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Technology in race cars (24): Lotus 56 - 500 miles with wedges

Name: Lotus 56 1968
Brand: Lotus

Created on December 19, 2022

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Bruno von Rotz

Stephen King - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Bruno von Rotz

Stephen King - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

Lotus 56 STP Special (1968) - during the demonstration drives on the occasion of the Jim Clark Tribute at the Goodwood Revival 2013

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Lotus 56 (1968) - on the right with Jim Clark at the wheel during tire tests in Indianapolis. Next to it the STP Paxton with Parnelli Jones

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Lotus 56 (1968) - high rear with tear-off edge

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Lotus 56 (1968) - The turbine with exhaust (top) behind the driver

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Lotus 56 (1968) - distinctive wedge shape that was to characterize the design of racing and sports cars for years to come

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Flat snout like a platypus

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Concave rear with maintenance hatch

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Lotus 56 (1968) - internal brakes for lower unsprung masses. The calipers engage at the bottom to lower the center of gravity

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Graham Hill at Indianapolis

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Lotus 56 (1968) - from this perspective, it becomes clear why it was also called the "doorstop"

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Lotus 56 (1968) - main sponsor STP prominently emblazoned on the flat snout

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Exhaust of the turbine directly behind the driver's head

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Emerson Fittipaldi at Monza

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Sectional drawing showing the cardan and chain drive

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Emerson Fittipaldi retires at Monza. It was the car's last Formula 1 outing

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Lotus 56 (1968) - Sectional drawing of the rear end

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Dave Walker in Zandvoort

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Lotus 56 (1968) - long wheelbase, hardly any rear overhang

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Reine Wisell at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Emerson Fittipaldi's car

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Dave Walker's car at the Rhine Cup race on the Hockenheimring

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Lotus 56 B (1971) - Emerson Fittipaldi at the "Race of Champions" at Brands Hatch

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Lotus 56 Indianapolis (1968) - as lot 134 at the RM/Sotheby's auction in Monterey on August 19/20, 2016

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Summary

After the STP Paxton turbine car had impressively demonstrated its potential at Indianapolis in 1967, Colin Chapman also wanted to try out the new drive technology. The exterior of the car was at least as radically different as the technology. However, while the wedge shape of the bodywork caught on, the turbine drive remained a brief gimmick. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" looks at the Lotus 56 in detail and shows it in historical and contemporary images.

This article contains the following chapters

The wedge - a simple solution to a complex problem
Four-wheel drive and fatal accidents
Fuel problems in Indianapolis
Trials in Formula 1
Further development canceled

Estimated reading time: 7min

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 Can-Am, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important innovation drivers of these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus. This time, everything revolves around an Indycar with a special drive and body shape. By the 1967 Indianapolis 500, the central engine revolution had definitely arrived and the last of the front-engine veterans had disappeared from the field. And in the same year, the next revolution was already germinating: gas turbine propulsion. Andy Granatelli - head of STP, the mineral oil additive manufacturer - launched his Paxton with four-wheel drive. A defective six-dollar part took the car, which had been leading from the start, out of the race four laps before the end.

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