VAN Diemen (Formula Ford) from 1978 with four cylinders (1600 cc). Max. speed: 180 km/h. Made in UK
Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula Ford chassis, which have been at the forefront of that class of motorsport for over 20 years and led it to becoming the largest manufacturer of bespoke racing cars in the world.
Van Diemen was founded in 1973 by Ross Ambrose and Ralph Firman Sr., whose children Marcos Ambrose, Ralph Firman Jr. and Natasha Firman have since gone on to have successful racing careers. The company’s name comes from the island of Tasmania, Australia, which was formerly known as Van Diemen’s Land and is where Ambrose was born and lived before moving to the UK to co-found the company.
As well as Formula Ford, Van Diemen built cars for Formula Ford 2000, Sports 2000 and Star Mazda series. The company’s purpose-built manufacturing facility was located on the grounds of Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, allowing racing teams to test the cars right off the production line.
