LOTUS-CLIMAX – year 1960

Lotus Cars Ltd, Cheshunt, Herts., United Kingdom.

The biggest competitor of Cooper cars at that time was another British racing car – Lotus. The founder and head of the Lotus company was the particularly talented designer Colin Chapman. Its constructions were characterized by extraordinary lightness and an original way of designing the chassis.

W 1960 Year Chapman has prepared a new model of the formula car 1 with rear engine. A Climax engine was used for the drive, also used by Cooper. The construction of the chassis frame made of thin-walled pipes is noteworthy, thus reducing the weight of the vehicle to 370 kg. Chapman's quest to minimize the car's weight led to the brave, extravagant designs, which were judged to be unsafe, and the author of these solutions himself allocated them to only one race. An example is the rear wheel suspension from the year 1960, wherein the transverse upper arm forms the drive shaft, which in the event of its breakage meant the loss of the wheel. This is because the universal joint of the drive shaft transferred lateral forces in addition to the drive torque. The longitudinal forces were transferred to the undercarriage from the rocker arms via two oblique reaction rods with a tubular profile. The elements of the wheel suspension were coil springs with hydraulic shock absorbers placed inside. Ignition, brakes, gears and tires came from specialized companies. The car reached its maximum speed 270 km/h.

Lotus was able to win the Argentine Grand Prix in 1960 year, but in the final phase of the competition he turned off the track, which prevented him from taking first place. It was only Stirling Moss who won the Lotus in the Monaco Grand Prix at an average speed 107,9 km/h. On the other hand, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Moss had an accident, when Lotus lost the wheel.

Lotus was again dominant in the last races of the season. Moss won the US Grand Prix at Riverside. New design with rear engine, With a low and light chassis and a reclining rider, it finally established the leading position of these cars. Lotus vehicles became formula racing cars 1, to be reckoned with in the future.