Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Team Lotus | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | Colin Chapman (Technical Director) Maurice Philippe (Chief Designer) | ||||||||||
Predecessor | 49 | ||||||||||
Successor | 72 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications [1] | |||||||||||
Chassis | Aluminium monocoque. | ||||||||||
Axle track | 59 in (1,499 mm) | ||||||||||
Wheelbase | 98 in (2,489 mm) | ||||||||||
Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV 2,995 cc (183 cu in) V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted. | ||||||||||
Transmission | Hewland-Lotus 5-speed manual gearbox. Four-wheel drive. | ||||||||||
Weight | 600 kg (1,323 lb) | ||||||||||
Fuel | Shell | ||||||||||
Tyres | Firestone | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Gold Leaf Team Lotus Ecurie Bonnier | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | John Miles Mario Andretti Jo Bonnier | ||||||||||
Debut | 1969 French Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. |
The Lotus 63 was an experimental Formula One car using four-wheel drive, designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1969 season. Chapman's reasoning behind the car was that the 3 litre engines introduced in 1966 would be better served by building a car that could take full advantage of its power while retaining the Lotus 49's simplicity.
Like the Lotus 56 for the Indy 500 (and later F1), the 63 chassis was designed around a four wheel drive system. This was not totally revolutionary at the time, as four wheel drive had been used on the Ferguson P99 F1 car that won at Oulton Park as early as 1961, but with little development thereafter.
However, it was not a successful design. In fact, the Matra MS84 was the only 4WD F1 which scored points (driven by Johnny Servoz-Gavin, at the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix) something neither Lotus nor McLaren managed, while Cosworth did not even race their 4WD design. [2] The 63 was an evolution of the 49, but featured wedge shaped rear bodywork and integrated wings, which would be used to great effect in the Lotus 72.
John Miles, Lotus' third driver, was entrusted with the task of developing the car, while Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt used the 49 in the early races of 1969. The 63 proved difficult to drive and set up, and the four wheel drive system was especially problematic. [3] After a single test run, Hill flatly refused to drive the car again stating it was a 'deathtrap,' as did Rindt, who agreed with Hill after taking the car to its best result, 2nd in the non-championship Oulton Park Gold Cup. This infuriated Chapman as he saw the 63 as another quantum leap ahead of its rivals, just as its predecessors had been. [4]
The car was entered at the 1969 British Grand Prix as a test run. Whilst Rindt finished fourth in the older 49 behind Jackie Stewart after running short of fuel whilst leading, Miles could only bring the 63 home in 10th place, confirming the car's uncompetitiveness. After several other fruitless outings, the 63 was abandoned.
Parts of the chassis design were worked into the Lotus 72, which debuted in 1970, and four wheel drive technology returned into F1 with the Lotus 56B in 1971.
Like the Lotus 88, the 4WD cars proved to be huge white elephants for Lotus, but it paved the way for better models to follow. [5]
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV | F | RSA | ESP | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | 42 | 3rd 1 | |
Graham Hill | PO | PO | |||||||||||||||
John Miles | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||
Mario Andretti | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||
Jochen Rindt | PO | ||||||||||||||||
Ecurie Bonnier | Jo Bonnier | Ret |
(key)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV | F | ROC | INT | MAD | OUL | |
Jochen Rindt | 2 |
Karl Jochen Rindt was a German-born racing driver who competed with an Austrian license during his career, despite having German and not Austrian citizenship. In 1970, he was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix and became the only driver to be posthumously awarded the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
Harry Ferguson Research Limited was a British company founded by Harry Ferguson who was mostly known as "the father of the modern farm tractor". He was also a pioneer aviator, becoming one of the first to build and fly his own aeroplane in Ireland, and also went on to develop four-wheel drive systems for cars including pioneering their use in Formula One racing cars. The company was based in Siskin Drive, in Coventry, England.
The 1969 Gran Premio de Mexico was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City on October 19, 1969, two weeks after the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was race 11 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 65-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after he started from fourth position. Jacky Ickx finished second for the Brabham team and his teammate Jack Brabham came in third.
The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 19th FIA World Championship, which commenced on 1 January, and ended on 3 November after twelve races, and numerous non-championship races. Graham Hill won the second of his World Championship titles, with Lotus.
The Hon.John Miles was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, making his debut on 6 July 1969, in the Lotus 63 4-wheel drive F1 car for which he was the official Team Lotus test driver. He scored a total of 2 championship points with a fifth place in the 1970 South African Grand Prix.
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More than ten years after its last race, Team Lotus remained one of the most successful racing teams of all time, winning seven Formula One Constructors' titles, six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States between 1962 and 1978. Under the direction of founder and chief designer Colin Chapman, Lotus was responsible for many innovative and experimental developments in critical motorsport, in both technical and commercial arenas.
The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe and powered by a 1,600 cc (98 cu in) Cosworth FVA engine. It won three races in the hands of Jim Clark but was generally uncompetitive against rival machinery. Ultimately, its main claim to fame is as the car in which Clark was killed at Hockenheim on 7 April 1968.
The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s. It was one of the first F1 cars to use a stressed-member drivetrain to reduce weight, with other teams adopting the concept after its success. It also pioneered the use of aerofoils to generate downforce.
The Lotus 43 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1966 season. Hampered by its heavy and unreliable BRM engine, it won only one race, the 1966 United States Grand Prix.
The Lotus 72 is a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season. The 72 was a pioneering design featuring inboard brakes, side-mounted radiators in sidepods, and aerodynamic wings producing down-force.
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The Lotus 69 was an open-wheel formula racing car developed by Lotus in 1969 for use in Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula Ford.
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