{{Short description|Japanese racing car}} {{Racing car | Car_name = Mooncraft Shiden 77<br>Mooncraft Shiden Kai | Image = | Category = [[Group 6 (racing)|Group 6]]<br>[[Fuji Grand Champion Series|Fuji Grand Champion]] | Constructor = [[Mooncraft]] (Ito Racing)<ref name=shiden77>{{Cite web|url=http://park3.wakwak.com/~tonupboy/car/1977/shiden.html|title = 紫電７７|language=ja|website=park3.wakwak.com|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> | Designer = Takuya Yura<br>Motoyasu Moriwaki<br>Akihiko Ogura<ref name=shiden77 /> | Team = {{ubl |[[Noritake Takahara|Takahara Racing]] |Shizumatsu Racing }} | Drivers = {{ubl |{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Noritake Takahara]] |{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Masanori Sekiya]] |{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Takashi Yorino]] }} | Chassis = Aluminum | Front suspension = Double wishbone | Rear suspension = Same as front | Engine name = [[BMW]] [[BMW M12|M12/7]] 1,991 cc [[Straight-four engine|I4]] [[Overhead camshaft engine|DOHC]]<br>[[Mazda]] [[Mazda Wankel engine|RE13B]] 1,308 cc 2-rotor | Capacity = | Configuration = | Turbo/NA = | Engine position = [[Mid-engine layout|Mid-engine]]d, [[longitudinal engine|longitudinally mounted]]<ref name=shiden77 /> | Power = | Gearbox name = [[Hewland|Hewland FG400]] | Gears = 5-speed | Type = [[Manual transmission|manual]] | Differential = | Length = {{convert|4500|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=shiden77 /> | Width = {{convert|1950|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=shiden77 /> | Height = {{convert|800|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=shiden77 /> | Weight = {{convert|670|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=shiden77 /> | Fuel = | Tyres = [[Bridgestone]] (1977)<br>[[Dunlop Tyres|Dunlop]] (1978) | Debut = [[Fuji Grand Champion Series|1977 Fuji Grand 250km]] | Races = 8 | Wins = 0 | Cons_champ = 0 | Drivers_champ = 0 | Poles = 0 | Fastest_laps = 0 | Last_season = [[Fuji Long Distance Series|1978 500 mile Fuji]] }} The {{nihongo|'''Mooncraft Shiden 77'''|ムーンクラフト・紫電７７|Mūnkurafuto Shiden 77|lead=yes}} was a [[Group 6 (racing)|Group 6 sports prototype racing car]] introduced by [[Mooncraft]] in 1977.
==Etymology== The Shiden 77 was named after the [[Kawanishi N1K]] World War II fighter plane, nicknamed the "Shiden", and for its year of introduction, 1977.<ref name=shiden77 />
==Specifications== The Shiden 77 was a sports prototype race car designed by [[Mooncraft]]. It featured an aluminum twin-tube monocoque chassis and a body structure intended for competition in the [[Fuji Grand Champion Series]]. The car was powered by a [[BMW]] [[BMW M12|M12/7]] 2.0 L [[straight-four engine|inline-four]] engine,<ref name=shiden77 /> prominently used in touring cars and in [[Formula 2]]. The car would later use a [[Mazda]] [[Mazda Wankel engine|Mazda RE13B]] 1.3 L two-rotor engine.
The vehicle was built by Ito Racing. It featured double wishbone front and rear suspension.<ref name=shiden77 /> The body was formed using molds made of [[fibre-reinforced plastic]].<ref name=mold>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mooncraft.jp/blogstaff/topics/shiden77r-01-2018/|title = 紫電77レプリカ製作 発掘編|language=ja|website=mooncraft.jp|date=18 September 2018|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>
==Racing history== Development on the Shiden 77 commenced in summer 1976.<ref name=shiden>{{Cite web|url=https://motorz.jp/race/17878/|title = 「速いクルマは美しい」に形から挑んだ名車とは？ムーンクラフトの名車"紫電"の歴代モデルをご紹介します。|language=ja|website=motorz.jp|date=15 November 2016|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> The project was overseen by Akihiko Ogura, with Takuya Yura in charge of styling and Motoyasu Moriwaki in charge of engineering the vehicle. Ito Racing would build the car. Yura designed the car's livery.<ref name=shiden77 />
The car was completed in March 1977, with [[Noritake Takahara]] selected to drive the car in the Fuji Grand Champion Series; Takahara was a three-time champion of the Grand Champion Series and a two-time [[Super Formula Championship|All-Japan Formula 2000]] champion. The Shiden 77's first race was at the 1977 Fuji Grand 250km in June 1977, replacing the [[March 74S]] he had used in the first round. Despite running as high as 6th, the Shiden 77 retired due to brake issues<ref name=shiden /> after twelve laps.<ref name=shiden77 /> After this race, Takahara replaced<ref name=shiden77 /> his Shiden 77 with a [[Chevron B36]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/entry/Fuji-1977-09-04-5217.html|title=200 mile Fuji 1977 - Entry List|website=Racingsportscars.com|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>
The Shiden 77 would then be returned to Mooncraft and rebuilt extensively, becoming what was known as the {{nihongo|'''Shiden Kai'''|ムーンクラフト・紫電改|Mūnkurafuto Shiden Kai|lead=yes}}.<ref name=shiden77 /><ref name=shiden /> The Shiden Kai featured a heavily modified replica [[March Engineering|March]] chassis and a Mazda rotary engine,<ref name=shiden77 /><ref name=shidenkai>{{cite web|url=http://welovesgt.com/2137|title=【JGTC・SUPER GTで走っていた変わり種マシン】～ムーンクラフト・紫電～|website=welovesgt.com|language=ja|date=3 March 2019|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> along with numerous other modifications from the Shiden 77 such as an open top.<ref name=shiden77 />
The Shiden Kai would be entered in the 1978 Fuji Grand Champion Series, with Takahara being selected to drive the car again; results did not improve, with the car remaining unclassified, 35 laps down on [[Kazuyoshi Hoshino]]'s winning [[March 74S]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Fuji-1978-03-26-5223.html|title=300 km Fuji 1978 - Photo Gallery|website=Racingsportscars.com|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> Takahara also competed in the [[Fuji Long Distance Series]] as well, driving the Shiden Kai alongside [[Takashi Yorino]] in the first round of the championship.<ref name=ld>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldwolf-racing.blog/2021/12/20211219.html|title=あゞ 追憶の紫電改RE-78|website=goldwolf-racing.blog|language=ja|date=19 December 2021|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>
Following the first Fuji Grand Champion race of the year, Takahara replaced the Shiden Kai with a replica March chassis, while the Shiden Kai was loaned to Shizumatsu Racing in the Grand Champion Series,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/entry/Fuji-1978-06-04-5224.html|title=250 km Fuji 1978 - Entry List|website=Racingsportscars.com|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> to be driven by series debutant [[Masanori Sekiya]].<ref name=ld /> In his first race with the Shiden Kai, Sekiya retired after 11 laps;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/results/Fuji-1978-06-04-5224.html|title=250 km Fuji 1978 - Results|website=Racingsportscars.com|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> he would finish the next two races in tenth and eighth respectively.<ref name=shiden77 /> Sekiya also competed in the Long Distance Series, taking over from Takahara but still without success. In the 1978 500 mile Fuji, the final round of the Long Distance Series, Sekiya crashed the Shiden Kai and retired from the race; the car burst into flames and was destroyed as a result.<ref name=ld />
==Legacy== Mooncraft would later create the [[Mooncraft Shiden|Shiden MC/RT-16]], a closed-cockpit prototype race car based on a [[Riley MkXI]] chassis for use in [[Super GT]]; it was raced in the series by Cars Tokai Dream28 from [[2006 Super GT Series|2006]] to [[2012 Super GT Series|2012]] when rule changes were enacted to prevent low-volume cars from competing in the series from [[2013 Super GT Series|2013]] onwards. The Shiden is said to be a "modern recreation" of the Shiden 77 for modern competition<ref name=shidenkai /> and achieved the constructor's title in 2007.
A fully-functioning replica of the Shiden 77 was constructed in the mid-2000s by Mooncraft; it is built around a [[FJ1600]] chassis and uses a [[Subaru EA engine|Subaru EA71]] engine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forums.autosport.com/topic/102145-pink-japanese-sponsor/|title = Pink Japanese sponsor|website=forums.autosport.com|date=22 June 2008|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> A second fully-functioning replica of the Shiden 77 was constructed by Mooncraft from 2018 to 2019. The car was exhibited at the 2018 Suzuka Sound of Engine but without an engine as it was not installed in time for the event.<ref name=replica>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mooncraft.jp/blogstaff/event/shiden77r-sound-of-engine-2018/|title = 『紫電77レプリカ』展示情報|language=ja|website=mooncraft.jp|date=18 September 2018|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> This replica is based on a [[West Racing Cars]] [[West VIVACE-7|VIVACE-7]] chassis<ref name=vivace>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mooncraft.jp/blogstaff/topics/shiden77r-02-2018/|title = 紫電77レプリカ製作 シャーシ編1|language=ja|website=mooncraft.jp|date=18 September 2018|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> and uses a [[Toyota A engine|Toyota 4A-GE]] engine. A shakedown test for the second replica was conducted in November 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/530006/blog/44606730/|title = 紫電77 シェイクダウン動画|language=ja|website=minkara.carview.co.jp|date=26 November 2020|access-date=24 June 2023}}</ref>
[[Tomy]] produced a 1/62 scale model of the Shiden 77 for their [[Tomica (toy line)|Tomica]] miniature car model lineup, sold from 1978 to 1981.
==References== {{Reflist}} [[Category:Sports prototypes]]