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32767 view(s)  At the 1978 Geneva Motorshow, a new Japanese manufacturer, Dome, made a dashing debut. Spelled in Japanese letters Dome means 'a child's dream'. What they unveiled was the striking wedge shaped Zero show car, which drew much inspiration from earlier European prototypes. When for various legal reasons, Dome was unable to turn the Zero into a road car, it was modified for motor racing. Just over a year after the Geneva launch, Dome made its debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, in which they competed for 8 years running.
During this time other automobile manufacturers and related companies became increasingly interested in DOME's vehicle development technology. The initial consignments were mostly display cars for motor shows, but the range of work gradually began to include actual design and engineering as well.
In 1983 DOME began to enter cars in domestic races. The TOYOTA GROUP C CAR, which we had been developing since 1982, competed successfully with a host of other cars, including Porsche. DOME's good results made the Japanese endurance racing scene all the more exciting.
Fast forward to 2001, when Dome re-appeared on the legendary French track with an all new prototype racer. In the preceding years Dome had concentrated mainly on single seaters, with Formula 1 as the eventual target. Fortunately Dome did not attempt a Formula 1 entry, which has led to big financial problems for small racing car manufacturers in recent years. Success was had in F3000 and the Japanese Touring Car Championship, with a modified Honda NSX. As a consultant Dome helped with various prototypes, including the Jiotto Caspita supercar.
Before Dome returned to Le Mans as a manufacturer in 2001, their work already debuted in 2000; Team Goh entered a Dome modified version of the 1999 Le Mans winning BMW LMP V12. For 2001 a completely new carbon fibre / aluminum honeycomb chassis was developed to accept a variety of engines. The most striking feature of the Dome S101 is the centrally mounted headlight. The rest of the design is quite straightforward and followed the contemporary design trends, but it proved to be highly efficient.
In the hands of 1988 Le Mans winner Jan Lammers, the S101 made a promising first appearance. After qualifying fourth, Lammers briefly led the race, but the factory Audi and Bentley efforts proved too much for the new car. Lammers' Racing For Holland team has since been the most loyal of the S101 racers, competing in another three Le Mans races with their Judd V10 engined Dome. At Le Mans the Domes were destined to fight for the best of the rest spot behind the Audis and Bentleys, but dominated the 2002 FIA World Sportscar Championship and took the overall victory.
Featured are the Racing For Holland team cars, livered in the unique checkered black and white colors. Instead of having a limited number of big sponsors, this livery allows for many smaller sponsors to buy a 'square' on the car. The cars are seen here in the 2004 Le Mans Preliminaries. In the 24 Hours race, the results were slightly disappointing, with the first car finishing in seventh and the second crashing out in the last hour.
Sources: Wouter Melissen Ultimatecars.com, Le Mans 24 hrs 2000/2001, Racing for Holland, Dome Cars
Dome S101 data:
Length: 4640 mm, Width: 1995 mm, Height: 1085 mm, Wheelbase: 2840 mm,
Front Overhang: 840 mm, Rear Overhang: 950 mm, Track (f/r): 1602 mm/1600 mm, Tires: Michelin Radial, Front: 33/65-18, Rear: 36/71-18
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Models for Dome S101
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| Manufacturer |
Model |
Scale |
Dimensions (LxWxH) |
Wheelbase |
Front spur |
Rear spur |
| Sakatsu |
LM01 Dan Bla-Avis |
1/24 |
99.9x84.0x46.0 |
99.9 |
82.0 |
83.5 |
| Sakatsu |
LM01 RfH |
1/24 |
99.9x84.0x46.0 |
99.9 |
82.0 |
83.5 |
| Slot & Modelcars |
Racing For Holland LM01 |
1/24 |
99.9x84.0x46.0 |
99.9 |
82.0 |
82.0 |
| Slot & Modelcars |
Dan Bla LM01 |
1/24 |
99.9x84.0x46.0 |
99.9 |
82.0 |
82.0 |
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Liveries
