The DIY 1970s F1 car

All the money in the world couldn’t buy you a Tyrrell P34 F1 oddity, but that didn’t stop Yuji Watahiki. He simply built his own

- TOBY THYER

There are some historic cars that will sadly never pass through the hands of common folk like you and I. These rare, historically significant and radically experimental cars will forever remain unobtainable, squirrelled away by museums and manufacturers as mementos of bravery and madness. Unless, of course, you're Yuji Watahiki from Mito, eastern Japan. He's built one out of aluminium. In his shed.

Easily qualifying for 'mad rare old-timer' is the Tyrrell P34 six wheeler Formula One car, an oddity so bizarre it only raced for two years. "The Tyrrell is the most unique of all F1 cars, so I challenged myself to build one," says Yuji flippantly, as if justifying today's choice of T-shirt. "I love F1 cars from the 1970s because they were all different.

Today's grid is basically all the same." Only six P34s were ever built. Two are currently in Japanese museums, two are owned by ex F1 driver Pierluigi Martini and two were destroyed. There are, however, two more replica Tyrrells. They're built by CGA Race Engineering, based in Warrington, using original blueprints and plans obtained from the Tyrrell family. That's about as close to the real thing as you'll ever get, and only if you've got a spare £1,750,000.