Shadow racing
The secret story
the electric car that nearly changed racing
CHAPTER 1: the oRIGINS OF shadow
The year 1969 saw the Moon landing, the end of Project Blue Book, and the height of the Cold War. The world was in flux, with new technology reshaping industries and global powers racing toward an uncertain future.
In motorsport, few names evoke as much mystique and secrecy as SHADOW Racing. Founded in 1969 by Don Nichols, a former paratrooper and counter-espionage agent, Shadow was more than just a racing team—it was an enigma. Nichols had spent years navigating the classified world of military intelligence, fluent in Japanese and deeply embedded in aerospace and defense circles, before turning his attention to motorsport.
When Nichols entered racing, he wasn’t interested in simply competing—he wanted to disrupt. SHADOW cars were brutal, angular, and radically different from anything else on the grid. Low-slung and menacing, they embodied an obsessive focus on aerodynamics and unconventional engineering, with backing from Universal Oil Products (UOP) and partnerships within the secretive government aerospace industry.SHADOW carved its name into motorsport history with their first car, the MKI, an ultra-low, radical machine that set the tone for their relentless pursuit of speed. Their biggest triumph came in 1974, when Jackie Oliver piloted the DN4 to the Can-Am championship, defeating the mighty McLaren juggernaut. In Formula 1, SHADOW proved its mettle with a stunning victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, where Alan Jones secured the team’s only F1 win. Despite their brief tenure, SHADOW’s influence remains undeniable—their daring designs, underdog spirit, and refusal to conform continue to inspire racers and engineers alike. Today, they are remembered as pioneers who dared to push boundaries, embodying the rebellious soul of motorsport.But these were only the cars the world was allowed to see.Behind the locked doors of SHADOW’s experimental division, an entirely different project was unfolding—one so radical, so ahead of its time, that it would never see the light of day. It was called Project Eclipse: an all-electric race car developed in 1969.
CHAPTER 2:THE IMPOSSIBLE “project Eclipse”
The idea of an electric race car in the late 1960s was laughable. Battery technology was primitive, with energy density far too low to sustain competitive performance. Electric propulsion was, at best, a gimmick for golf carts and small urban vehicles. And yet, multiple sources from within Shadow’s original engineering team have claimed that the Eclipse prototype existed—and that it was faster than anything conventional.The technology behind the car was simply too advanced for its time. The power source—believed to be an experimental high-energy-density battery—wouldn’t become commercially viable until decades later. The body panel materials used in its construction didn’t match anything available in motorsport at the time, reportedly mirroring the exotic alloys of the SR-71 Blackbird, the world’s fastest reconnaissance aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. This was no coincidence—Nichols’ deep connections in the aerospace industry likely played a role in acquiring experimental materials.Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the SHADOW Eclipse was its cooling system. Unlike contemporary electric vehicles, which relied on rudimentary air or liquid cooling, the Eclipse prototype reportedly featured an exhaust system. While some suggest this was designed to deceive casual observers, it was more likely a way to vent superheated air, cooling the batteries at high velocity—a design that mimicked combustion engines in many ways. The concept bore similarities to the Porsche jet cooling experiments of the mid-1950s. Various images document multiple iterations attempting to optimize this supercooling system. Some engineers claimed the system was too advanced for its time. There was no way it was just an EV.Was this simply Nichols leveraging his aerospace connections? Or was there something far more significant behind the project?
CHAPTER 3: money talks - burn baby burn
In 1969, SHADOW was underfunded, famously running dollar signs on their cars to highlight the financial strain of high-level racing. Then came United Oil Products (UOP). The petroleum giant became SHADOW’s primary backer in 1970, providing the team with newfound stability—and corporate oversight.By this time, the SHADOW Eclipse had been secretly testing for two years. The prototype was consistently exceeding expectations, proving that an electric vehicle could not only compete with combustion-powered race cars but potentially outperform them. UOP executives were eventually shown the car in a private demonstration. Witnesses claim that the corporate representatives were both amazed and visibly unsettled.Shortly thereafter, Nichols was allegedly warned to abandon the Spark project. But he resisted. The team believed they were on the verge of revolutionizing motorsport.Then came the fire.A mysterious blaze at one of SHADOW’s facilities destroyed crucial documentation and severely set back the project. Witnesses recall seeing men in black suits at the site just before the fire started. The official explanation? An alleged battery malfunction. But the timing was too convenient to be coincidence. It was during this period that UOP became the dominant force behind SHADOW Racing.Was the technology too dangerous? Too disruptive? Or simply too much of a threat to the oil industry’s stranglehold on the automotive world?
CHAPTER 4: DESERT TESTS and GOVERNMENT ties
The few surviving records of the SHADOW Eclipse indicate that final tests took place in the desert—possibly at the Holloman High-Speed Test Track in New Mexico, a site known for military research into supersonic vehicles.Eyewitnesses described an unnatural-looking black machine streaking across the desert, its acceleration beyond anything they had seen.Some claimed government agents attended these tests. One test engineer—who later vanished under mysterious circumstances—was overheard saying,"That car didn’t belong here. It felt like something from the future."Meanwhile, UOP took an even greater interest in the project. Officially, they funded SHADOW Racing to promote high-performance fuels and lubricants. Nichols and his team had built a car that eliminated gasoline altogether, they were also a few months now from getting the racecar certified for the 73 Can-am racing season.
SHADOW Racing was too small to develop cutting-edge materials on its own—so where did they come from? Some believe Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the same team behind the SR-71 Blackbird, provided exotic alloys for the car. But why would an aerospace company assist a race team? Don Nichols made it happen, his connections inside the US government allowed the team to always have the most cutting edge technology and scientists working on the program.
The SR-71 used a specialized titanium alloy (13% vanadium, 11% chromium, 3% aluminum) designed to withstand extreme heat and speed. The bodywork reportedly had similar properties, with a thermally stable outer layer that never seemed to overheat. CHAPTER 5: the Shadow ban
December 15, 1972 – 18:47 / Undisclosed location.
The car sat in the pit lane under floodlights, its black, angular form gleaming in the desert air. Nichols stood nearby, watching his test driver prepare to make history. The goal: certify the car for the 1973 Can-Am season.The SHADOW launched down the track, its manual gearbox clunking into each gear. The cooling exhaust howled, expelling bursts of superheated air in a mechanical scream. The impossible had been achieved.Then, before the car even returned to the pits, a black sedan arrived. Two men stepped out—sharp suits, polished shoes. They weren’t from SHADOW. They weren’t from racing."You’ve done some incredible work, Don," one of them said, lighting a cigarette. "Too incredible."Nichols didn’t respond."You know we can’t let this happen," the second man added, motioning toward the SHADOW Eclipse . "The world isn’t ready for a fuel-free future. Our future is combustion, Don."The next morning, the SHADOW Eclipse was gone. Every blueprint, every test result—erased. UOP sent Nichols a Christmas card with a massive check that year, increasing their funding for Shadow Racing.Just like that, the most advanced electric race car of the 20th century became nothing more than a rumor. SHADOW Eclipse never existed. Or so they thought.
Shadow: Born in the past. Built for the future
For over fifty years, the story of Shadow and their secretive Project Eclipse remained buried—erased by those who needed it forgotten. Until now. Oilstainlab has spent years uncovering the lost truths of motorsport—unearthing forgotten race cars, decoding conspiracies, and challenging official narratives. We are proud as a team to showcase the next chapter of our company. Shadow Racing is ready for a revival—a new era of insanity, raw speed, and pure driving joy. One that honors the maniacs who shaped the past. And we feel there is no one better to bring this ethos back into the world than the team at Oilstainlab. Shadow after all was built by maniacs, just like us, and we intend to honor their legacy. Because what Nichols and his team started was never meant to stay hidden in the shadows.Some of our plans are still in the shadows, but as we reveal more info, please feel free to contact us to see how you can get involved with the project. We are looking for the right maniacs to join our team.
THE twins
- THE FOUNDERS -
THE twins - THE FOUNDERS -
THe founders: ILIYA & NIKITA BRIDAN
TWINS. Born in Ukraine. Raised in canada. High-school dropouts. College EDUCATED in Italy and California.
Led 6+million production car programs, now on the road today9 Award winning showcars + 13 patentsLed $650M program for Honda CRV & Acura RDX: $280B in sales. +25% in sales.Led Honda LDT Platform, Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline. $87.5B expected sales.Designed Acura ARx-05 Racecar. 2X World Championship winner with Penske.Involved in VC Investment targeted for Cruise Autonomy, Lyft, Boeing, Hyperion & NASA.Bollinger: $148.2M acquisition - Hyperion: $1.4M in Funding. - Canoo: $600M in Funding.Developed Electrification, Consumer, Platform & Design Strategies 2021-2032 for: Toyota, Genesis, Honda, Corvette, Cadillac, GAC, & many more.
THE PAST OVERTAKES THE FUTURE
THE PAST OVERTAKES THE FUTURE
Want to learn more about the Shadow and our vision for it, or maybe you want to chat about one of our our products, like the HF-11. Use the link below and schedule a chat with us. Together we can get the past to overtake the future.Schedule your Meeting:
Nikita Bridan: FOunder + Ceo
Iliya BRIDAN: FOunder + CDO
Alessandro Borroni: CLient relations
