Lotus 34 - winner with legs of unequal length

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Lotus 34 - winner with legs of unequal length

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Created on August 10, 2017

Text:

Urs Arnold

Photos:

Bonhams

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Archiv - Courtesy Bonhams

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Bruno von Rotz

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AR-Archiv

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Archiv

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Lotus 34 (1964) - completely asymmetrical - the right-hand suspensions (from the driver's perspective) are significantly wider

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the pole-setter at the 1965 Indianapolis 500 miles

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Lotus 34 (1964) - built in the style of the time

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Lotus 34 (1964) - completely asymmetrical - the right-hand suspensions (from the driver's perspective) are significantly wider

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the gearbox at the back

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Lotus 34 (1964) - still without wings and spoiler

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Lotus 34 (1964) - A.J. Foyt could have won the race in Indianapolis in 1965 had it not been for a gearbox failure

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Lotus 34 (1964) - A.J. Foyt started from pole position with the number 1 at Indianapolis in 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - taken on the Indianapolis Oval

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Rev counter from Smiths

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the driver sits right next to the gas cap

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Lotus 34 (1964) - A.J. Foyt turned this steering wheel

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Lotus 34 (1964) - comparatively comfortable space

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Lotus 34 (1964) - when small stickers were still attached to the racing cars

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the engine sits right behind the driver

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Lotus 34 (1964) - View of the rear of the car

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Lotus 34 (1964) - View into the exhaust pipes

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the V8 has its intakes on both sides

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Lotus 34 (1964) - powerful exhaust pipes

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Lotus 34 (1964) - the exhaust pipes point steeply upwards

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Lotus 34 (1964) - a powerful V8 in the rear

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Lotus 34 (1964) - rear right suspension, note the thick drive shaft

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Driver and mechanic are mentioned on the car

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Good Year Blue Streak tires

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Lotus 34 (1964) - NACA duct on the flank

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Lotus 34 (1964) - beautifully finished details

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Number 1 (A.J. Foyt) on a fast lap - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Number 1 (A.J. Foyt) behind number 82 (Jim Clark) in the Type 38 - 500 Miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Number 1 (A.J. Foyt) next to number 82 (Jim Clark) in the Type 38, the latter looking over at Foyt - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - A.J. Foyt lets Jim Clark pass - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - A.J. Foyt now behind Jim Clark - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 34 (1964) - Dan Gurney's Lotus is refueled - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 38 (1965) - Dan Gurney in the Lotus entered by Yamaha - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus 38 (1965) - the winning Lotus with Jim Clark at the wheel - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus (1965) - Jim Clark celebrates a big win at Indianapolis 1965

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A. J. Foyt in conversation with a fellow racing driver - 500 miles of Indianapolis 1965

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Lotus-Ford 38 (1965) - during the demonstration drives on the occasion of the Jim Clark Tribute at the Goodwood Revival 2013

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Lotus-Ford 38 (1965) - during the demonstration drives on the occasion of the Jim Clark Tribute at the Goodwood Revival 2013

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Lotus-Ford 38 (1965) - during the demonstration drives on the occasion of the Jim Clark Tribute at the Goodwood Revival 2013

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Lotus 34 (1964) - viele kleine Sponsoren

Lotus 34 (1964) - im Stil der Zeit gebaut

Lotus 34 (1964) - komplett asymmetrisch - die rechten Aufhängungen (aus Fahrersicht) sind deutlich breiter

Summary

Few designers have left their mark on Formula 1 like Colin Chapman. The Lotus boss and designer possessed enormous innovative power and was always on the lookout for new technical solutions. At the 500 miles of Indianapolis, he was the first to use a mid-engine and the concept was ultimately to prevail, as the Lotus models 34 and 38 proved. This racing car article describes the history of the Lotus Indianapolis entries in the sixties and portrays A.J. Foyt's 1964 Lotus 34 in detail, supplemented by many historical racing photos.

This article contains the following chapters

Less weight and better distribution
First attempt
On course for victory
Setback in 1964
Finally on the top step of the podium
The turnaround
Two-year racing career of the Type 34
No repeat of the Indy success
26 years in storage
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Few designers have left their mark on Formula 1 like Colin Chapman. The Lotus boss and designer possessed enormous innovative power and was always on the lookout for new technical solutions. Some became standards, others fiascos. But Chapman did not always have to reinvent the wheel. When he attended the Indianapolis 500 miles as a spectator in 1962, he quickly realized how one of his cars could win this race. Strangely enough, no one had yet come up with the idea of installing the engine anywhere other than at the front. Jack Brabham had already ruffled the feathers of the F1 competition with the Cooper in 1959 and 1960 to such an extent that even a tradition-oriented purist like Enzo Ferrari had to take action and have a mid-engined racing car built. The fact that the mid-engine trend had not yet found its way into Indianapolis shows just how isolated American oval racing was from the rest of the global scene at the time.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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Images of this article

Lotus 34 (1964) - viele kleine Sponsoren

Lotus 34 (1964) - im Stil der Zeit gebaut

Lotus 34 (1964) - komplett asymmetrisch - die rechten Aufhängungen (aus Fahrersicht) sind deutlich breiter

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