HISTORY - Wolf Racing Cars

The Wolf brand makes its appearance in motor racing in 1976, when the Canadian Walter Wolf founded Walter Wolf Racing. The team takes part in the Formula 1 World Championship for four years between 1976 and 1979 with several drivers, including the names of Jody Scheckter, Keke Rosberg and James Hunt: 3 wins (including one at the debut), 1 pole position, 2 fast laps, 13 podiums and 79 points are the palmares of that period. Parallel to his commitment in Formula 1 in 1977, Wolf builds a Can-Am car with covered wheels.

The characteristic black-gold livery makes its return in 2009, when Avelon Formula, directed by Giovanni Bellarosa, decides after acquiring the rights to create an innovative project: the Wolf GB08. The car, a Sport Prototype in the CN2 class, powered by a 2-litre Honda engine, is built with great ambition and aims to open a new era in the category.

The track debut takes place on April 25th 2010 at Misano World Circuit, on the occasion of the opening round of the Italian Sport Prototype Championship.

Ivan Bellarosa dominates the whole weekend, establishing the pole position in qualifying and winning the first of a long series of victories.

During the season, the Wolf GB08 has no rivals and in October, Bellarosa graduates as Italian Champion, after starting from the front row and three times from pole position, taking two wins, seven second places and five fastest laps in the race.

In the same month, also comes the first international success with the affirmation in the Eurosport Prototypes Series.

After winning the Italian Sport Prototype Championship in 2010, the Wolf GB08 CN proved unbeatable in the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the FIA Speed Euroseries, but will also win the Asian Le Mans Series, the Belgian Belcar Championship and the Australian Prototype Series, managing to win and set records in every competition, which sees at the start CN class cars from Vdev to the most prestigious endurance competitions such as the 12 hours of Abu Dhabi and the 24 hours of Zolder, without forgetting the victory of Pikes Peak in 2019, while there is no lack of attention also from VIPs, such as the drummer of the band Travis, Neil Primerose, who personally orders a Wolf GB08.

In the 2013-2014 biennium, the Wolf GB08s will win the Portuguese CSP and the Austro-German SCC in the division 2 championships, while the factory's focus is on the production of new models to best meet the needs of the American and Asian markets, with production also starting hillclimb races. Among the various new models, the Wolf GB08 stands out, which obtained the 2005 FIA Formula 1 homologation.

On June 14, 2015, Wolf Racing Cars participates in the 83rd edition of the 24 Heures du Mans and in November, after having triumphed with its Wolf GB08 in the Belgian Belcar Championship and in the Endurance Champions Cup, Wolf Racing Cars also enters its name in the Golden Book of the 6 Hours of Rome, the most prestigious Italian Endurance competition.

In 2016, Wolf Racing Cars begins the development work on the 1.6 Turbo Power Unit and on May 29, at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola, a Wolf GB08 becomes the first CN-approved Sport Turbo car to win a competition. During the year, the Wolf two-seaters repeat the victory in the Endurance Champions Cup, while in the United States, John Morris and Ron Eckardt achieve several successes in the Spring Mountain Racing series, allowing Ron Eckardt to be crowned champion with his Wolf GB08 SM in the LSR2 class.

The big news of 2017 is called Wolf GB08 Tornado, brand new two-seater Sport, which debuts in March in Australia, immediately impressing for aesthetics and performance, allowing Ivan Bellarosa to graduate Italian Sport Prototype Champion 2017 with 11 wins out of 12 races.

The new Tornado imposes itself in various Endurance competitions, including the 3 Hours of Imola and at the 6 Hours of Rome, it’s the Tornado itself that gives Wolf Racing Cars the Pole Position number 100 of its history.

In 2018, as right recognition of the quality and performance of its cars, comes the decision of the Italian Automotive Federation to choose the new Wolf GB08 Thunder as the only Sport Prototype allowed to compete in the Italian Championships to be held from 2018 to 2022.

2019 is the year of the consecration of the Wolf GB08 Tornado, which becomes the world reference for the category. It also proves to be faster than the LMP3 class cars. The car is perfect for Endurance competitions, as evidenced by the Championships won in the French Ultimate Cup Series, the Italian 2h Endurance Champions Cup and in the Middle East Champion.

In January 2020 an important agreement was signed with Ford Motor Company which makes Wolf Racing Cars "Specialty Engine Builder", of the American manufacturer, and therefore the beginning of a technical and commercial collaboration that will see the Extreme version of the Wolf GB08 and the Wolf GB08 Tornado powered by the 5.2 Ford V8 engine, making its debut later in the year.

In 2021 and 2022 the Extreme great success is certified by the victories in the Speed Euroseries Championship in the U.S. Series NASA. In the meanwhile the Wolf Thunder is always a brilliant protagonist of the Italian and French Championships, and makes its debout in the one-make series Indian Racing League. It also obtains the overall victory in the Coupe De France. In January 2023, the Italian motorsport federation (ACI Sport) choses the Wolf Thunder as the exclusive car for its Junior Hill Climb Championship.

2024 marks the year of the new factory, built just over a kilometer from the historic headquarters.

It reflects not only Wolf Racing Cars’ determination to continuously improve in delivering the fastest cars and the best service to its customers, but also the company’s growth and development as an organization.

The new building spans three levels. The first floor houses the design team, assembly of new cars, and the engine department with a test room, alongside the Racing and R&D divisions. The second floor hosts the spare parts warehouse and serves as the central hub for the logistics team. Finally, the third floor contains the management and marketing offices, a small car museum, conference and meeting rooms, and a client reception area.

This new investment demonstrates Wolf Racing Cars’ intent to both reaffirm itself as one of the leading players in the construction of competition and fun cars—offering a 100% Wolf race car, from engine to gearbox to electronics—and to provide technical design services, consultancy, or supply its powertrains to major automotive brands.

On the model front, Raiden was launched and immediately chosen by the Italian Federation to establish the Italian Sport Prototype Championship through 2028.

In collaboration with the Swedish engine manufacturer Aurobay, the Pikes Peak 2024 project was born, where the official Wolf GB08 Mistral, powered by the Swedish 4-cylinder turbo, won the Unlimited class, narrowly missing Wolf Racing Cars’ fifth overall victory at the Colorado classic.

These achievements bring Wolf Racing Cars’ record to 177 overall wins, 184 pole positions, 171 fastest laps, and 17 championships won.