Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high handling characteristics.

The company is 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Norwich, in East Anglia and was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by the engineer Colin Chapman, in 1952. The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey. Team Lotus was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. Since the 1960s the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham. This site is the former RAF Hethel base and the test track uses sections of the old runway.

Chapman died of a heart attack in 1982, at the age of 54, having begun life an inn-keeper's son and ended a multi-millionaire industrialist in post-war Britain. The carmaker built tens of thousands of successful racing and road cars and won the Formula One World Championship seven times. At the time of his death he was linked with the DeLorean scandal over the use of government subsidies for the production of the De Lorean DMC-12 for which Lotus had designed the chassis.

In 1986 the company was bought by General Motors. On August 27, 1993, GM sold the company, for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996 a majority share in Lotus was sold to Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton), a Malaysian car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development - particularly of suspension - for other car manufacturers. The lesser known Powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4 cylinder engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, and possibly some Saturn cars.

The company is organized as Group Lotus, which is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. Contrary to some rumours, there are no plans to create a Formula One Team. This is more likely to be due to the massive financial input required over and above any of the company's wishes.

Mr. Michael J Kimberley ("Mike"), took over as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006. Mike currently chairs the Executive Committee of Lotus Group International Limited ("LGIL") established in February 2006, with Syed Zainal Abidin (Managing Director of Proton Holdings Berhad) and Badrul Feisal (non-executive director of Proton Holdings Berhad). LGIL is the holding company of Lotus Group Plc.

Lotus 107

The Lotus 107 was a Formula One car designed for the 1992 Formula One Season, it brought in a final, frustratingly limited and short-lived period of competitiveness for the legendary Team Lotus in Formula 1. A fresh design by Chris Murphy, it had smooth sweeping lines a world away from the long developed and antique looking 102D. Lotus also harked back to previous glories with a supply of Ford Cosworth HB V8 engines, of a similar - if older - specification to those being used by Benetton. The 107 was the first Lotus to be fitted with a semi automatic gearbox.

With a top notch driving squad of Johnny Herbert and a future double F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, the Lotus' were able to bring in some good results - at several races the twin 'Loti' (as BBC commentator James Hunt dubbed them) were able to run in formation on the tail of the leading pack, at least in the early parts of the races. Reliability was not fantastic, but a fair measure of basic speed was obviously there. For a while in 1992 it seemed as if Team Lotus might be able to turn things around and claw their way back to success.

Lotus 102

The Lotus 102 was a Formula One racing car designed by Lotus for use in the 1990 Formula One season. The 102 was an evolution of the Lotus 101 and would eventually go on to compete in 37 races spanning three seasons from 1990 until 1992.

Using the 101 as its basis Frank Dernie incorporated the Lamborghini V12 engine that had been used by the Lola team during the previous season. Its use made the 102 the first and only Lotus to race with a V12 engine. The engine had several drawbacks, principally its size, weight and fuel economy. However, it was believed that the increases in power would offset these drawbacks. The engine’s size meant it had to be located lower in the chassis, which also had to be designed to its widest permitted dimensions in order to incorporate larger fuel tanks. Furthermore due to the engine's mass every component on the car had to be scrutinised to investigate whether any further weight reductions could be made elsewhere.

The departure of Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima the previous season brought in the experienced Derek Warwick and promoted test driver Martin Donnelly to fill the other vacant drivers seat. The inclusion of these drivers, who were taller than Piquet and Nakajima incurred another design compromise as the car had to be taller than was desired.

Team Lotus’s manager Rupert Mainwarring confidently predicted that the team would score 40 championship points. By the first round of the championship it was apparent that this confidence was complete misplaced.

Team Lotus were to struggle throughout the season to score 3 points, its lowest score since 1958. Ultimately this performance was to witness the departure of Camel sponsorship and almost cost the team its existence. Fortunately in December 1990 Peter Collins and Peter Wright headed a consortium which bought the team. Due to the eleventh hour nature of the takeover the team were unable to start the season with sufficient sponsorship. In addition, the planned introduction of Dernie’s type 103 was shelved, the team instead opting to refresh the 102 to B standards.

Lotus 101

The Lotus 101 was Team Lotus’s entry for the 1989 Formula One season. Gérard Ducarouge’s departure during 1988 had necessitated the former Williams aerodynamicist Frank Dernie to be appointed as Technical Director in November 1988. Despite his appointment the majority of the work for the 101 had been conducted by chief designer Mike Coughlan. The 101 was to be a rushed design built within weeks and to a series of constraints.

Durcarogue’s departure coincided with end of the 1,500 cc turbocharged era. Lotus, along with other competitors, now had to incorporate 3,500 cc normally aspirated engines into their cars. Judd were therefore enlisted to supply their CV 32 valve V8 engine, but as Lotus were only a “customer” (Judd’s principal contact was the supply of their latest EV V8 engine to the March team) solutions were sought to make up the power deficiency by appointing Tickford to research and develop a five-valve-per- cylinder head. The use of the Judd engine did permit Dernie and Coughlan to design a smaller and lighter car than before; indeed the narrowness of the cockpit required Momo to build a special steering wheel to prevent the drivers from scraping their knuckles.

The initial optimism and favourable reception by management and driver alike shortly evaporated, as the 101 proved to be a disaster. Not only were the Judd engines 125 bhp (93 kW) less than the dominant McLaren’s, but it was apparent that the Goodyear tyres that the team were using had been designed principally for use by the McLaren and Ferrari teams, who were able to test and tune their chassis to worker better with the compounds.

The 101 failed to collect significant result as the season progressed, culminating in the events following the British Grand Prix. The Chapman family, who were still the shareholders in Team Louts International, persuaded Peter Warr and Chairman Fred Bushell (who was about to face charges arising from the De Lorean affair) to leave. Tony Rudd, who was at the time working for Group Lotus, was appointed Executive chairman. Also the Tickford head was abandoned.

The renewed optimism briefly helped to improve results; however, at Spa both Lotuses failed to qualify for a Grand Prix for the first time since 1958. The season ended with two fourth place finishes for Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima in Japan and Australia respectively.

Lotus 100T

The Lotus 100T was a Formula 1 car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Martin Ogilvie for Team Lotus, used during the 1988 Formula One season. The 100T was an update of the previous Lotus 99T model; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section and rear bodywork. In addition, the engine was an updated version of the Honda 1.5L V6 turbo used by Lotus after the withdrawal of Renault at the end of the 1986 season.

In common with its progenitor model, the 100T was fitted with electronic active suspension, still an advanced system despite having been introduced the previous year. However, with the loss of Ayrton Senna to McLaren, and despite signing three-time and current World Champion Nelson Piquet, Lotus were very much an also-ran team during much of 1988. Piquet picked up a number of points, including three third-placed finishes, during the season, but the car's lack of ultimate speed resulted in Lotus's first season without a win or pole position for five years.

At the end of the 1988 season turbocharged engines were outlawed, rendering the 100T chassis obsolete. It was replaced by the conventionally aspirated Lotus 101 for the 1989 Formula One season.

Lotus 99T

The Lotus 99T was a Formula 1 car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for Lotus for use in the 1987 Formula One season. After Renault pulled out of F1 at the end of 1986, Lotus signed a deal with Honda for use of their hugely powerful turbocharged 1500cc engine. As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to sign Satoru Nakajima as team mate to the mercurial Ayrton Senna. John Player Special were replaced by Camel as title sponsor.

The 99T was the first Lotus chassis to be fitted with electronic active suspension. The system's benefits of a consistent ride height with no pitch or roll in the chassis came at a cost, as the system added significant weight to the car. Ducourouge clawed as much performance back by spending many hours in the wind tunnel to compensate.

The 99T proved to be very competitive at the hands of Senna, who won twice and scored six other podium finishes during the season. This helped him and the team to third in the drivers' and constructors' championship. Senna also provided a poignant footnote that season, as his win at the United States Grand Prix was the final Grand Prix win for Team Lotus before he moved to McLaren for 1988.

The 99T was updated for 1988 to 100T specification; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section, longer wheel base and tighter rear bodywork. New team leader Nelson Piquet used the car to score consistently but was unable to add any further wins to Lotus' scoresheet however.

Lotus 98T

The Lotus 98T was a development of the Lotus 97T of 1985. Of the four chassis built three were assigned to Ayrton Senna, now in his second year with Team Lotus, and one to team mate Johnny Dumfries.

Designed by Gérard Ducarouge the chassis featured a lower monocoque than the 97T as a result of a regulation change stipulating a reduction in fuel capacity to 195 litres. The powertrain comprised of the new Renault EF15bis turbo V6 engine driving through a Hewland gearbox.

The EF15bis was to appear in two forms, the standard engine and the "D.P." engine which featured pneumatic valve springs for the first time. At the end of the season Renault introduced the revised EF15C which in addition to the D.P. valve gear also boasted common rail fuel injection and much revised water cooling through the cylinder head reducing the likelihood of pre-ignition (detonation). Power figures for this period of F1 history are largely speculative as most engine manufactures freely admitted that their test beds would not have a sufficient power rating to measure the 1.5 litre turbos output at above 4 bar boost. It is generally accepted that the Renault EF15 produced between 1,200 bhp (890 kW) and 1,300 bhp (970 kW) at 5.5bar boost.

The gearbox came in two variants, a conventional five speed and a new six speed. The six speed was very much a development gearbox and was largely unreliable. While Senna opted to run only with the five speed, Dumfries was tasked with testing the six speed. Both gearboxes featured Hewland internals within a Lotus designed casing.

Other notable innovation of the 98T included a two stage ride height adjustment, water injection through the intercoolers, an early form of barge board (also present on the 97T) and an advanced (for the time) fuel consumption micro computer.

During the 1986 Formula One season the Formula One paddock was very much alive with speculation as to the legality of the Lotus 98T. The increasing rumors prompted Peter Warr, then Lotus team manager, to issue a press statement calling for the rumors to stop or for the teams to officially protest the car. No protest was lodged.

Lotus 97T

The Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed and built by Team Lotus. A development of the Lotus 95T of 1984, it was designed for the 1985 Formula One season by French engineer Gérard Ducarouge and powered by a 1500cc Renault turbocharged engine. Sponsorship came from John Player Special and French oil company Elf. The 97T was a simple design but was robust and powerful. It used elements from the defunct Lotus 96T Indycar project in the aerodynamics. The 97T featured another innovative piece of Lotus design: an early form of bargeboards.

Lotus' major coup for 1985 was signing rising star Ayrton Senna from the Toleman team to partner Elio De Angelis. De Angelis had finished third in the previous season's drivers' championship and had had many promising results with the 95T. The 97T was a natural development, but taking into account new sporting regulation changes over the rear wings of the cars.

The 97T was very competitive during the season, taking 8 poles, 7 with Senna and 1 with De Angelis and 3 wins. Senna's first was a brilliant performance in the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix where he won by over a minute in monsoon conditions. His second came at Spa, held in wet/dry conditions. De Angelis added a third win at Imola after Prost was disqualified.

The 97T was fast but was unreliable. Senna in particular had a run of bad luck mid season, many times while leading which cost him a possible chance at the world championship. Eventually, Lotus finished third in the constructors championship.

The car marked the start of a brief return to the successful days of the 1960s and 1970s for Lotus, which was continued by the 98T of 1986 and the Honda-powered 99T of 1987.

Lotus 96T

The Lotus type 96T was Team Lotus's last Indycar.

The project was the brainchild of former Formula 2 team owner Roy Winkelmann. During the 1960’s Winklemann had proved successful running Brabhams and scoring successes with Jochen Rindt. However this team was to break up suddenly in 1969 with some of the core personnel (including Alan Rees) forming March Engineering.

Winklemann then relocated himself in the United States and built up a large and diverse business empire. Following the creation of the CART series in 1979 Winklemann saw a perceived blossoming of international interest and was once again lured to an opportunity to race again. However he did not wish to buy an "off-the-shelf" March or Lola chassis as was de rigueur in CART racing during the 1980s. Instead he initially approached Cosworth and obtained some assurances that they would be prepared to build "works" engines for his team. All teams in the championship were effectively running second-hand DFX engines at this point, with little input from Cosworth.

Winklemann then approached Team Lotus and their new designer Gérard Ducarouge to obtain a bespoke chassis with the plan of competing and conquering CART within three years. Ducarouge enlisted Mike Coughlan to help design the chassis.

The 96T was Ducarogue's response to these requirements. Its tub, lines and suspension were similar to the Lotus 95T that was racing in the 1984 Formula One Championships, but with one significant design alteration. Ducarouge had foreseen that the car stood the very real possibility of hitting a concrete retaining wall at over 200 mph (322 km/h). Therefore the chassis was modified.

Since 1981 all Formula one Lotuses had been constructed of a carbon/Kevlar (Chapman Tartan) sandwich with the void between the two filled with Nomex paper foil. The Type 96T departed from this by having the void filled with a lightweight aluminium-foil honeycomb. This modification was significant as it built in extra strength at no cost to weight and was to lay the foundations for all future Lotus Formula 1 chassis.

Despite the project's promising beginnings it was to be the American CART establishment's lack of enthusiasm (interpreted by some as outward hostility) for a “works team” that was to effectively kill this project. The repercussions of this were to virtually guarantee none of the sponsorship that Winklemann had originally been so confident of. Also with a lack of sponsorship many drivers were not willing to sacrifice their growing reputations with an unknown European team, despite the legacy that team came with.

The one and only prototype now resides with Classic Team Lotus.

Lotus 95T

The Lotus 95T was an F1 car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for Team Lotus' use in the 1984 Formula One season. It was Lotus' first newly designed chassis since the Lotus 88. The car was powered by a Renault turbo V6 engine.

The car was a significant improvement, and helped the team be competitive consistently. Elio de Angelis was in contention for victory on more than one occasion, and four podium places along with several other points finishes helped him to third in the drivers' championship. Added to two pole positions, it was a surprisingly impressive season for the Italian. Nigel Mansell nearly won the Monaco Grand Prix during a rain hit race, but crashed in the closing stages while leading. Other potential podium finishes at Estoril and Dallas were unrewarded with reliability problems, but he did manage to score his first pole position and finished on the podium three times. Mansell departed the team at the end of the season, bound for Williams.

By season's end, Lotus finished third in the constructors' championship with 47 points. The 95T helped to re-establish Lotus as a force in F1 throughout the mid 1980's. It was replaced by the Lotus 97T in 1985.

Lotus 91

The Lotus 91 was designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd for the 1982 Formula One season. After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or mediocre cars, Colin Chapman went back to basics and designed the graceful Lotus 91, based in part on the Williams FW07 and Lotus' own 88 design. Powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV, and using a standard Hewland gearbox, the 91 was uncomplicated and easy to maintain. Following Brabham's lead, the new car was the first Lotus chassis to use carbon brakes, improving braking performance considerably.

After a design study by Chapman into new composite materials, the decision was taken to build the car in carbon fibre, making it along with the McLaren MP4/1 the first F1 car to be built from the material.

Under the direction of Peter Warr, the team worked hard to make the car as competitive as possible. The lightweight chassis gave the 91 a fighting chance against the far more powerful turbo engined cars, and Cosworth worked on a short stroke version of the DFV purely for Lotus' use. The suspension was revolutionary. Using an on-board system to control the ride height and behavior of the suspension, the Lotus 91 was the first car to be fitted with active suspension. The system was partially controlled by computers, but at this early stage was mostly operated by hydro-pneumatic valves. Elio De Angelis used the car well, but found the 91 was mostly competitive on ultra fast tracks like Hockenheim, Monza and the Österreichring. The latter track provided a thrilling final lap win for De Angelis against Keke Rosberg in the Williams. That as well as several other podium places helped the team to fifth in the final standings in 1982, before ground effects were banned for the 1983 Formula One season, and the 91 was replaced by the first Lotus turbo car. The 91 was the last Lotus F1 car to win a race under Colin Chapman's rule before he died of a heart attack in December 1982.

Lotus 88

The Lotus 88 was an innovative ground effect F1 car designed by Colin Chapman, Peter Wright, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie of Lotus as a response to technical regulations introduced in 1981 by the FIA to curb the ground effects cars technical excellence.

By 1981 the ground effects cars were so efficient and so fast that the drivers were suffering from the tremendous g-forces involved in cornering and braking. The FIA banned the moveable skirts fitted to the bottom of the cars' sidepods that were vital for achieving consistent ground effect and regulated a mandatory ground clearance of 6cm, in the interests of driver safety. The Brabham team were the first to circumvent the rules using hydropneumatic suspension systems which compressed under aerodynamic loading and lowered the Brabham BT49 onto the track. This had the side effect of rendering the car without any sort of suspension, causing the driver to be buffeted even more than before. However, the performance gains were such that other teams were soon following suit - although most had difficulty in replicating the Brabham system and used a simple switch to lower the car. Chapman had other ideas.

The earlier Lotus 86 had been designed at the time when skirts were still legal, in the same layout as the 88 but only one prototype had been built. The performance gains were relatively small but significant over conventional ground effects cars. When the skirts were banned, Wright studied the car and its performance without skirts. The loss in performance was largely negligible, so the 88 was quickly designed as a re-engineered 86. The 88 used an ingenious system of having a twin chassis, one inside the other. The inner chassis would hold the cockpit and would be independently sprung from the outer one, which was designed to take the pressures of the ground effects. The outer chassis did not have discernable wings, and was in effect one huge ground effect system, beginning just behind the nose of the car and extending all the way inside the rear wheels, thereby producing massive amounts of downforce. The car was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Lotus drivers Nigel Mansell and Elio De Angelis reported the car was pleasing to drive and responsive. To make the aerodynamic loads as manageable as possible, the car was constructed extensively in carbon fibre, making it along with the McLaren MP4/1 the first car to use the material in large quantity.

Other teams were outraged at this exploitation of the regulations and protests were lodged with the FIA, on the grounds that the twin chassis tub breached the rules in terms of moveable aerodynamic devices. The FIA upheld the protests and consequently banned the car from competing. Chapman was adamant the car was legal and challenged the other teams and the FIA at every turn, but the decision stood. Chapman was forced to update two of his Lotus 87 chassis as replacements for his thwarted brainchild. The Lotus 88 therefore remains a curiosity from a bygone age of F1. Some of the 88's aerodynamics and layout were worked into the successful Lotus 91 which followed in 1982.

Lotus 81

The Lotus 81 was a Formula 1 racing car built by Colin Chapman's Lotus team for the 1980 Formula One season. Unlike many of its illustrious Lotus forbears the 81 was not a terribly innovative or competitive car, coming as it did at a time when Chapman's interest in his racing activities was waning.

Instead it was a very standard ground effect design with sliding skirts and the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV 3.0 litre V8 powerplant. The car was said to generate a great deal of downforce but suffered from excessive pitch sensitivity problems, ultimately leading Chapman to develop the innovative twin-chassis Lotus 88.

Mario Andretti and Elio de Angelis used the 81 in all 14 rounds of the 1980 Formula 1 world championship, and the car also gave Nigel Mansell his Formula 1 debut, with the British driver lining up in a total of three races that season. The best result for the car was Elio de Angelis's 2nd place in Brazil.

Chapman had intended to use the Lotus 88 for the 1981 season, but a massive furore over the legality of the new car meant that the 81 was kept on as a stop gap for the first four races, with Mansell taking 3rd place in the Belgian Grand Prix and de Angelis claiming three points finishes, before car was replaced by the Lotus 87.

Lotus 80

The Lotus 80 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in 1979. The car, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd was an attempt to take ground effect as far as possible.

Ogilvie and Rudd reasoned that to take a further step ahead of the competition, the new car should be designed as one huge ground effect system, starting just behind the nose and extending all the way to the back of the car beyond the rear wheels. An additional ground effect system was built into the nose, in an effort to turn the whole chassis into an aerodynamic device. In theory this would create a tremendous amount of downforce, so the chassis would have to be built to be more structurally rigid than the Lotus 79's. The 80 also would not need wings due to the massive downforce. Chapman approved the idea at once.

The car appeared resplendent in British racing green, since John Player Special had pulled out of F1. The car featured 'coke bottle' sidepods, something that would become familiar in the 1980s. However, a serious problem was encountered during testing. Mario Andretti reported that at speed the car behaved very well, but in braking and cornering, where speeds were lower, the car lost downforce alarmingly then regained it unexpectedly. It was discovered the car was generating too much downforce for the driver to cope with. The problem was twofold: firstly, the ground effect's low pressure area under the car was moving around with the car's centre of gravity. The phenomenon was known as porpoising, as the car appeared to be lifting and squatting at different speeds, causing it to lurch violently through corners. Secondly, the slightest difference in track ride height including off cambered corners, kerbs etc affected the undercar pressure hugely. The team experimented by fitting the car with wings, but this had little effect on the way the car behaved. Andretti persevered with the car, but his new team mate Carlos Reutemann refused to drive it and stayed with the Lotus 79.

Chapman eventually had to admit the 80 was not the wondercar he had planned, and after a reasonable third place for Andretti in the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix, the problems with the Lotus 80 became obvious in Belgium and Monaco. The Lotus 79 was modified and pressed back into service.

It was a massive setback for the team, and for the car which had appeared so promising, however Chapman persevered with the concept of a full length ground effect chassis in the Lotus 88.

Lotus 79

The Lotus 79 was the first F1 car to take full advantage of ground effects aerodynamics, pioneered in its immediate predecessor, the Lotus 78. The undercar pressure problems in the 78 were resolved with the 79, with further design work on the venturi tunnels under the car, which allowed the low pressure area to be evenly spaced along the whole of the underside. This was achieved by extending the rear bodywork to a point inside the rear wheels, allowing the underside to extend further back, instead of ending abruptly in front of the rear wheels on the 78. As a result, the rear suspension was also redesigned to allow the air to exit the rear more cleanly than on its predecessor. This allowed a smaller rear wing to be designed, causing less drag. When the car first appeared, the upper bodywork was steeply raked and featured coke bottle sidepods. After work in the wind tunnel, these features were found to be unnecessary, as the car generated so much downforce anyway. These features were however later incorporated into the Lotus 80.

The car was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV and constructed of sheet aluminium honeycomb, specially strengthened for the pressures exerted on the car by the ground effects. The fuel tank was one single cell behind the driver, as opposed to separate fuel tanks as on the 78. This had the advantage of increasing fire protection and moving the centre of gravity to the middle of the car, helping cornering and braking. The 79 was also the first F1 car to be designed using wind tunnel and computer design aids.[citation needed] In fact it was the first F1 car to use computers to analyse it in the pits on race weekends.

The car was secretly tested in late 1977 by Ronnie Peterson and proved extremely fast, but the chassis suffered early fatigue due to the severe suction and g-forces generated by the ground effect. The 79 produced about 30% more downforce than the 78, something not foreseen by Ogilvie and Rudd, who went back to the drawing board. The chassis was strengthened in specific points, mostly around the monocoque and load bearing points on the chassis tub, and the car was found to be even faster than before.

The need for smooth airflow dictated the car must have clean lines; as a result the 79 was one of the most beautiful cars ever to take to the track. Nicknamed 'Black Beauty' by the press and F1 fans alike, for its graceful design and sleek profile and its black and gold livery through sponsorship by John Player Special cigarettes, the Lotus 79 was instantly competitive on its debut, the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. It took pole at the hands of Mario Andretti by more than a second, and won the race comfortably. Andretti said after driving the 79 for the first time that the Lotus 78 was like driving a London bus. Peterson once quipped, after scoring an impressive pole position, that the car was so brilliantly set-up all he had to do was steer.

The 79 was not without its problems however. Wright and Ogilvie noted that the car was very marginal in some aspects of its design; Andretti had reservations over the car's brakes, which faded noticeably over a race distance especially in hot conditions, the exhaust had a tendency to overheat, and the monocoque tub was not as stiff as the team would have liked, which meant a new casting had to be done several times during the two seasons the car was used.

Lotus 77

The Lotus 77 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge and Martin Ogilvie for the 1976 Formula One season. The car was a stop-gap means to an end for Lotus, who were fighting back after the faliure of the Lotus 76 and the obsolescence of the Lotus 72 in 1975.

The Lotus 77 featured a slimmer, lighter monocoque design over the 72, but was similarly powered by the Cosworth DFV. It featured improved aerodynamics and repositioned radiators to aid better cooling. The front brakes were initially inboard, in line with its predecessors, but were moved outboard in a more conventional design part-way through the season. The suspension was designed around a series of rocker arms instead of the usual set up of wishbones. The idea behind the new system was to set the suspension up for a specific track, taking into account ride height and road surface. It worked in a fashion, but inexperience with such an infinitely adjustable car meant that optimum settings were often not achieved. Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson reported the steering and ride were occasionally vague and unresponsive. Andretti did not care for the car, proclaiming it to be a 'dog.' This motivated Lotus to accelerate research and create the stunning Lotus 78.

After a slow start to the season, the 77 proved to be best of the rest behind Ferrari, McLaren and Tyrrell. Andretti worked hard to develop the car, and from mid season onwards, the 77's performance picked up. It was however best suited to tracks with long corners such as Anderstorp, where Andretti led easily before engine faliure put him out, Zandvoort, and Mosport Park both tracks where he finished on the podium.

Colin Chapman vetoed Andretti's request to race the Lotus 78 at Zandvoort, so Mario reluctantly raced the 77 until the end of the season. The final race was run in monsoon conditions at Fuji Speedway in Japan. Andretti drove a clever tactical race to win by a lap from Patrick Depailler and new world champion James Hunt. Andretti was thankful to put the 77 aside to concentrate on developing the 78 for the 1977 Formula One season.

Lotus 76

The Lotus 76 was a Formula 1 car designed by Colin Chapman, Tony Rudd and Ralph Bellamy for the 1974 Formula One season. The car was intended to be a more advanced version of the Lotus 72, powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV and featuring modified aerodynamics, a lighter chassis, longer wheelbase and a narrower, lower monocoque, The car also featured a bi-plane rear wing, designed to increase rear downforce and stability. In addition to an electronically operated clutch, which was the precursor to the modern semi automatic gearboxes seen on today's F1 cars, with the control mounted into the gearstick which theoretically speeded up gearchanges, the Lotus 76 was seen as a major technological breakthrough by Team Lotus. Outwardly, the car looked sleek and impressive. Internally, the suspension set up and inboard brake positioning were carried over from the Lotus 72. The car's development had been paid for by title sponsor John Player Special, so the 76 was given the chassis number 'John Player Special Mk I.'

After initial tests by Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx, both drivers complained that the car lacked 'feel' and that the electronic clutch was giving problems. The gearchange was modified, but both drivers persisted in claiming it was no better than the conventional clutch setup. Other problems with the engine installation were encountered, which led to mechanical faliures and the car's weight bias being out of sync. After the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, Peterson and Ickx insisted on going back to the Lotus 72, which Peterson promptly used to challenge for the world championship. Chapman responded by upgrading the 76 to 'B' spec, with enlarge sidepods and better cooling, but the team eventually had to accept that the 76 was a step in the wrong direction, and the whole project was junked in favour of keeping the 72s competitive.

Lotus 72

The 72 was yet another innovative design by Chapman featuring inboard brakes, side mounted radiators in sidepods, as opposed to the nose mounted radiators which had been commonplace since the 1950s and an overhead air intake. The overall shape of the car was innovative too, resembling a wedge on wheels which was inspired by the earlier Lotus 56 gas turbine car, and the layout taken from the Lotus 63 four wheel drive project testbed. The shape made for better air penetration and higher speeds. In a back-to-back test with the Lotus 49, the 72 was 12 mph faster with the same Ford engine.

Chapman's efforts produced one of the most remarkable and successful designs in F1 history. Taking the stressed engine layout technique from the Lotus 49 and adding advanced aerodynamics produced a car that was years ahead of its rivals. To begin with however, problems with the handling of the car had to be overcome, due to a lack of 'feel' caused by the anti-dive suspension geometry - which was designed to prevent the nose of the car dipping significantly under braking - and the anti-squat set-up at the rear, which was supposed to stop the car 'squatting down' under acceleration. Once the suspension was modified, there were no further problems. The car caused a sensation amongst the media and fans, with many people clamouring to see the remarkable car in action.

Lotus 63

The Lotus 63 was an experimental F1 design, designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe for the 1969 season. Chapman's reasoning behind the car was that the 3 litre engines introduced in 1966 would be better served by building a car that could take full advantage of its power while retaining the Lotus 49's simplicity.

As the Lotus 56 for Indy 500 (and later F1), the 63 chassis was designed around a four wheel drive system. This was no revolution at the time, as four wheel drive had been used on the Ferguson P99 F1 car that won at Oulton Park as early as 1961. However, it was not a successful design. In fact, the Matra MS84 was the only 4WD F1 which scored points with Johnny Servoz-Gavin, something neither Lotus nor McLaren managed, while Cosworth did not even race their 4WD design. The 63 was an evolution of the 49, but featured wedge shaped rear bodywork and integrated wings, which would be used to great effect in the Lotus 72.

John Miles, Lotus' third driver was entrusted the task of developing the car, while Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt used the 49 in the early races of 1969. The car proved extremely difficult to drive and set up, and the four wheel drive system was especially problematic. After a single test run, Hill flatly refused to drive the car again stating it was a 'deathtrap,' as did Rindt, who agreed with Hill after taking the car to its best result, 2nd in the non-championship Oulton Park Gold Cup. This infuriated Chapman as he saw the 63 as another quantum leap ahead of its rivals, just as its predecessors had been.

The car was entered at the 1969 British Grand Prix as a test run. Whilst Rindt finished fourth in the older 49 behind Jackie Stewart, Miles could only bring the 63 home in 10th place, confirming the car's uncompetitiveness. After several other fruitless outings, the 63 was abandoned, but parts of the chassis design were worked into the brilliant Lotus 72, which debuted in 1970.

The four wheel drive technology returned into F1 with the Lotus 56B in 1971.

Like the Lotus 88, the 4WD cars proved to be huge white elephants for Lotus, but it paved the way for better models to follow.

Lotus 62

The Lotus Type 62 race car was a development of the successful Type 47 and intended to race in the Appendix J Group 6 Prototype Class. The car was designed by Martin Waide at Lotus Components and had a space frame chassis, and featured the new Lotus 2.0 litre LV240 DOHC engine (in time this engine would become the Type 907 engine, used to power the Lotus Elite, Esprit, Eclat and Excel).

The car had limited competitive success, due mainly to problems with the Vauxhall derived engine block. The car's most successful race was finishing 3rd position at the Tourist Trophy at Oulton Park in 1969.

Lotus 56

The Lotus 56 was designed by Maurice Phillippe as Lotus 1968 entry in the Indianapolis 500, replacing the successful Lotus 38.

Based on Parnelli Jones' STP Granatelli turbine car ("Silent Sam") that almost won in 1967, Colin Chapman's team again produced an even more innovative design. The 56 was shaped like a wedge on wheels, in the same vein as the later Lotus 72, which was also designed by Phillippe (who had replaced Terry) and Chapman. The engine of the 56 was also noteworthy, as it was a Pratt & Whitney gas turbine engine of over 500 bhp (370 kW). To get the best out of the power produced, the 56 was fitted with four wheel drive, something also used on the Lotus 63 without success.

Jim Clark was enthused about the car in testing, but he was tragically killed in a F2 Lotus 48 in April of 1968 before he could qualify the car at Indy - an occasion in which Mike Spence died in the 56, adding more tragedy to Team Lotus.

Nevertheless, Graham Hill, Joe Leonard, and Art Pollard were entered for the race, with Leonard claiming pole position. In the race Leonard was leading with ease with just a handful of laps to go when the engine failed. Lotus' innovation incurred the wrath of the governing body of American motorsport, and USAC deemed turbine cars and four wheel drive illegal shortly after, much to Chapman's frustration.

The 56 would not be a total loss in any event. It inspired the Formula Ford 61 and, in combination with wings (pioneered by the 49), would transform Formula One.

Lotus 49

The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s and was the first successful Formula One car to feature the engine as a structural member.

Jim Clark won on the car's debut in 1967, and it would also provide him with the last win of his career in 1968. Graham Hill went on to win that year's title and the car continued winning races until 1970.

Lotus 48

The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 car designed by Colin Chapman, based on a 1600 cc Ford FVA engine that was run around 1967 to 1970 on Formula Two. The 48 is unfortunately notable for being the car in which Jim Clark was killed. Apart from that, it was campaigned fairly successfully in F2, taking several wins. The car was entered for one F1 race, the 1967 German Grand Prix, where it was driven to fifth place.

Lotus Europa

The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe, a two door mid-engined GT coupé built by Lotus Cars from 1966 to 1975. (In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coupé named Europa S.)

The original Europa used Lotus founder Colin Chapman's minimalist steel backbone chassis that was first used in the Lotus Elan, while also relying on its fibreglass moulded body for structural strength. The Europa was the first mass production, mid-engine road car and was based on a prototype built to compete for Henry Ford II's contract to build a LeMans race car in the early 1960s. (See GT40.)

The Europa was designed and built to be an embodiment of Chapman's oft-stated philosophy of automotive design: "Simplify, then add lightness."

The 4-wheel independent suspension was typical of Chapman's thinking; the rear suspension consisted of two relatively large trailing arms, one lower locating link per side, and the axles were used as upper locating links; very similar to Formula racing car designs of that era. Aside from the doors, bonnet (hood), and trunk (boot), the body was cast as a single unit of fibreglass.

The car's handling prompted automotive writers to describe the Europa as the nearest thing to a Formula car for the road.

In all, Lotus supposedly built about 9,300 Europas.

Lotus 43

The Lotus 43 was designed for the 1966 season by Colin Chapman. It was partially based on the Lotus 38 Indycar, due to Chapman's experience at Indy with larger engine capacity and tyre/suspension setup. The car was designed in this way in response to new regulations which came into force in 1966, which increased the engine capacity to 3 litres. Along with newer, wider tyres better able to handle the power of the larger engines, the need for a more robust design was obvious.

Chapman and Lotus made a deal for use of BRM's new H 16 engine as well as using the new tyres. The engine on paper was technically advanced and powerful, and Chapman had hopes that it would power his cars to another successful season.

Alas, it was not to be. The first sign of trouble was when the new engine arrived and it required four men to lift it from the truck. The engine proved to be overweight, unreliable and was unable to produce the promised power. Jim Clark didn't score any points until mid season. Clark was able to turn his fortunes around and won the American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen at the end of the season, thereby winning the H 16's only race. In 1967 the 43 made its final start in the South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami circuit, where Clark again retired the car. The 43 chassis was an excellent design let down by a poor powerplant, and Chapman was left to rue his choice as he had been offered Repco engines for 1966, which went on to take the world championship that year for Brabham.

Design elements of the 43 were used in the design of the far more successful Lotus 49 which replaced the 43 in 1967.

Lotus 41

The Lotus 41 was a Lotus Formula 3 and Formula 2 racing car which ran between 1966 - 1968. John Joyce, Bowin Cars founder, was the Lotus chief designer and was assisted by Dave Baldwin. They started with a clean sheet of paper. The most notable feature of the new design was the extensive use of stressed steel panels in the bulkheads, welded steel around the footwell and the instrument panel, a welded sheet of steel surrounding the driver's shoulder, and a double-sided steel cradle surrounding the gearbox. Floors were also welded for additional stiffness.

Another clever design feature of the Type 41 was the use of a rear bulkhead as an oil overflow collector. Even the front oil tank had its overflow routed through a labyrinthine path using chassis tubes all the way to the back.

Lotus 39

The Lotus 39 was a single seat racing car produced by Team Lotus. It was originally intended for use in Formula One, to be powered by the Coventry Climax 1.5 litre flat-16 engine. But the engine never eventuated, so the chassis was modified by Maurice Philippe to accept a 2495 cc Coventry Climax FPF engine, which produced about 230 bhp (172 kW), and was used for the 1966 Tasman Series races in Australia and New Zealand. In the hands of Jim Clark, the 39 scored 1 win, 5 second places and 1 third place and Clark finished second in the series behind Jackie Stewart.

Lotus 38

The Lotus 38 was the first mid-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500, in 1965, driven by the great Jim Clark. It was run by Lotus at Indianapolis from 1965 to 1967; a total of 8 were built, most for use by Lotus, but several were sold for use by other drivers, including A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

It was designed by Colin Chapman and Len Terry as Lotus 1965 entry for the Indianapolis 500. It was an evolution of the previous Lotus 29 and Lotus 34 Indy designs, but with a full monocoque, and was powered by the same four-cam Ford V8 fuel injected engine as used in the 34, giving out around 500 bhp. In all of them, the engine was mid-mounted, improving the weight distribution and giving it good handling. The 38 was significantly larger than Formula 1 cars of the time, but was dwarfed by the massive American roadsters.

The 38 was specially designed with an "offset" suspension, with the car body situated asymmetrically between the wheels, offset to the left using suspension arms of unequal length. Although in theory this was better suited for the ovals (which have only left turns), for example by evening out tyre wear between the two sides, in practise the handling was sufficiently idiosyncratic that the concept never caught on widely.

Lotus 34

The Lotus 34 was a British racing car built by Team Lotus for the 1964 Indianapolis 500.

The Type 34 was Lotus' first Champ Car. Based on the Lotus 33, it car featured a four-cam 4195 cc (255ci) DOHC Ford V8 with Hilborn fuel injection, producing 425 bhp (317 kW), through a ZF 2DS20 gearbox.

At Indianapolis, Jim Clark qualified on the pole, joined by five other similar cars. In the race, the Dunlop tyres failed, leading to Clark crashing and the second 34 being parked.

Lotus 33

The Lotus 33 designed by Colin Chapman, was a Formula One car built by Team Lotus. Its development was based on the earlier Lotus 25 model, taking the monocoque chassis design to new development heights. The 33 was again powered by the 1500 cc Climax engine. The 33 was almost identical to the 25, but had suspension designed around newer, wider tyres. The car was more rigid and was simpler to build than its predecessor.

Introduced for the 1965 season, Clark took the 33 to victory in its first appearance at the South African Grand Prix before taking the car to four more wins to take his second world championship. Clark missed the Monaco Grand Prix (a race which he would never win) to race in the Indy 500, which he won.

Compared to the 25, the Climax engine had an increase in power (about 210 bhp (157 kW) - 220 bhp (164 kW) compared to the older Climaxes in the 25, which gave about 200 bhp). However the extra power sacrificed reliability, and Clark retired from the final 3 races of 1965, fortunately after he'd wrapped up the title. The 33 was pressed into service with a bored out 2 litre Climax V8 for the early races of 1966, until the 3 litre Lotus 43 was ready.

A driveable, detailed virtual recreation of this famous Lotus model appeared around 2004 in the '1965 Mod' for the Grand Prix Legends pc-based F1 racing simulation.

Lotus 32

The Lotus 32 was a Formula 2 racing car built by Team Lotus in 1964. It was developed from the Lotus 27 Formula Junior model. 12 cars were produced, but only 4 competed in the Ron Harris Team Lotus entrants (Drivers Jim Clark and Mike Spence). Jim Clark drove the Lotus 32 to win the 1964 Formula 2 Championship. The whole new chasis of the 32 had aluminium monocoque with steel front/rear bulkhead and centre section to bring it up to weight. Suspension followed the usual Lotus practice; coil spring/damper units were mounted inboard at the front and outboard at the rear. The front wishbones were slightly wider-based while rear geometry had changed and there was full adjustability (unlike the Lotus 27). The Girling brakes were outboard all round.

The Lotus 32 Formula 2 car featured a Cosworth SCA 998 cc Engine with twin 40DCM2 Weber carburattors, producing 115 bhp (86 kW) at 8700 rpm. The engine was canted over at an angle of 25 degrees in the chassis and was mated to a Hewland Mk IV 5 speed gearbox.

At the end of the 1964 F2 season Colin Chapman modified the car to a Lotus 32B (in picture). With a 2495 cc Climax engine, different suspension and wheels for Jim Clark to use in the the 1965 Tasman Series, which he duly won. The car remained in New Zealand, being sold to Jim Palmer who drove it to fourth in the following year's Tasman championship.

F2 Races Won: Pau Grand Prix - Eifelrennen Germany - Guards Trophy United Kingdom - Anitree 200 - Snetterton - Enna- Sicily

Lotus 31

The Lotus 31 was a racing car produced by Lotus for the new 1-litre Formula 3 introduced in 1964, replacing the expensive Formula Junior. The chassis was a multi-tubular spaceframe, of similar design to the 1962 Lotus 22 Formula Junior. A 997 cc Ford Cosworth 109E with Single Choke Weber or SU carburettors produced 97 bhp (72 kW) at 8000 rpm. The 31 had little success against the more advanced monocoque cars that dominated in 1964. Records show only 12 were built in 1964/65.

In 1966 19 cars were built with the Chassis 22/F3. The relative simplicity and low price of the car made it an ideal training car. Motor Racing Stables at Brands Hatch ran 4 cars to graduate students from Lotus Cortinas. Jim Russell ran the cars at Snetterton, later being recognised as a club under the RAC. JRRDS ran 5 31's at Brands Hatch BARC Trophy Races in July 1967.

Lotus 30

The Lotus 30 was a racing automobile, Colin Chapman's first attempt at a Group Seven / Can Am racing machine, and was first built in 1964, designed by Len Terry. It was most notable for its one piece fibreglass body work and the "pickle fork" backbone chassis design, based on the method used in the Lotus Elan. In the 30 the chassis was turned back to front, so the engone was now located behind the driver. It was powered by a 4.7 litre Ford V8 engine, the same type as used in the Ford GT40, mated to a 5 speed ZF syncromesh gearbox. It used 13 inch wheels and solid disc brakes on each wheel. The Lotus 30 was regarded as unsuccessful and / or dangerous, (depending on whether or not you had to drive one fast).

It had several inherent design flaws, mainly relating to the chassis backbone, as it wasn't deep enough to provide enough stiffness, and thus had major flexing problems even after Lotus started using thicker 18 gauge metal on the later cars instead of the original 20 gauge.

Jim Clark laboured long with the car, and managed to prize some promising results with it, before it was replaced with the Lotus 40, which used 15in wheels and vented disc brakes, as well as a larger engine, which was as recalcitrant as the 30. Probably, the most telling comment about race cars was that made by the American driver Richie Ginther. When asked what he thought of the new Lotus 40; Ginther, a lugubrious Texan drawled, "Same as the 30 but with ten more mistakes!"

Lotus 27

Lotus 27 was a FJ version of the Lotus 25 F1 car for the 1963 formula junior season. All aluminum monocoque with steel bulkheads. Originally designed with fibreglass sides which lead to stiffness problems, leading to them being replaced with aluminium. The Team Lotus cars were run by Ron Harris, and Peter Arundell won the 1963 British championship after the initial stiffness problems were solved.

Lotus 26

The Lotus 26 (also known as Elan) was a British sports car.

Designed by Colin Chapman, the 26 was a roadster (later a coupé was added), intended to replace the more expensive Elite. It used a 1.5 liter DOHC hemi-head engine, designed by Harry Mundy and Richard Ansdale (and tested on the Lotus 23), based on the Ford 116E engine from the Cortina.

The chassis was a steel box backbone or "pickle fork" (later used in the unsuccessful Lotus 30 sports-racer as well as the Elite and Europa), featuring four-wheel independent suspension (double wishbones front, strut and wishbone rear), with GRP two-seater body weighing only 1300 pd (590 kg), though it was handicapped by pneumatically-operated flip-up headlights (even the brilliant Chapman evidently not having realized aerodynamics were not different at night).

The Elan lasted until 1971, by which time it was in its fifth and fastest series, with a new 126 hp (94 kW) twincam.

Lotus 25

The Lotus 25 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula 1 season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1. An early brainchild of Chapman's fertile mind, the original sketches for the car were made on napkins while Chapman discussed his idea while dining out with Lotus chassis designer Len Terry.

The monocoque made the car more rigid and structurally stronger than typical F1 cars of the period. The 25 was three times stiffer than the interim 21, while the chassis weighed only half as much. As a result, the car was extremely low and narrow (frontal area only 8ft², 0.74m²). To assist this, the driver reclined sharply behind the wheel (an idea seen in the 18, and pioneered over a decade previously by Gustav Baumm at NSU), leading to the nickname 'The Bathtub', while front suspension pieces were moved inboard (as in the 1948 Maserati). The 25 was powered by a 1498cc Coventry Climax FWMV V8, although Rob Walker Racing later fitted BRM P56s similar specification. Such was 25's effect on motor racing, even today's modern F1 cars follow its basic principles.

Privateers who had been buying Lotus chassis were disgruntled by the fact Chapman refused to provide them 25s. These teams, including Rob Walker Racing, were given Lotus 24s, while the works team had exclusive use of the 25 for Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor. When it first appeared at the Dutch Grand Prix, the futuristic 25 was inspected by John Cooper, who asked Chapman where he had put the chassis in the car.

The car gave Jim Clark his first Grand Prix victory at Spa that year. He followed by taking another win in the USA, which put him in contention for the title, but at the final race, a much publicised engine seizure cost him the title to Graham Hill.

Clark gained his revenge the following year, taking his first world championship in the 25, by winning 7 races, Belgium, France, Holland, Britain, Italy, South Africa, and Mexico. Lotus also won its first constructors' championship. The 25 was used during the 1964 season, winning a further three races in Clark's hands. At the final race in Mexico, just as in 1962, the Climax engine developed an oil leak and with literally a lap to run Clark coasted to a halt in sight of world championship victory, this time conceding to John Surtees.

Clark went on to take the car's final win at the 1965 French Grand Prix before it was replaced by the Lotus 33. The Lotus 25 won 14 races and 18 pole positions.

Lotus 23

The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a small-displacement sports racing car. Nominally a two-seater (to comply with formula rules), it was a purpose-built for racing with a driver alone. The 23 used a wider version of the Lotus 20 space frame, with the same suspension, clothed in a fibreglass body. Originally intended for engines of 750 cc to 1300 cc (45-80ci), the revised 23B had stronger chassis tubes to take the torque of Ford-based 1.5/1.6 litre Lotus Twincam power plants.

Lotus 22

The Lotus 22 was a racing car built by Lotus cars in 1962 and a total of 77 cars were built. It was developed from the 1962 Lotus 20, with the major differences that it had disk brakes all round, had a top link to the rear suspension, and had a dry sump engine that was canted over to lower the centre of gravity.

The 22 is a single seat race car primarily for the Formula Junior series and most had a 1098 cc Cosworth MAE engine with about 100 hp (70 kW). However,7 of the Lotus 22's built were sold with the then newly introduced 1500 cc Lotus Twin-Cam engine then powering the just introduced Lotus Elan sports car, but these were ineligible for Formula Junior. The 22 was very successful and the works car driven by Peter Arundell won nearly 75% of the races for the FIA Formula Junior European championship in 1962. The car was also successful in 1963, the final year of FJr, and up against the new Lotus 27, a full monocoque car, the 22 won several races early in the season before the stiffness problems that plagued the 27 were solved.

The 22 chassis also later was reintroduced several times, although modified, as other "new" Lotus models becoming first the Lotus 31 F3 car in 1964 and then most famously the famous Lotus 51 in 1967 the first Formula Ford race car created for the Jim Russell racing school in England.

Also the Lotus 22 was the car from which the Lotus 23 was derived being essentially a two seat 22 widened in the middle but using the same front and rear suspension, engine bay, and gearbox as the 22 did. The 23's famous introduction at the legendary Nurburgring 1962 driven by Jim Clark where he lead many laps in the tiny 1,000 pound 23 with only 1500 cc engine against cars with many times the displacement at one point leading by a minute or more.

Lotus 21

The Lotus 21 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman. It was a mid-engined design using a tubular spaceframe structure skinned with fibreglass panels, of a more advanced build than seen in the Lotus 18. Powered by the Coventry Climax FPF 4 cylinder engine it used disc brakes all round.

Used by the works Lotus team and the privateer Rob Walker Racing Team in 1961, the 21 was the first works Lotus to win a Formula One Grand Prix, in the hands of Innes Ireland at the 1961 United States Grand Prix. (Previous victories were taken by Rob Walker's team). Customer teams continued to use it up to 1965. It was soon rendered obsolete by the monocoque Lotus 25 introduced for the 1962 Formula One season.

Lotus 20

Lotus 20 was a Formula Junior car built by Lotus for the 1962 season as a successor to the Lotus 18.

The chassis was a spaceframe, clothed in fibreglass bodywork. It had front double wishbone suspension, but the rear had a lower wishbone with the driveshaft being fixed length and therefore used as a top link. Originally fitted with Alfin drum brakes at all four corners, it was soon upgraded to discs in front and inboard drums at the rear. Equipped as standard with the Ford MAE engine and with either a Renault Dauphine gearbox or Hewland-modified VW box.

Compared to the Lotus 18, the 20 had a much reduced frontal area and lower centre of gravity, aided by the fact the driving position was reclined so the driver was nearly lying down, compared to being nearly upright in the Lotus 18.

Lotus 19

The 19 was a mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports racer with a fiberglass body over a tube frame based on the 18, and was originally fitted with a 2496 cc Coventry Climax engine. The cars body was similar in appearance to both the 11 and the 23 while having the engine behind the driver.

Chapman named the car Monte Carlo to honor Stirling Moss for his win at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, Lotus' first in F1. This is said to mimic Cooper's naming the Cooper Monaco after a win with their Formula 1 car at Monaco in 1958.

Lotus 18

The Lotus 18 is a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. It was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus, and a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the 12 and 16. It was introduced for the 1960 F1, F2 and FJ seasons. As a stop-gap before the introduction of the 18's successor models, the Lotus 20 and 21, some 18 chassis were rebodied with 21 skins to create the interim Lotus 18/21 hybrid derivitive.

Lotus 16

The Lotus 16 was the second single-seat racing car designed by Colin Chapman, and was built by his Lotus Cars manufacturing company for the Team Lotus racing squad. The Lotus 16 was constructed to compete in both the Formula One and Formula Two categories, and was the first Lotus car to be constructed specifically for Formula One competition. Its design carried over many technological features of the first Lotus single-seater, the Lotus 12, as well as incorporating ideas which Chapman had been developing while working on the Vanwall racing cars. Indeed, such was the visual similarity between the Vanwall and Lotus 16 designs that the Lotus was often dubbed the "mini Vanwall" by the contemporary motor sport press. Although the Lotus 16 only scored five Formula One World Championship points in the three seasons during which it was used, its raw pace pointed the way for its more successful successors, the Lotus 18 and 21.

Lotus Elite

The first Elite or Lotus Type 14 was an ultra-light two-seater coupé, produced from 1957 to 1961.

Making its deubut at the 1956 London Motor Show, the 14 spent a year in development, aided by "carefully selected racing customers", before going on sale.

The Elite's most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. Unlike the contemporaneous Chevrolet Corvette, which used fiberglass for only exterior bodywork, the Elite also used this glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car, though the front of the monocoque incorporated a steel subframe supporting the engine and front suspension, and there was a hoop at the windscreen for mounting door hinges and jacking the car up. This body construction caused numerous early problems, until manufacture was handed over to Bristol Aeroplane Company.

The resultant body was both lighter, stiffer, and provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. The weight savings allowed the Elite to achieve sports car performance from a 75 hp (55 kW) 1216 cc Coventry Climax all-aluminium I4 engine. Climax-powered Elites won their class six times at the 24 hour Le Mans race as well as two Index of Thermal Efficiency wins. The Elite was the first Lotus produced car to race in Australia and the original car to be raced in Australia is currently in boxes under re-furbishment.

Advanced aerodynamics also made a contribution, giving the car a very low drag coefficient of 0.29 - quite low even for modern cars. This accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering the engineers did not enjoy the benefits of computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing. The original Elite drawings were by Peter Kirwan-Taylor. Frank Costin (brother of Mike, one of the co-founders of Cosworth), at that time Chief Aerodynamic Engineer for the de Havilland Aircraft Company, contributed to the final design.

Like her siblings, the 14 was run in numerous formulae, with particular success at Le Mans and the Nürburgring, and high (or higher) performance variants were produced, featuring ZF gearboxes in place of the "cheap and nasty MG" standard ones, as well as a Super 95 spec, with more horsepower.

Among its few faults was a resonant vibration at 4000 rpm (where few drivers remained, on either street or track)) and poor quality control, handicapped by overly low price (thus losing money on every copy) and, "[p]erhaps the greatest mistake of all", offering it as a kit, exactly the opposite of the ideal for a quality manufacturer.

When production ended in 1961, 998 had been built.

Lotus 12

The Lotus 12 was an unsuccessful Formula Two racing car.

Colin Chapman's first foray into single-seater racing, the 12 appeared in 1957. It featured a number of important innovations Chapman would use on later models. To better use the power of the Coventry Climax engine, it was designed, as usual, for low weight and low drag, relying on space frame. It placed the driver as low as possible, eliminating the transmission tunnel by way of a "conceptually brilliant" five-speed indirect gearbox designed by Richard Ansdale and Harry Mundy, which suffered from a (long-undiagnosed) problem of slinging oil away from its gears. It also introduced a rear suspension with what came to be called "Chapman struts", essentially a MacPherson strut with universal joints as suspension pieces. (This was well suited to a monocoque body, and may have inspired Chapman, always obsessed with reducing weight, to try it.)

Reflecting Chapman's emphasis on engineering, the 12 also used magnesium wheels of unique pattern, a kind of crimped cylinder, resulting in minimum material and maximum strength, without the weaknesses induce by slots in conventional rims.

Despite its engineering advances, the 12 was not a success.

Lotus Eleven

The Eleven was designed by Colin Chapman and fitted with a sleek body designed by aerodynamicist Frank Costin. Its standard version, dubbed Le Mans, was fitted with a 1500 cc (92ci) Coventry Climax engine mounted in the front of a tubular space frame and featured a De Dion rear axle and Girling disc brakes. Fully loaded, the car weighed only about 1,000 lb (approximately 450 kg). Versions for a 1100 cc (67ci) Climax engine (Club) and a 1172 cc (72ci) Ford engine (Sport) were also produced; both featured a live rear axle and drum brakes. Some versions of the Le Mans were fitted with a closed body with gullwing doors to meet GT specifications.

Despite the wide variety of engines installed, the car was primarily designed to compete in the 1100 cc class where it was one of the most successful cars during the mid- to late-1950s. In 1956, An Eleven, modified by Costin with a bubble canopy over the cockpit, was driven by Stirling Moss to a class world record of 143 mph (230 km/h) for a lap at Monza. Several class victories at Le Mans and Sebring followed, and the Eleven became Lotus' most successful race car design.

In 1957, the Eleven underwent a major design change, including a new front suspension and improvements to the drivetrain. Although officially called Eleven Series 2, these late models are sometimes informally referred to as Lotus 13s, since they were produced between the 12 and 14 models and the 13 designation was not used by Lotus.

Lotus Seven

The Lotus Seven was a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1972. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance through low weight and simplicity. The original model was highly successful with more than 2,500 cars sold, due to its attraction as a road legal car that could be used for clubman racing. After Lotus ended production of the Seven, Caterham bought the rights to it, and today make both kits and fully assembled cars.

Lotus 6

After building multiple trials and road racing cars, Colin Chapman introduced his first 'production' car, the Lotus 6, in 1952. The heart of the Mark 6, as it was called, was a fully stressed space frame. Rather than a complete car, it was available to the general public as kit, wherein the customer could either install any preferred engine and gearbox, making it eligible for a wider number of formulae.

The Mk 6 in many ways reflected Chapman's background in engineering: his designs resulted from a stress analysis of loads into the frame, they were extremely light (the 6' space frame weighed only 55lbs (25 kg)), and the suspension incorporated the latest advances. The prototype chassis was built up by the Progress Chassis Company and the aluminum body was constructed by panel beaters Williams and Prichard. (Both firms would later furnish bodies and chassis for subsequent models.) The cheap and easily available mechanical parts were sourced from the Ford Prefect. The Mark 6 became a popular sight on Britain's racetracks, and was a frequent winner, beating many more powerful and expensive cars, earning praise for very good handling and superior low-speed acceleration.

An important facet of the success of the kit was Chapman's offering a comprehensive package in the Mark 6, including most of the special parts needed, and not just the chassis. The Mk 6 chassis came with mounting points for several different engines including the 1172cc (71.5ci) Ford 10, the 1250cc or 1500cc MG TF, the 1500cc (92ci) Consul, and the exalted Coventry Climax. Standardized as far as possible for volume production, some units were customized per the owners wishes. Lotus even modified the owner's parts, if needed. The success of the Mark 6 in competition and sales (100 built by 1955) established Chapman as a manufacturer of specialty cars.

Lotus Mk4

Lotus Mk4 was a trials car by Colin Chapman built on a Austin 7 chassis. Chapman’s success at building trials cars brought another previous customer, Mike Lawson, to order a second trials car in 1952 to replace his Lotus Mk2, in which he won the Wrotham Cup. Once again Chapman chose an Austin Seven as the starting point, reinforcing the frame and installing a four-cylinder 1172cc (71.5ci) Ford sidevalve engine. Chapman used all the tricks he had learned in his previous cars, constructing a lightweight aluminum body with a rounded nosecone. He fitted a 3-speed transmission taken from a Ford 8 and the divided front axle as on his previous cars.

Lawson won his class in the very first attempt in this car, following up with others, solidifying Chapman’s reputation as a designer and engineer. The success of this car, and other requests for more cars, led Chapman and Michael Allen to establish Lotus Engineering in a disused stable in Hornsey.

Ford Sidevalve Motor
Config: S4 SV
Displacement: 1172 cc
Bore/Stroke: 63.5mm x 92.456mm (2.5x3.64")

Lotus Mk3

Lotus Mk3 was a single seated sports car built by Colin Chapman as a 750 Racer.

In 1951, Chapman began to focus on a car for road racing, rather than trials, to compete in the 750 Motor Club formula, which used the Austin 7 as a basis. To conform to the rules, Chapman had to retain the Seven's chassis, engine, gearbox, and rearend; with the assistance of Nigel and Michael Allen, he modified them to the limits of the rules. Chapman boxed the frame rails and added 14-gauge tubular cross-members for torsional stiffness. A sleek aluminum two-seater body, which weighed only 65 lbs. (29.5 kg), was added to cut down drag, and the engine was highly tuned. The car, for all its seeming delicacy, proved startlingly faster than the competition. It led to a demand for copies (an improved Mark 3B was built for Adam Currie, for instance), as well as copies of the earlier Mark 1. By the end of the racing season, it was apparent the Mark 3 was the best 750 Formula car in the country.

At this time, Chapman was still working full-time at British Aluminum, and creating cars at nights and racing them, with the help of enthusiastic volunteers, on the weekends, but it was clear from the performance of the Mark 3, and the demand, there was an opportunity here. Following this successful year, on January 1st, 1952, Chapman established Lotus Engineering Company, with Michael Allen becoming Chapman’s first business partner. They set up shop in a disused stable in Hornsey.

Lotus Mk2

The car that came to be known as the Lotus Mk. 2 was created in 1949, while Colin Chapman was serving with the RAF. For his second car Chapman built on the knowledge gained from building and competing in the Lotus Mk.1, so he again used the widely available and inexpensive Austin 7 chassis as a starting point. He boxed in the chassis rails and replaced the cross members with stronger tubular braces. He swapped the Austin engine for a Ford engine and transmission, first from a Ford 8, then from a Ford 10, but retained the Austin 7 rear axle. To be able to use a wider tire, Chapman adapted Ford pressed steel wheels. He modified the engine as far as the club rules would allow.

Chapman used this chassis and running gear to support a cigar-shaped body with a rounded nose. It has rudimentary cycle-type fenders. The result was a very competitive Trials car, but also suitable for circuit racing. Chapman used the car to compete in events sponsored by the 750 Motor Club. Although Chapman built the car to compete in English Trials events, he also entered the car in track events, such as Silverstone, where he won in his class. From that point forward, Chapman would concentrate on designing and constructing cars for race circuits instead of trials.

Ford Sidevalve Motor
Config: S4 SV
Displacement: 1172 cc
Bore/Stroke: 63.5mm x 92.456mm

Lotus Mk1

The Lotus Mark 1 was the first car designed and built by Colin Chapman in 1948, while Chapman was still a student at London University. The car was designed to compete as a trials car, and was constructed on an Austin 7 chassis and running gear. Chapman built the body utilizing a composite made of thin aluminum bonded to plywood. He modified the rear suspension to give better handling and the engine to give more power. His approach to automobile construction using sound engineering principles and ingenious chassis design set the stage for many more revolutionary designs to follow. Although the original Mark 1 has been lost to history, a replica (see photo) was created to the same dimensions that uses an identical Austin chassis and running gear. Both Chapman and his future wife competed with the car in English Trials, a form of competition over rough terrain against time. Chapman continued to develop and modify the Mark 1. First larger wheels and tires were fitted and the front beam axle was split and hinged in the center to provide independent front suspension. The success of the car helped encourage Chapman to continue designing competition cars.