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Lotus Article0001 By L. C. CRANE otor racing is a sport of pointed the way with new technology. of bit of sterling. Buying, repairing, and domination. There have Colin Chapman was competicive, im- selling cars might have been an unor- been periods of individ- aginative, and well-trained for his peri- thodox beginning for a future designer, ual or group domination od of dominance. but it apparently did no harm. The busi- since its inception. When technical Like most of the automotive giants ness went well, then it went bust. breakrhroughs occur, chey are generally before him, he began as an enthusiast. With his legendary determination to made by the people who are not enjoy- \7hile he was still attending University be involved with cars, he took his re- .ing the fruits of victory. College at London Universiry in 1945, maining stock, an ancient fabric-bodied In the very early years, the competi- he got into the used car business to raise Austin 7, and proceeded to build his first tion was between nations, but as more machines became involved, individual names began to take precedence. Pan- hard, Mors, Fiat, and Mercedes were early leaders, each in its own time. Bu- gatti ruled the 20s, Alfa the 30s uncil Mercedes returned; Ferrari held a thread of power from the Alfa days until well into the 50s, but the English seemed to be missing, except for certain types of cars in cerrain events. John Cooper must be given credic for break- ing continental dominance with innova- cion. He was the harbinger of a new era, but it was one of his countrymen who 26 The JOURNAL 8O,/1 special for English hill trials.In thepro- smaller classes in both Europe and felt his presrige being usurped. cess of regiscering his lightweight crea- America. As success bred success, Chap- Inspired by Cooper's initial success tion, the name Lotus was established. man, the astute manufacturer, began to and disappointment in his 16 s.ingle- Locus Mark 2 was a further develop- actively cultivate the lucrative US seater, Chapman decided ro rry rhe new ment of the trials car and was also the market through wesr coasr disrributor concept. The 16 had graphically demon- first Lotus used in circuit racing. ft led to Jay Chamberlain. America eventually strated the need for simplicity in main- the development of Marks 3 and 4, became the biggest market for the tenance and preparation, so chat joined which became increasingly more com- mafque. reduced horsepower loss by minimum petitive. S7irh their split-beam inde- Lorus customers on both continents weight and wind drag as the criteria for pendent front suspension and highly- felr the impacr whenJohn Cooper intro- the new car. By putting rhe engine be- runed engines, they ceased to function as duced his Formula 2 car with its engine hind the driver, the frontal area could be trials cars. Beginning wirh the Mark 6, in the middle and followed that with a reduced by lowering him into rhe srruc- Lorus was in the manufacturing busi- sports car based upon rhe same design. ture to a semi-reclining position. Chap- ness as well. It spire of their success, Cooper con- man's experimentation with simplified A series of front-engined sports cars fronted an incredulous world. Since rhe suspension sysrems was anorher benefir with aerodynamics by Frank Costin, days of Auto Union in the late 30s, it had to the new design. The improved road brother of Michael who was a key figure been the general conrention rhar when holding was an effective bonus. at Lorus cars, carried Chapmao to lead- the engine was behind the driver, he lost The 18 went inro production early in ership in British club racing. Colin con- his sensitivity to the car's balance and 1960 as Formulas l, 2 andJunior with tinued to compete himself through the that was compounded by uncontrolla- minor techhical differences. The modest mid-50s and was able to beat such future ble oversteer. These ideas did nor derer works on Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, in stars as Stirling Moss and Jim Clark in the competitors, who watched the re- North London was already overbur- identical Lotus cars. sults and were interested only in perfor- dened by the production of 7s, 15s,16s, Gradually, Lotus infiltrated the mance. The designer of the Lorus cars 17s, and the popular GT car, the Elite. From left: Details of 959 as it now appears. (SJ. Earle) Above: Tire width myths exposed. Gurney's original Goodyear Bluestreaks (widest available) are nearly an inch narrower than Dunlops R-6 now available. The JOUBNAL 8Ol1 27 There was neither manpower nor space all dimensions except the driver's com- A-arms and was attached by spherical available for another project. Io the Partment. bearings below the ball joints. The midst of all this, the entire operation The front suspension bay was the steering rack and pinion was mounted was being moved to a new, larger faciliry primary load bearer in the forward part midway down the front of the box at the in Cheshunt, but Chapman was in- of the frame. It was a rectangular box apex of two rriangles. The pedals and trigued by John Cooper's new Monaco running laterally between the front their hydraulic master cylinders were and it was too tempting not to at least wheels and was triangulated on five mounted on the bottom rubes ioside the try an 1S-based sports car. sides. It was constructed of l-inch di- box. The battery was opposite the pe- The protorype was constructed in ameter 16-gauge mild steel tubing ex- dals. From the front corners of the box, strictest secrecy in a small garage a short cept for the top tube on each side, which the frame rails diverged rearward to att- walk from the factory. lTilliams and was increased to 1%-inch l4-gauge tub- ach to a cowl hoop fabricated of two rub- Pritchard, who had done all the Lotus ing because the upper mounting bracket ular hoops attached by a perforated steel bodies since production began, trans- for the coil/shock unit was centered on panel which acted in lieu of lateral trian- lated Frank Costin's drawings into a its span, putting it in abending strain. A gulation.in the cockpit. The top of the smooth aluminum skin. lighter tubular structure extended for- hoop carried the instruments, electrics, !7hen the 18 entered the world of ward of the front suspension box to sup- and hydraulic reservoirs. The bottom of Formula 1, it represented the cumula- port the coolant and oil radiators, a 6- the hoop supported the front edge of the tive result of Chapman's continuing gallon oil tank, and body mounting seat and the simple shifter pivot. The studies in maximum stress and mini- brackets. The front suspension was of entire center frame section was triangu- mum weight. It was made up of three unequal length A-arms, the upper set of lated on the bottom by a stressed alumi- structural sections; the front suspension which had threaded ball joints where num sheet. box, the driver's compartment, and the they attached to the Triumph uprights From the cowl to the firewall, the engine bay which also carried the rear for camber adjustments. The anti-roll frame rails ran parallel. From the fire- suspension. The 19 was the same car in bar crossed behind and below the upper wall rearward, they converged to make ii 1 Lotus 18 rear suspension to show elements more clearly. The JOUHNAL 8Ol1 contact with another tube and sheet rier. which was little more than an inch panels ahead of the rear wheels. By steel hoop which acted as the load bearer from the road surface. This allowed a 1963, the scoops had been moved to the for rhe gearbox and rear suspension. very low roll center, but dangerously lit- top of the rear body panel. Coolant and The gearbox was suspended from the tle clearance in the event of a deflating oil were fed from the engine to their removable top section of the hoop and tire. The rear anti-roll bar attached to respeccive radiators by aluminum pipes the reversed lower A-arms of the rear che chassis at the upper mounting point running outside the lower body pane. suspension mounted near the bottom of the coil/shock units and extended for- This arrangement was less for the addi- where they were attached with a ward. A long vertical link with spherical tional cooling rhan to isolate the heat threaded spherical joint for camber ad- joints on either end attached the bar to from the driver's working space. Unfor- justment. A Y-shaped removable struc- che lower A-arm. tunately, on many American race tracks, ture passed from che upper left corner of The brakes were as on the 18 Formula drivers were discouraged from cutting the firewall to rhe upper corners of the I car-I}Vz-inch discs in front and9Vz- the course by half-buried tires at che rear hoop to triangulate and stiffen the inch discs mounted inboard on rhe rear. apex of turns. This also discouraged engine bay. A rrapezoidal structure Ffowever, the 19 included a provision on drivers from leaving the cooling tubes reached rearward from the hoop to sup- the rear upright for the discs to be outside the body work on the Lotus 19s. port the rear body panel. mounted outboard when high ambienr After only a few events, both Moss and The unsplined halfshafts acred as rhe temperatures would cause excessive Gurney moved them back inside where upper rear suspension lateral link, and heat to build up.
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