1963 LeGrand Cheetah MKI

California-based Aldin 'Red' LeGrand was a senior mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry who later built a series of cars that bore his name. His first creation was a Renault-based racing special which was completed in the very early 1960s. His second car was called the Cheetah, which was designed to compete in Formula 4. Formula 4 was created by the Formula Racing Association as an alternative to their Formula 3 (which used 400-cc motorcycle engines) class. The regulations for F4 stated a 500-cc unrestricted engine or a 750cc engine with (at most) one overhead cam. Two-cycle engines were allowed; superchargers were not permitted. The race cars had to comply with a 440-pound minimum weight requirement.

The Formula 4 series never really caught on, and only a few builders fielded cars to compete in the series. One of those builders was LeGrand, who used an air-cooled BMW 700 engine and transaxle for his car. It was mounted in a tubular steel chassis and rode on cast-aluminum wheels with Airheart disc brakes on all four corners. The first car - the prototype - was clothed in aluminum while subsequent models were given fiberglass. Aluminum was lighter but the fiberglass bodies were cheaper which seemed to appeal to a wider audience of buyers at the time. The prototype car weighed a mere 445 pounds.

The base BMW 700 engine produced 35 horsepower. LeGrand's car produced 70 bhp with the help of dual Amal carburetors and modified headers.

The Formula 4 Series never became popular so LeGrand switched to the popular H-Modified class. The cars he built for this series were also dubbed the Cheetah (MKII). The cars were given the same suspension and transaxle as the MKI, along with the tried-and-true BMW engine. Performance was reduced due to the increase in weight for the two-seater, now tipping the scales at around 560 pounds.

Production of the MKII lasted from 1964 through 1965. The car was sold in completed form, kits, or as a rolling chassis.

LeGrand would continue building sports racers and Formula Cars, including a single F3 entry, for many years. Red passed away in 1988, and a few years later, in 1991, the company went out of business.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2009