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98-661: There were 3,306 Mark I and 4,093 Mark 2 Lotus Cortinas produced. The history of the Cortina Lotus began in 1961. Colin Chapman had been wishing to build his own engines for Lotus, mainly because the Coventry Climax unit was so expensive. Colin Chapman's chance came when he commissioned Harry Mundy (a close friend and designer of the Coventry Climax engine and technical editor for Autocar ) to design

196-401: A Switzerland -based Panamanian company run by a DeLorean distributor, despite Chapman's previous protestations that neither he nor the company had been paid via Panama. Chapman died before the full deceit unravelled, but, at the subsequent trial of Lotus Group accountant Fred Bushell, who had funnelled £5 million to himself in the fraud, the trial judge opined that, had Chapman himself been in

294-592: A stainless steel sports car to be built in a factory in Northern Ireland , which was majority-funded by the UK government. The original concept design was for a mid-engine sports car; however, difficulty in securing the original Wankel engine rights and design complications led to the rear-engine mount design. This project would eventually evolve into the DMC DeLorean . On 19 October 1982, John DeLorean

392-542: A twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine . Most of the development of the engine was done on the 997cc and 1,340cc bottom end, but in 1962 Ford released the 116E five bearing 1,498 cc engine and work centred on this. Keith Duckworth , from Cosworth , played an important part in tuning of the engine. The engine's first appearance was in 1962 at the Nürburgring in a Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark . Almost as soon as

490-481: A Cortina GT500 - Australia's answer to the Cortina Lotus produced to comply with the local build requirements to be able to be raced of 100 units; initial batch 122, as opposed to running the Cortina Lotus which would have been imported with a minimum requirement of 250 - built by and intended for Harry Firth in the 1965 Bathurst 500 was clocked at 118 mph down Conrod Straight using a 3.9 diff, Lotus gearbox, large diameter (non radial) tyres and 7,900 rpm. The Cortina

588-737: A car's speed. The culmination of his efforts, the Lotus 79 , dominated the 1978 championship. However, skirts were eventually banned because they were susceptible to damage, for example from driving over a kerb, whereafter downforce would be lost and the car could then become unstable. The FIA made moves to eliminate ground effect in Formula One by raising the minimum ride height of the cars from 1981 and requiring flat bottom cars from 1983 . Car designers have managed to claw back much of that downforce through other means, aided by extensive wind tunnel testing. One of his last major technical innovations

686-427: A different engine and suspension. The Mk2 took a while to appear, first appearing in 1967. The main difference was the choice of colours and the lack of a stripe, although most had them fitted at Ford dealers at extra cost. The only cosmetic changes made were a black front grille, 5.5J x 13 steel wheels and Lotus badges on rear wings and by the rear number plate. The badge on the front grille was an option at first. Unlike

784-479: A different final drive of 3.77:1 rather than 3.9:1. The Mk2 was a wider car than the Mk1, so although they looked the same, the steel wheels had a different offset so as not to upset the tracking, and radial tyres were now standard. Another attraction was the larger fuel tank. The spare wheel could now be mounted in its wheel well, but the battery remained in the boot to aid weight distribution. The only real difference to

882-752: A different tubular frame similar to the Lotus Eleven , the Seven was powered by a 36 bhp (27 kW; 36 PS) Ford Sidevalve 1,172 cc inline-four engine . In addition to the Ford unit, both BMC series A and Coventry Climax FWA engines were available for fitment. Under the Purchase Tax system of the time cars supplied as a kit did not attract the tax surcharge that would apply if sold in assembled form. Tax rules specified assembly instructions could not be included. This situation remained until 1973 and

980-422: A few teething problems reported by the first batch of owners, (most of these problems show how quickly the car was developed) some of the engines were down on power, the gear ratios were too close and the worst problem was the differential housing coming away from the casing. This problem was mainly caused by the high loads put on the axle because of the A bracket it was an integral part of the rear suspension. This

1078-693: A hard front end. Jim Clark won the British Saloon Car Championship easily, in the US, Jackie Stewart and Mike Beckwith won the Malboro 12-hour, and Alan Mann Racing also performed well in the European Touring Car Challenge , including a 1–2 victory in the 'Motor' Six Hour International Touring Car Race at Brands Hatch . A Boreham-built car also won its class, came 4th outright, and won the handicap section, in

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1176-715: A large proportion of Sevens sold in the United Kingdom were delivered in kit form as a result. The Seven Series 1 was used both on the road and for club racing (750 motor club in the UK). The Lotus Seven S2 followed in June 1960 and was supplemented by the Lotus Super Seven S2 from 1961. These were slightly more road-oriented than the Series 1, and received a somewhat simpler chassis. The Series 1's aluminium nosecone

1274-483: A low pressure was created under the car by use of the Venturi effect , generating suction (downforce) which held it securely to the road whilst cornering. Early designs utilized sliding "skirts" which made contact with the ground to keep the area of low pressure isolated. Chapman next planned a car that generated all of its downforce through ground effect, eliminating the need for wings and the resulting drag that reduces

1372-593: A number of automotive figures who have been Lotus employees over the years were Cosworth founders Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth , and Graham Hill who worked at Lotus as a mechanic as a means of earning drives. In 1966, it was Chapman who persuaded the Ford Motor Company to sponsor Cosworth's development of what would become the DFV race engine . Many of Chapman's ideas can still be seen in Formula One and other top-level motor sport, such as IndyCars , into

1470-666: A piece of the distributor fell out and delayed the car 26 minutes. All four cars retired from that year's RAC rally, which was severely snow-affected. The first works victory came in December 1965, when Roger Clark and Graham Robson won the Welsh International. In 1966, Ford managed to homologate the car for Group 1, which requires 5000 cars to be built. In the Monte Carlo Rally , Roger Clark finished 4th, only to be disqualified, and then Elford finished 1st in

1568-450: A pseudo-wishbone which was semi-independent in nature. This approach worked well with early cross-ply tyres, but with later radials, the configuration seriously affected its adjustability. For the rear suspension, Lotus originally used a live axle (or solid axle ). This approach was very cost-effective since most production saloon cars up to the 1980s used these components. A mixture of Ford, Standard Motor Company and Austin components

1666-585: A revised wishbone geometry. They scored 8 class wins, many driven by Jim Clark. In the European Touring Car Challenge , Sir John Whitmore scored another four wins, not enough to give him the title, being beaten by Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAs . Cortina Lotus Mark 1's are a consistent class winner in modern Historic Touring Car racing throughout the world. The fastest official recorded speed is 147 mph (237 km/h) at Mount Panorama Bathurst in Australia by Marc Ducquet. The recorded speed by radar on Conrod Straight

1764-481: A rigid frame with few tubes and very little bodyweight that does not contribute to the frame stiffness. The flat panels avoid difficulties in shaping aluminum sheet into smooth compound curves. On the downside, it does not allow attractive curves or streamlining. Originally equipped with the Ford Sidevalve engine , the Series 2 received the new Ford Kent engine . The original "Super Seven" received versions of

1862-458: A road legal car that could be used for clubman racing . After Lotus ended production of the Seven, Caterham bought the rights and today Caterham makes both kits and fully assembled cars based on the original design known as the Caterham 7 . The Lotus Seven design has spawned a host of imitations on the kit car market, generally called Sevens or Sevenesque roadsters. The Lotus Seven

1960-618: A viable structural material for buildings. In 1948, Chapman designed the Mk1 , a modified Austin 7 , which he entered privately into local racing events. He named the car "Lotus"; he never confirmed the reason, but one of several theories is that it was after his then-girlfriend (later wife) Hazel, whom he nicknamed " Lotus blossom ". With the prize money, he developed the Lotus Mk2 . Around this time, Chapman began to show his ability to think of ways to become more competitive while remaining within

2058-561: Is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. 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

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2156-404: Is about three feet (900 mm) from the road and it has a cloth top and side curtains with plastic back and side windows. The supports for the top and the windshield frame are aluminium. The lower chassis tubes are five inches (127 mm) from the road, while the wet-sump, bell housing, and one chassis tube are lower, meaning the centre of gravity is very low. The front/rear weight distribution

2254-412: Is accentuated by the slight natural lift caused by rotating wheels. Consequently, Sevens have exhibited understeer at high speeds. The rack and pinion steering provide a minimum of play and friction. It is a stressed skin construction, in which the flat aluminium body panels, and especially the floor, stiffen and effectively triangulate the largely rectangular steel tubular frame structure. This gives

2352-448: Is nearly equal and the lack of a boot and small petrol tank assure that it remains fairly constant. It is, however, more front-heavy than more modern high-performance cars. In the original Seven, the front lower A-arm (or "wishbone") of the double wishbone suspension is traditional, but for the purpose of reducing weight, the upper suspension integrated an anti-roll (anti-sway) bar into a horizontal suspension arm. This approach formed

2450-470: Is not usually important in a car intended for public roads. While the car's frontal area is small, the Lotus Seven has a drag coefficient ( C d {\displaystyle \scriptstyle C_{\mathrm {d} }\,} ) among the highest of any known production car - ranging from 0.65 to 0.75, depending on the bodywork. Additionally, the clamshell front wings develop lift. This

2548-661: Is well known in the US for its competitiveness in the under 2000 cc class of the Trans Am Series . Canadian born Australian Allan Moffat shocked the outright class cars, winning Round 3 of the inaugural series in 1966 at the Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon , New Hampshire . Whilst the Cortina Lotus is somewhat overshadowed by the success of the Ford Escort in rallying, it performed admirably in

2646-754: The 1962 Natal Grand Prix . In addition, clamshell style wings tend to create drag and generate lift at higher speeds. Cycle wings help alleviate this tendency, and low height Brookland aeroscreens or the lighter Perspex variants that can replace the windscreen help improve top end speed. Sevens do suffer from front end lift at high speed – the nose creates more lift than downforce at speeds over around 70 mph (110 km/h), although retro fitted "winglets" may counter this. Nearly all Sevens, due to their extremely light weight (around 10cwt / 500 kg) have excellent acceleration, especially up to 70 mph (110 km/h), depending on power. The original late 1950s Sevens could beat most contemporary saloon cars—and by

2744-531: The Cheshunt plant, with the Elan about to be launched. The Type 28 or Lotus Cortina or Cortina Lotus (as Ford liked to call it) was duly launched. Ford supplied the 2-door Cortina bodyshells and took care of all the marketing and selling of the cars, whilst Lotus did all the mechanical and cosmetic changes. The major changes involved installing the 1,557 cc (105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS)) engine, together with

2842-490: The French Grand Prix at Reims , ending his career as a race driver and focusing him on the technical side. Along with John Cooper , he revolutionised the premier motor sport . Their small, lightweight mid-engined vehicles gave away much in terms of power, but superior handling meant their competing cars often beat the all-conquering front engined Ferraris and Maseratis . Eventually, with driver Jim Clark at

2940-471: The Lotus Twin Cam engine . Only 13 examples were built. While only manufactured by Lotus for around two years, the Series 3 was the model later revived by Caterham after they ran out of Series 4 kits some time in the first half of the 1970s. In modified form, the design continues to be produced until today (2023). Between 1970 and 1975, following a representation agreement, Lotus Argentina SA obtained

3038-740: The Rallye Sanremo (Rally of the Flowers), only to be disqualified as well. Elford came 2nd in the Tulip Rally . Bengt Söderström was named victor of the Acropolis Rally , after the 1st-placed Mini Cooper S was disqualified. New cars were used for the Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Rally), where Elford's engine blew up after leading, while Roger Clark finished second. Clark was always competitive, but suffered with unreliable cars, coming 3rd in

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3136-681: The University of London Air Squadron and learning to fly. He left UCL without a degree in 1948, resitting his final mathematics paper in 1949 and obtaining his degree a year late. Chapman briefly joined the Royal Air Force in 1948, being offered a permanent commission but turning this down in favour of a swift return to civilian life. After a couple of false starts Chapman joined the British Aluminium company, using his civil engineering skills to attempt to sell aluminium as

3234-793: The industrial decline of the 1970s. Chapman suffered a fatal heart attack in 1982, aged 54. Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was born on 19 May 1928 in Richmond , Surrey, and brought up at 44 Beech Drive, on the border of Muswell Hill in London N2. His father ran The Railway Hotel on Tottenham Lane next to Hornsey Railway Station . Chapman attended the Stationers' Company's School in Mayfield Road. Chapman studied structural engineering at University College London , joining

3332-526: The sports car company Lotus Cars . Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initially ran Lotus in his spare time, assisted by a group of enthusiasts. His knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques would prove vital towards achieving the major automotive technical advances for which he is remembered. Chapman's design philosophy focused on cars with light weight and fine handling instead of bulking up on horsepower and spring rates , which he famously summarised as "Adding power makes you faster on

3430-504: The twin cam . Until now, most Sevens in the UK had been sold in kit form in order to avoid paying purchase tax . However, once the UK joined the EEC on 1 January 1973, the VAT system was adopted instead so the tax advantage of the kit-built Lotus Seven came to an end. Accordingly, in 1973, Lotus decided to shed fully its "British tax system"-inspired kit car image. As part of this plan, it sold

3528-403: The 21st century. He pioneered the use of struts as a rear suspension device. Struts used in the rear of a vehicle are known as Chapman struts , while virtually identical suspension struts for the front are known as MacPherson struts that were invented ten years earlier in 1949. Chapman's next major innovation was popularising monocoque chassis construction within automobile racing, with

3626-838: The 4000 mile 10-day Tour de France. Other Cortina Lotus achievements included the Austrian Saloon Car Championship, the South African National Saloon Championship, the Swedish Ice Championship, and the Wills Six-Hour in New Zealand. 1965 saw the Cortina Lotus winning regularly, the car being more competitive due to the increased reliability of the new leaf spring rear end. Driving for Alan Mann Racing , Sir John Whitmore dominated and won

3724-522: The A-bracket suspension meant that Ford decided to replace it with the more conventional GT rear suspension. This became available in June 1965, and while the car still seemed to be afflicted with bad luck, a few victories were racked up. Four of the newly updated cars competed in the Alpine rally of July 1965, and Vic Elford's car led outright, all the way. Well, until less than an hour from finishing, when

3822-644: The British Saloon Car Championship, which was now open to Group 5 Special Touring Cars , as regulations had been changed. Fuel-injection and dry sumping were allowed, and with Lucas injection and tuning by BRM , the engines could produce 180 bhp (130 kW; 180 PS) at 7750 rpm, increasing their ability to stay with the Mustangs. The cars also had the MacPherson struts replaced with coil springs and shock absorbers and

3920-731: The Canadian Shell 4000, 2nd in Greece, and 4th in Poland. The Cortina Lotus finally proved itself with an outright win in the RAC rally. F1 World Champion Jim Clark crashed his (twice), but Söderström saw his through to a 13-minute victory, with Gunnar Palm. Other victories in 1966 were in the Geneva rally by Staepelaere, and by Canadian Paul MacLellan in the Shell 4000. A final win before the advent of

4018-494: The Cosworth 1,340 cc "Super Seven" delivered 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS) and the later "Super Seven 1500" 105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS). Some Series 2 Sevens built during 1968 (oftentimes referred to as "Series 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 ") were fitted with the later crossflow Kent engine of 1,599 cc. The series II had problems with its Standard Companion estate car rear axle and differential, unable to cope with

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4116-987: The European Touring Car Championship in KPU-392C, Jack Sears won his class in the British Saloon Car Championship (a Mustang won outright), Jackie Ickx won the Belgian Saloon Car Championship, and a Cortina Lotus won the New Zealand Gold Star Saloon Car Championship. Other wins were the Nürburgring Six-Hour race, the Swedish National Track Championship, and the Snetterton 500. In 1966, Team Lotus registered new cars for

4214-534: The Kent unit with Cosworth modifications. Later, the Kent engine was updated to the crossflow design ; this 1.6-litre engine was the most commonly installed one in the Series 3 as well as Series 4. A limited number of earlier cars received Coventry Climax FWA engines, while the later cars were offered with the Lotus-Ford Twin Cam engine. The Lotus Seven was designed with racing in mind, and lightness

4312-719: The Mk. II was also pulled off by Söderström in the snowy Swedish Rally of February 1967.Australian rally driver Harry Firth did win the first edition of the Australian Rally Championship in 1968 with the Lotus Cortina. Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of

4410-585: The Mk1, the Mk2 was also made in left hand drive from the start of production. The Mk2 Cortina Lotus also gained an improved and more powerful (109 bhp (81 kW; 111 PS)) engine, which was formerly supplied as the special equipment engine option on Lotus Elan and the Cortina Lotus Mk1. The gearbox ratios remained 2000E ones but the car now used the Mk2 GT remote-control gearchange. The car also had

4508-521: The US, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. The Cortina Lotus was able to beat almost anything except the 7-litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later, Ford Mustangs . In 1964, a Cortina Lotus leading around a bend with its inside front wheel in fresh air became a familiar sight, as the cars were set up with soft rear suspension and

4606-600: The car was made of fibreglass , making it also one of the first production cars made of composite materials . When American Formula One driver Dan Gurney first saw the Lotus 25 at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort , he was so struck by the advanced design that he invited Chapman to the 1962 Indianapolis 500, where Gurney made his Indy début at the wheel of a space-frame rear engined car designed by John Crosthwaite (who had previously worked for Chapman) and built by American hot-rodder Mickey Thompson. Following

4704-597: The dash. An internal bonnet release and a more conventional mounting for the handbrake were also phased in. A new single-rail gearshift mechanism was used. The car stayed in production until 1970. The Cortina Lotus was marketed in Europe as the Cortina Twin Cam in 1969/70. Two 4-door versions were supplied to the Mid-Anglia Constabulary for evaluation as use as a fast patrol and pursuit car by British Police forces. The trial never went beyond

4802-446: The dock, he would have received a sentence "of at least 10 years". The car's engineering concept was later sold by the UK Government appointed administrators to Toyota , who used it to develop the AW11 MR2 . The liquidators also recovered around £20 million from Swiss bank accounts controlled by Chapman and John DeLorean. The night before he died, Chapman watched a performance by his long-time friend and Lotus customer Chris Barber ,

4900-401: The early 1960s, with improved Ford-Cosworth engines could take on most high-performance sports cars with 0–60 mph time in the low 7 seconds. The less powerful early models had drum brakes all around, in common with most road cars of the time. Later models had front disc brakes. Physics favours small cars in braking and Sevens have excellent stopping distances. The highest part of the car

4998-450: The engine appeared in production cars ( Lotus Elan ), it was replaced with a larger capacity unit (82.55 mm bore to give 1,557 cc). This was in order to get the car closer to the 1.6 litre capacity class in motorsport. Whilst the engine was being developed, Walter Hayes (Ford) asked Colin Chapman if he would fit the engine to 1,000 Ford saloons for Group 2 homologation . Chapman quickly accepted, although it must have been very busy in

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5096-402: The engine bay was the air cleaner mounted on top of the engine. The interior was almost identical to a GT. The Mk2 did exactly what Ford wanted, it was far more reliable whilst still quick enough to be used in competition, until it was replaced by the Escort Twin Cam . The car did receive a few updates, but none as urgent as the Mk1's. Only a few months after production started, the Lotus badge on

5194-407: The famous 2000E gearbox ratios were used. These lowered first and reverse about halfway between the Cortina GT ratios and the ultra close-ratio box. All these changes made the cars less specialised but far more reliable and all the special parts were still available for competition as well as to members of the public. The Cortina Lotus had by this time earned an impressive competition reputation. It

5292-411: The first to use them in a Formula One race at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix . Early versions, in 1968 and 1969, were mounted 3 feet (0.91 m) or so above the car, to operate in 'clean air' (air that would not otherwise be disturbed by the passage of the car). The underdesigned wings and struts failed regularly, however, compelling the FIA to require the wing mounting hardware to be attached directly to

5390-416: The high power and cornering forces of the Seven. This was later solved on the Series III by installing a Ford Cortina rear end. Production of the Series 2 ended in August 1968, after 1310 examples had been built. The Seven S3 was released in 1968. As for late Series 2s, the S3 typically received the 1,599 cc crossflow Kent engine . First shown at Earl's Court in 1969, the Super Seven Twin Cam SS used

5488-418: The last Lotus badged Seven, a Series 4, was therefore produced in New Zealand. Steel Brothers Limited attempted to make a wider, modernised version of the Series 4, the Lotus Super 907, using the twin cam Lotus 907 engine. In the spring of 1978 it was announced that this was to be sold in the United States - but the American importer had no funds and the project came to naught. The single finished Super 907

5586-460: The last of the 95 kits provided by Lotus was used up. Steel Brothers had a much wider range of factory options than the UK models with carpet, centre console glove-box, radio, window-washer and hardtop. Sold largely to competition enthusiasts, the NZ cars also had engine modifications, close-ratio gears, and adjustable suspension as factory options. As such, they were very successful in local racing. With officially licensed production stopping in 1979,

5684-527: The licence to manufacture the Lotus Seven in Argentina. This production reached approximately 51 units. These vehicles were not replicas but built under licence and branded as Lotuses. In 1970, Lotus radically changed the shape of the car to create the slightly more conventional sized Series 4 (S4), with a squarer fibreglass shell replacing most of the aluminium bodywork. It also offered some luxuries as standard, such as an internal heater matrix. The S4 Seven could be supplied with 1298 or 1599 cc Kent engines or

5782-424: The main difference being that first, second and reverse were much lower (numerically higher) ratios. From 1964, standard steel panels were used rather than the light alloy ones, though alloy items and ultra-close ratios could still be specified when buying a new car. The second main change came in late 1964 when the entire Cortina range had a facelift which included a full-width front grille and ventilation outlets on

5880-426: The material has changed from sheet aluminium to carbon fibre , this remains today the standard technique for building top-level racing cars. Inspired by Jim Hall , Chapman was among those who helped introduce aerodynamics into Formula One car design. Lotus used the concept of positive aerodynamic downforce, through the addition of wings, at a Tasman Formula race in early 1968, although Ferrari and Brabham were

5978-517: The mid-1960s, which might be surprising, given its reputation for unreliability. The first Cortina Lotus to be rallied was a Cortina GT with the Lotus engine, in the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liege rally in September, just to try out the engine, and driven by Henry Taylor to 4th place. The first outing in a rally by a Cortina Lotus proper was in the 1963 RAC Rally , campaigned again by Taylor, with co-driver Brian Melia. It finished 6th somehow, in spite of its A-bracket rear end needing constant attention. The A-bracket

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6076-449: The noted jazz trombonist , and his band. On 16 December 1982, Team Lotus tested the first Formula One car with active suspension , which eventually made its début with the Lotus 99T in 1987 . Chapman suffered a fatal heart attack on the same day at his home in Norwich , and died at the age of 54. Chapman was married to Hazel Chapman (1927–2021). He had two daughters and one son. ( key ) Lotus Seven The Lotus Seven

6174-409: The parts from Lotus, £100 for the Ford engine and gearbox and £27 for the BMC rear axle. A Seven's top speed greatly depends upon the body configuration, engine power and gearing. Early models with low-powered engines had difficulty exceeding 90 mph (140 km/h), although a race-prepared Seven was clocked at 127 mph (204 km/h) whilst driven by Brausch Niemann through a speed-trap at

6272-451: The process which transformed Formula One from a pastime of rich gentlemen to a multi-million pound high technology enterprise. He was among the first entrants in Formula One to turn their cars into rolling billboards for non-automotive products, initially with the cigarette brands Gold Leaf and, most famously, John Player Special . From 1978 until his death, Chapman was involved with the American tycoon John DeLorean , in his development of

6370-435: The public by a variety of makers. In the 1950s, Chapman progressed through the motor racing formulae, designing and building a series of racing cars, sometimes to the point of maintaining limited production as they were so successful and highly sought after, until he arrived in Formula One . Besides his engineering work, he also piloted a Vanwall F1-car in 1956 but crashed into his teammate Mike Hawthorn during practice for

6468-429: The race, Chapman prepared a proposal to Ford Motor Company for an aluminium alloy monocoque Indianapolis car using a 4.2-litre aluminium V-8 Ford passenger car engine. Ford accepted the proposal. The Lotus 29 debuted at Indianapolis in 1963, with Jim Clark finishing second. This design concept fairly quickly replaced what had been for many decades the standard design formula in racing-cars, the tube-frame chassis. Although

6566-434: The rear C-pillar - because the Cortina Lotus also gained Ford's new Aeroflow system as well as an update to the interior. The third and probably most important change came in mid-1965, when the Lotus rear suspension was changed for the leaf springs and radius arms of the Cortina GT. This replaced all the stiffening tubing as well. The last update also came in 1965 when the rear drums were swapped for self-adjusting items and also

6664-414: The rear panel was cancelled and a new TWIN CAM badge was fitted under the Cortina script on the boot lid. Despite the badge changes, Ford UK continued to market the model as the "Cortina Lotus". The new combined clock and centre console was fitted. In late 1968 the entire Mk2 range received some cosmetic changes; for the Lotus, this meant that the 4 dials on top of the dash were brought down and made part of

6762-414: The rest of the range. The remainder of the gearbox was identical to the Lotus Elan. This led to a few problems because although the ultra-close gear ratios were perfect for the race track or open road, the clutch was given a hard time in traffic: the ratios were later changed. The early cars were very popular and earned some rave reviews; one magazine described the car as a tin-top version of a Lotus 7 . It

6860-453: The revolutionary 1962 Lotus 25 Formula One car. The technique resulted in a body that was both lighter and stronger, and also provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. Although a previously little-used concept in the world of motorsport, the first vehicle to feature such a chassis was the road-going 1922 Lancia Lambda . Lotus had been an early adopter of this technology with the 1958 Lotus Elite . The modified monocoque body of

6958-499: The right side of the radiator grille. Interior modifications were limited to a centre console designed to accommodate the new gear lever position, different seats and the later style dashboard, featuring tachometer , speedometer , oil pressure, water temperature and fuel level gauges. A wood-rimmed steering wheel was fitted. The suspension changes to the car were quite extensive; the car received shorter struts up front, forged track control arms and 5.5J by 13 steel wheel rims. The rear

7056-740: The rights to the Seven to its only remaining agents Caterham Cars in England and Steel Brothers Limited in New Zealand. Caterham ran out of the Lotus Series 4 kits in the early 1970s. When this occurred and in accordance with their agreement with Lotus, Caterham introduced its own brand version of the Series 3. They have been manufacturing the car ever since as the Caterham Seven . Steel Brothers Limited in Christchurch , New Zealand, assembled Lotus Seven Series 4s until March 1979 when

7154-430: The rules were changed to outlaw the specific changes he had made. With continuing success on through the Lotus 6 , he began to sell kits of these cars. Over 100 were sold through 1956. It was with the Lotus 7 in 1957 that things really took off, and indeed Caterham Cars still manufacture a version of that car today – the Caterham 7 ; there have been over 90 different Lotus 7 clones, replicas and derivatives offered to

7252-400: The rules. One early car had a 6 port head with 4 exhaust and two inlet ports. Chapman realised that better flow characteristics (and therefore more power) could be achieved with an 8 port head, but lacking the resources to have one made, he reversed the port functions and de-siamesed the old inlet ports. With appropriate manifolds and a new camshaft , his engine outclassed the opposition until

7350-506: The same close-ratio gearbox as the Elan. The rear suspension was drastically altered and lightweight alloy panels were used for doors, bonnet and boot. Lightweight casings were fitted to gearbox and differential. All the Lotus factory cars were painted white with a green stripe (although Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had a dark blue stripe due to being superstitious about green). The cars also received front quarter bumpers and round Lotus badges were fitted to rear wings and to

7448-405: The sprung chassis. Chapman also originated the movement of radiators away from the front of the car to the sides, to decrease frontal area (lowering aerodynamic drag) and centralising weight distribution. These concepts remain features of virtually all high performance racing cars today. Chapman, working with Tony Rudd and Peter Wright, pioneered the first Formula One use of " ground effect ", where

7546-409: The standard Cortina's wheel well and was bolted to the left side of the boot floor. The battery was also relocated to the boot, behind the right wheelarch. Both of these changes made big improvements to overall weight distribution. Another improvement the Cortina Lotus gained was the new braking system (9.5 in (240 mm) front discs) which were built by brake specialist Girling . This system also

7644-575: The straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." Team Lotus won seven Formula One Constructors' titles , six Drivers' Championships , and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States, between 1962 and 1978 under his direction. The production side of Lotus Cars has built tens of thousands of relatively affordable, cutting edge sports cars. Lotus is one of but a handful of English performance car builders still in business after

7742-609: The two vehicles, which are both still in existence. To homologate the car for Group 2 Touring Car racing , 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup , the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies , but beat the 3.8-litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and

7840-443: The weight crept upward as production progressed, it remained remarkably low for a production car of over a litre displacement. The front was by "A" arms and coil springs with an anti-roll bar serving as the front half of the top A-arm. The rear had trailing arms, a triangular centre locating member, and a solid rear axle. The Lotus Seven has spawned many books, test reports, and articles, many of which are still in print. Because of

7938-483: The wheel of his race cars, Team Lotus appeared as though they could win whenever they pleased. With Clark driving the Lotus 25 , Team Lotus won its first F1 World Championship in 1963 . It was Clark, driving a Lotus 38 at the Indianapolis 500 in 1965, who drove the first-ever mid-engined car to victory at the "Brickyard". Clark and Chapman became particularly close and Clark's death in 1968 devastated Chapman, who publicly stated that he had lost his best friend. Among

8036-470: Was 'THE car' for many enthusiasts who before had to settle for a Cortina GT or a Mini-Cooper and it also amazed a lot of the public who were used to overweight 'sports cars' like the Austin-Healey 3000 . The launch was not perfect however, the car was too specialist for some Ford dealerships who did not understand the car; there are a few stories of incorrect parts being fitted at services. There were

8134-522: Was 143 mph. The car was owned by Bob Pearson and had a 203HP Twin Cam engine built by Randall Edgell in New Zealand. 185/60-13 Radial tyres, 4.3 differential and 9,500 RPM. Considering the relatively low horsepower of the standard pushrod GT500 Cortina and the Lightweight alloy panelled Cortina Lotus this speed is achievable. For example, the legendary Australian driver "Gelignite Jack" Murray driving

8232-452: Was a bad time for them to build another model. Ford were also concerned with the unreliability of the Lotus built cars, so a decision was made at Ford that to continue with its competition drive and make the car more cost effective they would make the car at Dagenham themselves, alongside the other Cortina models. In order to do this the Mk2 had to be much easier to build than the Mk1 so that it could be made alongside Mk2 GT production, just with

8330-413: Was a dual-chassis Formula One car, the Lotus 88 in 1981 . For ground effect of that era to function most efficiently, the aerodynamic surfaces needed to be precisely located and this led to the chassis being very stiffly sprung. However, this was very punishing to the driver, resulting in driver fatigue. To get around this, Chapman introduced a car with two chassis. One chassis (where the driver would sit)

8428-418: Was also being made in left hand drive when production finished around late 1966 and the Mk2 took over. Ford wanted to change a few things for the Mk2, the Mk1 had done all and more than they could expect in competition, but the public linked its competition wins with Lotus and its bad points with Ford. Ford still wanted to build a Mk2 Lotus and compete with it, but Lotus were moving from Cheshunt to Hethel so it

8526-481: Was changed to a fibreglass unit. Cycle fenders were originally standard, with clamshell units standard fitment on the 1500, Super Seven, and America or available as an option. While the 1172 cc Sidevalve unit remained available until 1962, the series 2 typically used Ford Kent engines of 1,340 or 1,499 cc from the Ford Consul Classic . These were also available with Cosworth modifications;

8624-765: Was charged with trafficking cocaine by the US Government, following a videotaped sting operation at a hotel in Los Angeles , in which he was recorded by undercover FBI agents agreeing to bankroll a 100 kilograms (220 lb) cocaine smuggling operation. DeLorean Motor Cars subsequently collapsed, during which administrators discovered that £10,000,000 of British taxpayers' money (approximately equivalent to £36 million in 2023) had gone missing. Lotus Group's 1981 accounts were overdue before Chapman's death, but, when released after his death, disclosed that Lotus had been paid for engineering work by DeLorean via

8722-455: Was covered with stressed aluminium panel bodywork. The body panels were mainly flat to avoid the expense of more elaborate curved bodywork, and the simple cloth lined plastic doors were hinged from the windscreen. The nose-cone and wheel arches were originally aluminium parts, but these were replaced in the later S2 and S3 models with painted or self-coloured fibreglass. Early Lotus Sevens weighed around 1,100 lb (10cwt/500 kg). Although

8820-433: Was even more radical with vertical coil spring/dampers replacing the leaf springs and two trailing arms with a A- bracket (which connected to the differential housing and brackets near the trailing arm pivots) sorting out axle location. To support this set-up, further braces were put behind the rear seat and from the rear wheelarch down to chassis in the boot. The stiffening braces meant that the spare wheel had to be moved from

8918-476: Was fitted to Cortina GTs but without a servo, which was fitted in the Cortina Lotus engine bay. Initially, the engines were built by J. A. Prestwich of Tottenham and then Villiers of Wolverhampton. In 1966, Lotus moved to Hethel in Norwich where they had their own engine building facilities. The Cortina Lotus used a 8.0 in (200 mm) diaphragm-spring clutch, whereas Ford fitted coil-spring clutches to

9016-634: Was launched in 1957 to replace the Mark VI as the entry-level Lotus model. The Seven name was left over from a model that Lotus abandoned, which would have been a Riley-engine single-seater that Lotus intended to enter into the Formula Two in 1952 or 1953. However, the car was completed on Chapman's chassis as a sports car by its backers and christened the Clairmonte Special. Externally similar to Chapman's earlier Lotus Mark VI , but with

9114-490: Was made even worse by the fact any oil lost from the axle worked its way on to the bushes of the A bracket. There were four main updates made to the Mk1 Lotus during its production to solve some of these problems. The first change was a swap to a two-piece prop shaft and the lighter alloy transmission casing was changed to the standard Ford item; this also included swapping the ultra-close ratio gears for Cortina GT gear ratios,

9212-605: Was moved from New Zealand to the United States in 2010 to undergo a full restoration. A car with a tuned Ford 1172 cc engine and close-ratio gearbox was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1958. It was found to have a top speed of 80.4 mph (129.4 km/h), could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.2 seconds and had a fuel consumption of 31.0 miles per imperial gallon (9.1 L/100 km; 25.8 mpg ‑US ). The test car cost £1,157 including taxes of £386. They commented that car could be bought in component form and then it would have cost £399 for

9310-407: Was of primary concern to Chapman. Like racing cars of the time, it was therefore built around a multi-tube space frame with high sides to allow a stiffer frame (longer lever arm). The Series II and later road versions had simpler frames than the more race-oriented Series I. A front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels (a similar layout to most cars of the day) and a very lightweight steel spaceframe

9408-532: Was persevered with by Vic Elford and David Seigle-Morris for the 1964 Tour de France Automobile , a 10-day, 4,000-mile (6,400 km) event, as it was run completely on sealed roads, unlike the rough RAC Rally. Their car came 4th outright in the Touring Car category, and first in the Handicap category, in a mix of one-hour sprints, hillclimbs , and mountain road rallying. Still, the general dodginess of

9506-446: Was softly sprung. The other chassis (where the skirts and such were located) was stiffly sprung. Although the car passed scrutineering at a couple of races, other teams protested, and it was never allowed to race. The car was never developed further. Chapman, whose father was a successful publican , was also a businessman and innovator in the business end of racing. He introduced major advertising sponsorship into auto racing; beginning

9604-416: Was used. One disadvantage of live axles is higher unsprung weight , affecting handling and ride on rough surfaces. In general, cars with non-optimised aerodynamics tend to be free of adverse aerodynamic effects on handling, but the front wheel arches, of all but the Series I, cause lift at high speeds. Like the good straight-line performance, the car's nimble handling is limited in the speed range, and this

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