Pete05
Premium
- 7,165
- Melbourne, Australia
Beginning in 1960, Colin Chapman's Lotus company and team developed into the single most potent force in Formula One racing. Chapman's designs repeatedly threw back the frontiers of modern racing knowledge to set new performance standards and design trends.
After establishing himself with a series of lightweight sports racing cars with spaceframe chassis in 1956, Chapman embarked upon his first single seater, the Type 12. It was aimed at the forthcoming 1500cc Formula Two. The spidery 12 and it's vastly more sophisticated successor, the 1958/59 Type 16, were fast, fragile and unsuccessful. Eventually, Colin grew tired of patching the 16s when the chassis cracked and their handling misbehaved. It was then, he says, "we went mid-engined and did it properly."
This 'proper' mid-engined Type 18 made it's shattering debut in 1960. It immediately set new standards and dominated not only Formula Junior and Formula Two but also Formula One. In 1960, Lotus won more Formula One races than Cooper, but Cooper won more of the important World Championship Grands Prix which the fragile 18s often led, but equally often failed to survive. A new, private Formula One 18 was sold to Rob Walker's team for Stirling Moss. On their debut Moss won the Monaco GP giving Lotus their maiden victory. At the end of the season it was Moss, again in the Rob Walker 18, who scored the second Lotus GP victory, at Riverside in the USA.
ENGINE
Configuration
Coventry Climax FPF Straight 4
Location
Mid, longitudinally mounted
Displacement
2495 cc / 152.3 cu in
Bore / Stroke
94 mm (3.7") x 89.9 mm (3.5")
Valvetrain
2 valves per cylinder, DOHC
Ignition
Magneto
Fuel feed
2 x Weber Carburettors
Aspiration
Naturally Aspirated
Power
237 bhp / 177 kW @ 6750 rpm
DRIVETRAIN
Chassis
G.R.P body on lightweight multi-tubular spaceframe
Front suspension
Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti roll bar
Rear suspension
Lower transverse links, twin radius arms, coil springs over dampers
Brakes
Discs all round, inboard at the rear
Gearbox
Lotus 5 speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Weight
445 kg / 981.1 lbs
Length
3426 mm / 134.9"
Width
1434 mm / 56.5"
Height
660 mm / 26"
Wheelbase
2284 mm / 89.9"
Front track
1244 mm / 49"
Rear track
1206 mm / 47.5"
Wheel width
(F) 5" / (R) 6.5"
Tyres
Dunlop
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/265/Lotus-18.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_18
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