F1 Lotuses celebrated at the Goodwood Festival

2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed

June 30, 2012 at 8:33 am by
28 comments

A huge collection of Formula 1 Lotuses appear at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

They include some of the most innovative, radical and successful cars in F1 history.

Game-changers like the monocoque 25, Cosworth DFV-sporting 49 (the very chassis which won its first F1 race at Zandvoort in Jim Clark’s hands) and modern-looking 72 are cheek-by-jowl with some of Colin Chapman’s more unusual creations.

The turbine-powered 56B, unraced 58 and banned 88B also feature.

Several post-Chapman era cars are also on show, including a 97T campaigned by Ayrton Senna in 1985 and a V12 Lamborghini-powered 102.

A handful of non-F1 cars are on show including a prototype IndyCar built in 1986 but never raced.

Here are pictures of the many Lotuses on display:

Goodwood Festival of Speed

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Images © F1 Fanatic

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28 comments on F1 Lotuses celebrated at the Goodwood Festival

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    Randy (@randy) said on 30th June 2012, 8:50

    What an awesome collection.

    It’s great to see how our understanding of physics and aerodynamics evolved through the years.

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      TimG (@timg) said on 30th June 2012, 10:20

      It’s great to see how our understanding of physics and aerodynamics evolved through the years.

      Not to mention our understanding of material science, which has allowed us to exploit our understanding of physics and aerodynamics. Development and understanding of new materials like titanium and carbon fibre has been responsible for many of the advances seen in F1 over the decades.

      Aerodynamics dictates tighter packaging, but stronger, stiffer, lighter, more heat resistant materials is what actually makes it work.

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        Deepak Singh (@deepaksingh) said on 30th June 2012, 10:35

        How is aero related to material science? o_O

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          DamionShadows (@damionshadows) said on 30th June 2012, 10:55

          Without something as light and strong as carbon fiber, formula one cars wouldn’t have such tightly packed aerodynamics. Without the need for tighter packaging and safer race cars, we wouldn’t have carbon fiber.

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            Deepak Singh (@deepaksingh) said on 30th June 2012, 13:08

            Well, carbon fibre can be moulded into impossible shapes and made into aero-elements on the car, which does help improve the aero-effiiciency but there is no ‘direct’ correlation between the two. The properties of the ‘material’ used in the car does not govern its aero-efficiency, it only influences it by taking a shape in the form of a winf or a winglet etc.

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            DamionShadows (@damionshadows) said on 1st July 2012, 2:21

            @deepaksingh
            I meant without the strength of carbon fiber you wouldn’t be able to package things tightly, not that the material itself was the thing that helped aero. Steel, aluminum, and titanium are only so strong, so the smaller it gets compared to carbon fiber the same size, it will be weaker. Therefore, implementing carbon fiber into various parts of race cars made them lighter, stronger, and faster. IMO, the material carbon fiber had a direct relation to aero devices, packaging, and evolution.

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          pSynrg (@psynrg) said on 30th June 2012, 19:11

          As you’re going to be so pedantic you may also find that air – a critical component of aerodynamics – can be considered a material.

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    HoHum (@hohum) said on 30th June 2012, 8:56

    I love the purity of the mid 60′s designs, no wings, no widgets, a streamlined body, a wheel ,suspension and brakes at each corner and a engine and gearbox behind the driver, perfection, like a “naked” motorcycle.

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    Bullfrog (@bullfrog) said on 30th June 2012, 11:06

    Great stuff, some proper trailblazers in there including the original active-suspension car. Love the 29.

    Never knew they built an Indycar in the 80s – Ferrari made one too didn’t they? Now there’s a 2012 “Lotus” Indycar to go next to it in the museum. Are there any “new” Lotuses (since 2010) at Goodwood yet, and are they in the same display, or kept apart?

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    andae23 (@andae23) said on 30th June 2012, 12:26

    Of all the good-looking and succesful Lotuses, the car that really stands out for me is the 49, without the wings and without Gold Leaf messing up the livery. It’s just a breathtaking car to look at: the narrow front-end, and then the back where you can pretty much see the entire drivetrain. If only modern F1-cars could look like that…

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      matt90 (@matt90) said on 1st July 2012, 11:45

      I personally love the 49B and C. I love seeing a 60s F1 car on steroids, from that exciting time at the beginning of the aero era, and I also adore the gold leaf livery.

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    HoolyF1 (@hoolyf1) said on 30th June 2012, 12:46

    The 72E and 76 are not lookers……..

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    Max Jacobson (@vettel1) said on 30th June 2012, 14:08

    So many great and ingenious cars in this gathering of Lotuses; think how insanely fast modern F1 cars would be had some of these technologies (such as ground effects) not be banned. It would be frightening!

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    George (@george) said on 30th June 2012, 14:27

    The 12 looks so scary to drive, makes you realise why they preferred not to wear seatbelts back then…

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    A-Safieldin (@a-safieldin) said on 30th June 2012, 18:56

    Hey Keith I’m not sure that the car labeled Lotus 80 is right. I think you’ll find its probably a Lotus 81

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  9. TED BELL said on 30th June 2012, 19:04

    I tip my hat to the genious of Coling Chapman.

    Few have or will ever accomplish what he did during his time on this good planet. The history of the sport is ripe with Chapman creations and for me the best are the Lotus 49 and the Lotus 79. Hard to pick just those as his generations of amazing cars are rich in the spirit, the history and the wealth of the sport. Noting all the greats who rose to the occasion with his cars and those greats whose time ended too soon seeking the path to glory.

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    pSynrg (@psynrg) said on 30th June 2012, 19:14

    Come to iRacing folks where there is a wonderful simulation of the Lotus 79 and with a fanatical following. Soon to be joined by the Lotus 49!

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    xeroxpt (@) said on 1st July 2012, 0:07

    Who else has a small model of the 77? I dont know why but almost all of my models arent really from the most well known champions, guess my kid colection is made of the cousins of the greatest cars.

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      xeroxpt (@) said on 1st July 2012, 0:11

      my mistake i have a model of the 78 (more beautiful in my opinion) which was better than the 77 but anyways the 79 was more relevant.

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    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 1st July 2012, 11:56

    I love the diffuser on that 102, looks so raw. The 94T sports a pretty good stacked rear-wing as well.

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