Marilyn Hood-Taylor, a great F1 fan and quite taken with James Hunt, commissioned Co-Hog to build Hunt's 1975 #24 Hesketh 308, which he had taken to his maiden F1 victory at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
It was one of the first commissions that Co-Hog received. We got the go-ahead in July of 1982 and delivered the completed piece in October. It was about 9" (23 cm) long and shaped out of jelutong, finished with automotive paints and liveried with graphic materials of the day. The Hesketh Teddy Bear has pride of place on the front of the cockpit.
Marilyn was more than happy with the results.
Hesketh Racing and James Hunt will long be remembered as the team that gave F1 a needed stiff jolt by having a great deal of fun while still winning races. In fact, they won the 1976 F1 World Championship.
'76 Was meant to be Ferrari and Nikki Lauda's year, but his horrendous crash at the Nurburgring and following miraculous recovery fell just one point shy and Hunt was the Champion.
Using the slogan 'The biggest little racing team in the world", Hunt and Hesketh had proven that they were indeed serious as well as fun-loving.