Chaparral Cars was a United States automotive company which built cars in the 1960s. Chaparral was founded by Jim Hall, a Texas oil magnate with an impressive combination of skills in engineering and race car driving. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Chaparral's distinctive race cars experienced strong success in both American and European racing circuits. Despite winning the Indy 500 in 1980, the Chaparrals left motor racing in 1982. Chaparral cars also featured in the SCCA/CASC CanAm series in FIA Group 7. Car redirects here. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Jim Hall was a Formula One driver from the United States. ... The Indianapolis 500 is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The SCCA could be considered the grass-roots level of auto racing in the United States. ... The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. ... Cover of Car and Driver magazine, showing transparent diagram of CanAm racer The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or CanAm, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974. ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established in 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ...

Chaparral was the first GT builder to use aerodynamic aids, introducing a moving wing (controlled by a foot pedal) in the 2C.

The most famous Chaparral was the 2J. In addition to a powerful 700hp engine, the back of the 2J housed two large 17-inch fans driven by a 45hp snowmobile engine. The purpose of the fans was to 'suck' air from under the car and propel it out the back. This gave the car tremendous gripping power and enabled greater maneuverability at all speeds, which cannot be achieved by simpler aerodynamic devices such as diffusers and wings. Since it 'sucked' a fixed amount of air out from under the car at all speeds, downforce did not decrease at lower speeds. With other aerodynamic devices, downforce decreases as the car slows down or achieves too much of a slip angle, both of which were not problems for the 'sucker car'. It also had ground effect skirts to keep air from leaking out, a technology that would appear in Formula One several years later. The 2J ran for only one racing season in 1970 as its technology was quickly outlawed by the FIA. Ground effect (or Wing In Ground effect) is a phenomenon of aerodynamics where the flow of air around part of an aircraft or a racing car is interrupted by the ground. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established in 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ...