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Technology in race cars (1): Lotus 16 from 1958 - a quirky type

Name: Lotus 16 1958
Brand: Lotus

Created on January 18, 2021

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Autor

Bruno von Rotz

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Autor

Bruno von Rotz

Lotus 16 (1959) - Series B - Grand Prix Historique de Monaco 2014

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Lotus 16 (1958) - No, that wasn't an accident - inclined engine for a lower center of gravity

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Lotus 12 (1958) - Conventional front engine

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Lotus 16 (1958) - sloping front engine with flatter silhouette

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Lotus 18 (1960) - central engine, again much flatter

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Lotus 16 (1958) - aerodynamic fine-tuning of the Lotus 16 - road instead of wind tunnel, wool threads instead of FlowViz paint

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Colin Chapman, decades-long racing car pioneer between genius and madness

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Vanwall (1958) - also a transitional design by Chapman and Costin, innovative but with a traditional silhouette. Winner of the first F1 constructors' world championship in 1958

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Vanwall (1958) - aerodynamic fine-tuning, e.g. with recessed exhaust and Naca air intake for the engine

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Lotus 16 (1959) - Field "B" - Monaco Grand Prix Historique 2016

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Lotus 16 (1959) - the last front-engined monoposto from Lotus - Rétromobile Paris 2018

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Lotus 16 (1959) - at the historic F1 races at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2012

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Lotus-Climax 16 (1959) - in the race for the Richmond & Gordon Trophies at the Goodwood Revival 2012

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Lotus-Climax 16 (1958) - in the race for the Richmond Trophy at the Goodwood Revival 2013

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Lotus 16 (1959) - at the race of the Historic Grand Prix Cars up to 1960 at the AvD OGP 2014

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Summary

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. Innovative vehicles were created and a lot of pioneering work was done in terms of aerodynamics and lightweight construction. One example of this era is the Lotus 16 from 1958, which had aerodynamic advantages thanks to its angled engine. This article from "Technology in racing cars" looks at the technical features of the Lotus 16 from 1958.

This article contains the following chapters

Shorter races, lighter cars

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and CanAm, tracing the major lines of development. The series starts with Lotus, one of the most important drivers of innovation in these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus: With the first ground-effect Formula 1 to win a world championship in 1978, the Type 79. In 1958, new Formula 1 regulations came into force, which made it possible to develop more compact and lighter cars. Races were shortened from 500 km to 300 km and methanol fuel was banned in favor of gas station fuel. This made it possible to reduce the size of the fuel tanks, which in turn had a major impact on the architecture of the vehicles.

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