John Thompson, founder of TC Prototypes and builder of Ferrari’s first monocoque chassis, has died at the age of 85.
Thompson, who established his company in 1970, produced three monocoque tubs for Ferrari’s 312 B3 in 1973. He charged £400 each for the work after receiving drawings in metric units, which required new equipment at his Northamptonshire workshops.
His firm went on to build chassis and components for Porsche 962 prototypes, Jaguar Group C cars, Honda NSX GT racers, IndyCars and rally cars including the Ford RS200. Thompson had previously worked at McLaren, Cosworth and March Engineering before starting the business with his wife Maureen.
Ferrari turned to Thompson after industrial action in Italy and because the team had not yet made a monocoque, according to the obituary. The first 312 B3 chassis made its debut at the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix.
Colleagues remembered Thompson as a skilled fabricator who preferred to stay out of the spotlight. He retired in the mid-2000s but continued consulting on further 962 projects.
