Description
Colin Chapman's early cars caused a sensation in the motorsport world and, thanks to his genius, Lotus Engineering became the most famous British manufacturer of racing cars, bringing about a revolution in automotive design. In 1956 Lotus gained a class win at Le Mans with the fantastically successful Eleven. Two years later Team Lotus had moved into Formula 1 and, between 1963 and 1978, the marque won a dazzling seven Constructors' and six Drivers' World Championships. This thrilling story, covering the period from 1948 to 1996, features all the Lotus models that competed at a serious level. More than 80 different competition cars were built, of which over 30 were for Formula 1. Here, in one action-packed volume, are the `biographies' of the Eleven and 23 sports-racers; the Fl front-engined 12 and 16, the rear-engined 18, the successful 24, 25 and 33 lineage, and Grand Prix greats such as the 49, 72, 78 and 79; the Indianapolis cars, including the victorious 38; Lotuses for the junior categories — Formula 2, 3 and Ford — and oddities such as the four-wheel-drive 63 and 'twin-chassis' 88.
Each design is described in detail, with an expert description of its racing history, information on the drivers and interviews with key figures such as Mike Costin, Cliff Allison and Keith Hall. Appendices cover Lotus numbers, specifications, works drivers and Grand Prix results, and this comprehensive account is illustrated with 48 pages of colour photographs and more than 200 historic black and white images.
Anthony Pritchard is an authority on the cars designed and built by Lotus, especially in the years before Chapman's death in late 1982. He is the author of successful Haynes titles on Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari, and on sports racing cars.
