivers’ Championship behind Paul Stokell, Greg Murphy and Adam Kaplan.
He was the top finishing aluminium-tubbed chassis in the championship and thus won the Silver Star.
“I took it right back to the tub when I bought it,” says Doidge, who has run the car at various Historic events.
“It’s a beautiful car and is in full running condition, there’s three sets of wheels and I’ve got all the blueprints for the car. There’s a huge number of templates and jigs that were made for every single piece of the car and they’re to be included with the car too.
“I’ve also got a lot of the Perkins Formula Holden engine stuff that I purchased from Jack Perkins, cams, heads, all sorts and a purpose-built trailer.
“It’s the perfect car for someone to run as a going concern in historics or for a collector to have a unique piece from Craig’s career.”
Further information on the Cheetah MK 9 is included with the car’s listing here in the V8 Sleuth Online Showroom.
WATCH: Lowndes races at Eastern Creek in the Cheetah in 1994:
