Lotus 18 F1 Race Car

Class	Race Car
Constructor	Lotus
Year	1960 to 1963
Chassis	space-frame
Suspension (front)	double wishbones
Suspension (rear)	double transverse links
Engine	Coventry Climax
Transmission	manual five-speed

The 1960-built Lotus 18 was the first mid-engine - Lotus and a milestone in the motorsport history.

History

For 1960 Chapman gave up his attempts to build a successful front-engine Grand Prix car and, like, BRM and Ferrari, imitated Cooper by building a rear-engine car. Despite
teething troubles and a number of unfortunate crashes in 1960, the Lotus was a success both in the last year of the 2 1/2 litre Formula and, in the hands of Stirling Moss driving for Rob Walker, during the first year of the new 1.1/2-litre Formula. The car was also produced in Formula Junior form.

The Lotus 18 was built for the categories Formula 1 and Formula 2 with 4- and later 8-cylinder engines from Climax and for the Formula Junior ex-factory with Ford -Kent engines from the Ford Anglia 105E. Some Formula Junior cars had a BMC engine. The racing car had a compact tubular frame and was 27 kg lighter than its predecessor, the Lotus 16. For the suspension triangle wishbones unequal length were used in the front, the rear had the car below the wishbones (with the tip inside) and trailing arm, above as the wishbone, the drive shaft and this trailing arm and a stabilizer. All four-disc brakes sat on the wheel carriers.

The Lotus 18 was available in a wide variety of variants, as the many privateers who used the car repeatedly made adjustments. So had the 18 of Rob Walker a completely different power transmission than the works cars. The most exotic variants had Vanwall, Borgward or Maserati engines. In 1960, 125 pieces of this race car were built. This results in a production of at least two cars per week, a very high number for a small racing car manufacturer like Lotus. Innes Ireland was the factory's debut driver. At the Grand Prix of Argentina in early 1960, he was briefly in the lead and was sixth in the end. This was followed by victories in both Formula 1 and the Formula 2 Easter race in Truxton. Stirling Moss won the Monaco Grand Prix in Rob Walker's eighteenth, marking Lotus's first ever victory in the Formula One World Championship. In the Constructors' Championship, Lotus finished second behind Cooper in 1960.

Major race Successes

• 1960: 1st (Ireland), Richmond Trophy,
• Goodwood; 1st (Ireland)
• Daily Express Trophy, Silverstone 1st (Moss),
• Monaco GP; 2nd (Surtees)
• British GP; 3rd (Clark)
• Portuguese GP; 1st (Moss)
• Gold Cup Race, Oulton Park 1st (Moss)
• United States GP 1961: 1st (Moss)
• Monaco GP; 1st (Moss)
• German GP; 1st (Moss), Modena GP

In 1961, the factory cars got a revised body. In Formula 1 racing cars ran partly under the name Lotus 18/21, which usually referred to a private vehicle and the V8 engine from Climax and an adapted chassis from the Lotus 21. In Formula Junior, the car was unbeatable and was there overwhelmingly successful.