Tag Archives: Speed

Cut and Bury – Lotus Ford 64

After coming close to winning the 1968 Indianapolis 500 with the Pratt & Whitney gas turbine powered Lotus 56 driven by Joe Leonard the powers at Indianapolis decided to ban gas turbine power and all wheel drive for the 1969 season, but eventually relented and allowed all wheel drive vehicles that had wheels no more than 9″ wide all round. Rear wheel drive vehicles were allowed to go to 14″ wide wheels at the rear.

Colin Chapman rose to the challenge of building a car to the new regulations with the financial encouragement from Andy Granatelli’s STP Oil Treatment. The Lotus 64 was a new chassis which was powered by a 700hp turbocharged double overhead cam Ford V8 motor driving an all wheel drive system that was lifted from the Lotus 56 as indeed was much of the rest of the chassis.

In order to connect the motor to the mid mounted gearbox the motor had to be mounted backwards so the drive came from the front, as on the ill feted Lotus Ford 63 all wheel drive Grand Prix car.

Mario Andretti, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt were lined up to drive the three team cars and a spare was built just in case of unforeseeable eventualities. Straight out of the box the cars were on the pace of the gas turbine Lotus 56 from the year before setting record speeds. However Mario Andretti’s car had a rear hub failure which sent him into the wall. Mario was lucky to get away with superficial burns to his face and after it was determined the failure was due to a design fault that could not be rectified in the available time frame the three Lotus 64’s were withdrawn from the race.

Mario jumped into the #2 Hawk Ford belonging to Granatelli and promptly qualified 2nd to AJ Foyt and then won the race after Lloyd Ruby was knocked out of contention by leaving the pits with his refueling hose still attached.

Andy Granatelli wanted to buy one of the remaining 64’s but when negotiations broke down Colin Chapman is alleged to have ordered the now engineless cars be returned to Hethel, Lotus home base, where he promised to take a hack saw to them personally cut them up and dig a whole and personally bury them. As it turned out all three cars were put in a shed.

Jochen Rindt’s #80 is seen above sans motor, this is the second of the three remaining 64’s to have emerged in recent years the other one has a correct Ford motor installed.

Thanks for joining me on this “Cut and Bury” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first car to record a 200 mph average closed circuit lap during a race. Don’t forget to come back now !

OK, But Not Very Fast – Lotus 58

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The Lotus 58 was designed with de Dion suspension front and rear, in Colin Chapman’s eternal quest for more grip, to take part in Formula 2 races for the 1968 season.

Chapman’s original intention was for the 58 to be used as a development vehicle for the Lotus 57 Grand Prix car which was to have used a similar chassis but fitted with a larger Ford Cosworth 3 litre / 183 cui that powered the various iterations of the Lotus 49.

The Lotus 58 chassis and wedge shaped body closely resembles that of the Lotus 56 Indy challenger but is powered by a 225 hp four cylinder 1598 cc / 97.5 cui Ford Cosworth FVA motor which met the requirements of the second tier open wheel Formula 2 regulations.

The one and only Lotus 58 chassis was completed the day Jim Clark was killed at Hockenheim, his death along with that of Jim’s replacement Mike Spence at Indy in a Lotus 56 along with numerous crashes that befell Jackie Oliver in his Lotus 49’s meant that development of the Lotus 58 was pushed back until the end of 1968 when Lotus had to decide which cars to take to the Antipodes for the Tasman Series.

Graham Hill thoroughly tested the car with a Tasman Spec 2.5 litre / 152.5 cui Cosworth DFW motor and came to the conclusion that it was “OK, but not very fast”. It would appear the advantages of the de Dion suspension which keep the wheels vertical in the corners and thereby keep a larger tyre footprint on the ground were not obvious enough to pursue. The Lotus 58 was pushed aside never having raced in Formula 2 as originally intended, or in the Tasman series, while the similar Cosworth DFV powered Lotus 57 never even left the drawing board.

In 1998 two enthusiasts persuaded Colin’s son Clive Chapman to restore the Lotus 58 and he gave the task to former Hill and Clark engineer at Lotus Eddie Dennis. After some 1500 hours of work Dennis ran the car at the former works Lotus test track at Hethel before handing it over to the new owners Malcolm Ricketts and Don Hands.

Thanks for joining me on this “OK, But Not Very Fast” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Additions And Corrections – Ferrari 166MM #0040M

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Having run well over 50 consecutive Ferrari Friday blog’s I have to confess I have temporarily run out of Ferrari’s to write about, however while I find some more I will recover some of the vehicles that I first blogged about on the much missed rowdy.com website, adding additional information and corrections where ever applicable in the light of new sources of information.

Only 25 166 MM’s were commissioned by Enzo Ferrari to be built by Carrozzeria Touring who built the roadsters nick named Brachetta’s (small boat) using the patented Superleggra technique of fixing aluminium alloy panels directly to a tubular space frame.

The cars featured a 135 hp 1992cc / 121 cui V12 single overhead cam all alloy engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo. Each cylinder has a displacement of 166 cc / 10 cui from which the model derives its 166 name the MM comes from Mille Miglia, the name of a 1000 mile road race from Brescia to Rome and back which the 166 MM won in 1949.

The 166 in various guises put Ferrari on the the sports car map, a 166 S being driven to victory in the 1948 Milie Miglia by Clemente Biondetti and Giuseppe Navine. In 1949 Biondetti repeated the feat at the wheel of a 166 MM (chassis 0008M) he shared with Ettore Salani.

The same #0008M chassis was then entered by Lord Selsdon, for the 24 hour Le Mans race, who let his team mate Luigi Chinetti drive for an amazing 23 (twenty three) hours en route to victory. Another 166MM, chassis #0010, with Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas sharing the driving went on to win the 1949 Spa 24 hour race.

Today’s featured car chassis #0040M vehicle was driven by Luigi Villoresi and Pasquale Cassani finished 12th overall in the 1950 Targa Florio. Note, some sources using “Targa Florio: 20th Century Epic” by Pino Fondi as reference material suggest that Villoresi did not finish, this is probably because Fondi only lists the top ten finishers.

Several weeks later chassis #0040M was entered in the 1950 Mille Miglia for Aldo Bassi with Aldo Berardi in the co drivers seat. The car left the road in wet conditions and hit a tree outside Ponte San Marco, Bassi succumbed to his injuries later that day.

After repairs which included a replacement body, Touring body #3453, the car went to Portugal where Vasco Sameiro is known to have driven it to 9th place in a race at Vila Real on June 20th 1950. The car remained in Portugal changing hands at least twice before turning up in the UK in 1973.

Ferrari 166 MM #0040M has been owned by the Mason-Styrron family since 1989 who have used it in many classic competitions since. #0040M was restored by the Ferrari factory prior to it’s appearance at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of speed where the car is seen here.

Thanks for joining me on this “Additions and Corrections” editions of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

World Wide Racing – Lotus 56B R1

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The Lotus 56B is the Formula One version of the “Son of Silent Sam” Lotus 56 Indy challenger that came within a couple of laps of winning the 1968 Indianapolis 500 with Joe Leonard at the wheel.

This Formula One version of the Lotus 56 was a fresh chassis built with additional fuel capacity, it was unusual to make scheduled pits stops of fuel back during Grand Prix races in the 1970’s, and with additional wings front and rear to aid the considerable traction and handling advantages of the the all wheel drive transmission.

Just as at Indianapolis in 1968 the Pratt and Whitney STN6/76 had to be considerably detuned to meet the regulations which tried to keep it competitive with the 3 liter / 183 cui piston motors in use at the time.

56B R1 had four non-championship outings before taking part in three Grand Prix. The upshot was that the car was the class of the field in wet conditions, where it’s weight disadvantage was minimised but it struggled to make the top half of the grid in dry conditions.

Three drivers were given a shot in the car, Emerson Fittipaldi, Reine Wisell, and Dave Walker. Fittipaldi managed the cars only finish at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix where he qualified a lowly 18th on the grid and came home 8th well ahead of expectations for the car which was never to be seen in a Grand Prix again.

Regular followers of GALPOT maybe wondering why the car is painted Gold and Black instead of the by now traditional Red, White & Gold of the Gold Leaf Team Lotus.

In 1970 Jochen Rindt had been killed in an accident at Monza driving a Gold Leaf Team Lotus 72. Fearing legal repercussions from the notoriously slow and fickle Italian authorities investigating Rindt’s accident Colin Chapman took steps to avoid encumbrance or at worst arrest by opting to keep a low profile by entering just the one car in place of the usual two in the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.

To further keep the Italian authorities off his trail he entered the Lotus 56B under the World Wide Racing banner and had the car painted in Gold and Black, weather this was to obscurely promote the John Player Special brand which was owned by the same, Imperial, tobacco company as Gold Leaf remains unclear, though in 1972 Imperial switched the brand being promoted by Lotus to John Player Special whose black and gold colours are echoed on the current incarnation of Lotus on the Grand Prix grid.

Thanks for joining me on this “World Wide Racing” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Fourth Season Swan Song – Lotus 49C #R6/2 & #R10

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For 1970 Lotus had planned to have the 4 Wheel Drive Lotus 63 ready to challenge for championship honours however even Mario Andretti could not capitalise on any of the cars supposed advantages during 1969 and so the Lotus 49 was updated for a fourth season of competition with 13 inch front wheels to make use of the latest Firestone Tyres as a stop gap while the design and build of the Lotus 72 was finalised.

The car seen above is Lotus #R6/2 the second car to carry the #R6 chassis plate. The first incarnation of #R6 was the first 49 to be built to ‘B’ spec. Unfortunately it was written off by Jackie Oliver during practice for the 1968 French Grand Prix, and in order to make use of existing travel documents the eighth Lotus 49 to be built was given the #R6 chassis plate and is known as #R6/2. Some parts of #R6/1 damaged beyond repair by Oliver are thought to have been used in the replacement #R6/2 seen here, Rob Walkers privately entered 49 #R7, and the #R12 show car built for Ford which was donated to the Donington Museum.

In it’s second incarnation #R6/2 still in high wing ‘B’ spec was used by Graham Hill to win the 1968 Mexican Grand Prix which clinched the 1968 World Championships for Graham and Team Lotus. Graham continued to use #R6/2 in 1969 before the car was given to Jochen Rindt to drive. Jochen scored his first two Grand Prix victories with R6/2 the 1968 US Grand Prix with the car in ‘B’ spec and the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix with the car ‘C’ spec with the low triple plane rear wing that was designed for the Lotus 72. Jochens win at Monaco would be the third consecutive win in the Principality and also the 12th and final Grand Prix win for the Lotus 49 type.

The second Lotus 49C featured today appears to be chassis #R10 which has given me a bit of a mental run around. This car appeared at Goodwood last year in high wing ‘B’ spec.

As you can see from my heavily revised Lotus 49B blog the car started life as Lotus 49 #R5 and for reasons that are not clear the car was renumbered #R10 and sent to the Antipodes for Jochen Rindt to use in the Tasman Series.

Graham Hill used #R10 to win the 1969 Monaco Grand Prix as he had done in 1968 when the car carried the chassis #R5. In 1970 Graham drove #R10 in the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix to fifth place when it was loaned out to the Rob Walker team for whom he was driving.

Emerson Fittipaldi made his first three Grand Prix starts in #R10 towards the end of 1970 scoring a best 4th place finish second time out in the 1970 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

Thanks for joining me on this “Forth Season Swan Song” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Enzo’s Big Banger – Ferrari 712 #1010

Flattery Will Get You Anywhere – Lotus 47 #47-GT-04/78

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The Lotus 47 was conceived as a racing version of the Lotus Europa (Type 46). The 47 featured a lightened backbone chassis, 168 hp fuel injected Ford Cosworth C13 motor, in place of the Renault used in the road going Europa, Hewland FT200 Formula Two gearbox and suspension derived from the Lotus 22 and Lotus 23 racing cars.

The Lotus 47 first appeared at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day 1966 making an immediate impression finishing 1-2 on the road with John Miles winning and Jackie Oliver in second place, though Jackie was penalised for a push start off the grid and so did not figure in the final classification.

The car seen here started life as chassis # 47-GT-04 and was driven by Miles and Oliver to a 9th place overall, first in class, in the 1967 Brands Hatch 6 hours. The car was then acquired by John Calvert and raced under the Sunderland Racing Developments banner in 1968. An collision with Doug Hardwick, driving #47-GT-61 in April ’68 necessitated the replacement of the chassis and so the car became identified as #47-GT-04/78.

While no further International success was attributed to Lotus 47’s after the class win at the 1967 Brands Hatch six hours they did score many wins in national events. Of the many drivers who raced 47’s one was rookie B Rahal who made his first appearance on the race track in #47-GT-60, a car he purchased from Lotus Midwest near Janesville, Wisconsin in the summer of 1972.

In all around 55 cars seems to be the accepted number of Lotus 47’s built confusingly some appear to have been built solely for the road and the chassis numbers run to #47-GT-85.

Several special 47’s were built with Climax motor’s and one, known a Type 47D, with a Rover V8 was built by the factory for GKN that is said to have been capable of 186 mph.

When John Blundsten tested the prototype 47 for Motor Racing magazine he said that while a couple of recent Lotuses had not “exactly flattered their owners. This one is very different … and flattery will get you anywhere !’

Thanks for joining me on this “Flattery Will Get You Anywhere” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring

Tag Archives: Speed

Cut and Bury – Lotus Ford 64

OK, But Not Very Fast – Lotus 58

Additions And Corrections – Ferrari 166MM #0040M

World Wide Racing – Lotus 56B R1

Fourth Season Swan Song – Lotus 49C #R6/2 & #R10

Enzo’s Big Banger – Ferrari 712 #1010

Flattery Will Get You Anywhere – Lotus 47 #47-GT-04/78