10 Facts About Van Diemen

Van Diemen 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.

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.

Van Diemen swept the BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 championship in 1980.

Van Diemen shifted its focust toward Formula Renault, a 2-litre engine formula.

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Van Diemen cars won the first two official USF2000 championships in 1995 and 1996 with Jeret Schroeder and Steve Knapp.

Van Diemen dominated the series winning all drivers and constructors titles until the series folded after the 2006 season.

In 2002, Van Diemen International was bought by Don Panoz and became part of his Elan Motorsport Technologies group out of Braselton, Georgia.

The Van Diemen FR02 used in Formula Ireland and Formula X between 2001 and 2004 was introduced in the United States.

Elan Van Diemen was contracted to build all the cars for the Mazda powered championship.