Four men won championships in papaya-coloured McLarens – Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme won a pair each – alternating Can-Am titles from 1967-70 – while in 1969, Peter Gethin took out the inaugural F5000 series. In fact, Gethin eventually teamed up with Denny in both the F1 and Can-Am teams after Bruce was killed but he was replaced in the monster-engined sports car squad for ’71. In came Peter Revson – and, invariably, any mention of his name either led with or was followed by the words ‘heir to the Revlon fortune’. It was repeated so often it seemed superfluous to even wonder if it was true. Why wouldn’t it be? He was dashingly good-looking, American, and dated Miss World. Of course, he’d be the heir to a massive fortune as well.
It wasn’t quite that but, make no mistake, Revson came from money – New England prep schools and Ivy League colleges cost some serious dinero. Of the conveyor belt of monied American drivers in the sixties, ‘Revvie’ and Sam Posey were often the ones most frequently cited as having a lot of it. Maybe it was envy or wishful thinking, but now the research confirms Peter’s father sold his stake in Revlon to his brothers. I wonder if the ‘heir to’ gave some people the impression that he was essentially a rich kid playboy simply dabbling with motor
