French Constructor Mygale Returns To Formula 3 With New Chassis Design

Volkswagen may be pulling out of Formula 3, but don’t expect the category to disappear. In fact another manufacturer is jumping back into the format – not as an engine supplier, but as a chassis constructor.

That company is Mygale, a French constructor based at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, the former home of the French Grand Prix, with a long and well-established history of producing formula race cars.

Though hardly a household name in the consumer automobile market, Mygale is well known for supplying cars for Formula Ford, Formula Renault, and Formula BMW (among others). It was last represented in Formula 3 five years ago, when its chassis won the Italian championship with Ricardo Agostini and JD Motorsport. But now it’s making a comeback with this new chassis design.

Pictured here for the first time, Mygale’s new Formula 3 chassis is designed for regional series (not the premier FIA European Formula Three Championship) to meet the latest regulations. To that effect, it’s wider, longer, and lower than existing designs and integrates the FIA’s halo cockpit protection device.

Developed in partnership with AERH and HP Composite, the chassis will incorporate a new 270-horsepower turbocharged engine from fellow French supplier Oreca, which ought to help fill the void left by Volkswagen’s departure.

Dubbed the Mygale F3R, the new chassis is expected to hit Formula 3 racing grids starting already next season. It’ll have to compete with Dallara, the Italian constructor that supplies the majority of teams in the series with a chassis, as well as a handful of other constructors.