Lotus 19

Last updated

Lotus 19
BILD5716wp.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Lotus Cars
Production1960–1962
Designer Colin Chapman
Body and chassis
Class Group 4 sports car
Body style Fiberglass non-stressed
Powertrain
Engine Coventry Climax FPF
Dimensions
Wheelbase 95 in (2,413 mm)
Length141 in (3,581 mm)
Width60.5 in (1,537 mm)
Height31 in (787 mm)
Curb weight 1,000 lb (454 kg)-1,240 lb (562 kg) (dry)
Chronology
Predecessor Lotus 15
Successor Lotus 30

The Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo is a mid-engine sports-racing car designed by Colin Chapman of Lotus and built from 1960 until 1962.

Contents

Lotus 19

The 19 is a mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports racer with a fiberglass body over a space frame, originally designed with 1.5 - 2.75L Coventry Climax FPF engine built for Grand Prix cars, mated to Lotus' own five-speed sequential transaxle nicknamed 'Queerbox' which gave a lot of problems on the Lotus 15, but was improved in its reliability for the Lotus 18. American-engined examples mostly had a Colotti transaxle.

Chapman named the car Monte Carlo to honor Stirling Moss for his win at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix. Lotus' first F1 victory. This is said to have mimicked and declared competition against the Cooper Monaco, which was named after a win at Monaco in 1958.

19B

Towards the end of 1963, John Klug, founder of Pacesetter Homes Racing, commissioned Lotus to build a special 19 to be Ford V8 powered. Ford's new lightweight iron block 289 c.i. engine was chosen over Oldsmobile's smaller aluminum V8. Roy Campbell finished the car in southern California. Dan Gurney, who had enjoyed considerable success at the wheel of the Arciero Brothers Lotus 19-Climax as the driver.

Because of its unique specification, it was known as the 19B, the only 19 with this designation. Originally delivered in red livery, the car first appeared at Nassau in December 1963. In 1964 it was the fastest sports car in the world, but the car's weak spot was its Colotti transaxle, the failure of which led to a number of retirements. By mid-1965 it was obsolete. It continued racing in southern California and eventually dropped out of sight. Wayne Linden of Roseville, California, found it in a semi trailer waiting to be turned into a dune buggy. He restored it to its early-1964 configuration, except for the Colotti, and ran it in mostly Cobra club events. He sold it to Gordon and Nancy Gimble. Today the car regularly appears at vintage car events in the US and may be on display at Cobra Experience museum in Martinez, Calif.

Chassis numbers

There were seventeen Lotus 19s built, however many were wrecked and some were completely rebuilt.

ChassisOriginal ownerMotor
950 British Racing Partnership 2.5 Climax
951Arciero Brothers2.5 Climax
952 British Racing Partnership sold to Team Rosebud2.0 Climax/Ferrari V-12 3.0 in 1963
953 British Racing Partnership 2.5 Climax
954J. Frank Harrison2.5 Climax later as Harrison Special-289 Ford
955 Jack Nethercutt 2.5 Climax
956Charles Vogele2.5 Climax changed to 2.0 Climax for hillclimbs
957Tom CarstensEmpty - 3.5 Buick fitted changed to Chevy V8
958Roy Schechter2.5 Climax
959 Peter Ryan 2.5 Climax
960Robert Publicker1.5 Climax
961Harry Zweifel2.0 Climax for hillclimbs
962Rod CarvethEmpty - 3.5 Buick fitted
963Henry Olds/Bob ColombosianEmpty - 3.5 Buick fitted
964John Coundley2.5 Climax
965 Mecom Racing Team empty - 2.0 Climax fitted changed to 3.5 Buick
966John Klug289 Ford

Racing victories

RaceCircuitDriver
1961 Canadian Grand Prix Mosport Park Peter Ryan
1962 Daytona 3 Hours [1] Daytona International Speedway Dan Gurney
1962 Nassau Trophy Race [2] Oakes Field Course Innes Ireland
1964 Australian Tourist Trophy Longford Circuit Frank Matich

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Cars</span> British manufacturer of sports and racing cars

Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England, which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Chapman</span> English design engineer (1928–1982)

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Gurney</span> American racing driver, constructor, and team owner (1931–2018)

Daniel Sexton Gurney was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney is the first of three drivers to have won races in sports cars (1958), Formula One (1962), NASCAR (1963), and Indy cars (1967), the other two being Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 804</span>

The Porsche 804 is a single-seat, open-wheeled racing car produced by Porsche to compete in Formula One (F1). It raced for a single season in 1962 in the 1½ litre formula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout</span> Car layout in automotive design

In automotive design, an RMR, or rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. Nowadays more frequently called 'RMR', to acknowledge that certain sporty or performance focused front-engined cars are also "mid-engined", by having the main engine mass behind the front axle, RMR layout cars were previously just called MR, or mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout), because the nuance between distinctly front-engined vs. front mid-engined cars often remained undiscussed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Allison</span> British racing driver

Henry Clifford Allison was a British racing driver from England, who participated in Formula One during seasons 1958 to 1961 for the Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud, Ferrari and UDT Laystall teams. He was born and died in Brough, Westmorland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All American Racers</span> American motor racing team and constructor

All American Racers is an American-licensed auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named Eagle. The Formula One team, based in the United Kingdom and using British-built Weslake engines was named Anglo American Racers. Under team manager Bill Dunne they set up shop in Rye, East Sussex. The team were adjacent to Harry Weslake's engine development plant and half a mile from Elva cars. They participated in 25 Grands Prix, entering a total of 34 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 30</span>

The Lotus 30 was a racing automobile, Colin Chapman's first attempt at a large displacement sports car racing machine following the success of the more conventional tube frame Lotus 19,19b and Lotus 23., it was designed by Colin Chapman and Martin Wade, and built in 1964. The Lotus 30 was raced in British races such as Guards Trophy, international races such as Nassau Speed Week that allowed FIA Group 4 "Sports Car" class of racing machines, and more importantly, in Can Am series. These were before the recognition and creation of Group 5, 6 and 7 categories by FIA in 1966. This explains why Lotus 30 and 40 came originally equipped with headlights, tail lights and a windshield wiper.

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.

Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particularly successful in electric vehicle transmission supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 18</span>

The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 23</span> Motor vehicle

The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a small-displacement sports racing car. Nominally a two-seater, it was purpose-built for FIA Group 4 racing in 1962–1963. Unlike its predecessors Lotus 15 and 17, the engine was mounted amidship behind the driver in the similar configuration developed on Lotus 19.

Eric Harrison Broadley MBE was a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He was arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola was involved with many high-profile projects in Formula One, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Broadley sold Lola to Martin Birrane in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Mk1</span>

The Eagle Mk1, commonly referred to as the Eagle T1G, was a Formula One racing car, designed by Len Terry for Dan Gurney's Anglo American Racers team. The Eagle, introduced for the start of the 1966 Formula One season, is often regarded as being one of the most beautiful Grand Prix cars ever raced at the top levels of international motorsport. Initially appearing with a 2.7L Coventry Climax inline 4-cylinder engine, the car was designed around a 3.0L Gurney-Weslake V12 which was introduced after its first four races. In the hands of team boss Gurney, the Eagle-Weslake won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix, making Dan Gurney only the second driver at the time, and one of only three to date, to win a Formula One Grand Prix in a car of their own construction. Excluding the Indianapolis 500, that win in Belgium still stands as the only win for a USA-built car as well as one of only two wins of an American-licensed constructor in Formula One. It was also the first win for an American constructor in a Grand Prix race since the Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 16</span>

The Lotus 16 was the second single-seat racing car designed by Colin Chapman, and was built by his Lotus Cars manufacturing company for the Team Lotus racing squad. The Lotus 16 was constructed to compete in both the Formula One and Formula Two categories, and was the first Lotus car to be constructed for Formula One competition. Its design carried over many technological features of the first Lotus single-seater, the Lotus 12, as well as incorporating ideas which Chapman had been developing while working on the Vanwall racing cars. Indeed, such was the visual similarity between the Vanwall and Lotus 16 designs that the Lotus was often dubbed the "mini Vanwall" by the contemporary motor sport press. Although the Lotus 16 only scored five Formula One World Championship points in the three seasons during which it was used, its raw pace pointed the way for its more successful successors, the Lotus 18 and 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 15</span> Motor vehicle

The Lotus 15 is a front-engine sports racing car designed by Colin Chapman of Lotus, built from 1958 until 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 29</span>

The Lotus 29 was a British racing car built by Team Lotus for the 1963 Indianapolis 500. It was their first attempt at the event and the two cars which were entered finished second and seventh in the hands of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. Although they were not the first rear-engined cars built for the category, they were first to prove that the configuration was definitely a potential race-winner, and that the days of the big and heavy front-engined roadsters were numbered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BRM P57</span>

The BRM P57 was a Formula One racing car built to race in Formula One from 1962 to 1965.

Colotti Trasmissioni is an Italian mechanical engineering firm located in Modena, Italy. It specializes in gears, limited-slip differentials and transmission systems for racing cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerex Special</span>

The Zerex Special was a sports racing car. Originally a Cooper T53 built for the 1961 United States Grand Prix, it was rebuilt for usage in American sports car racing, and featured open-top bodywork. Initially using a 2.75-litre version of the Coventry Climax FPF straight-four engine, it later used a Traco-Oldsmobile 3.5-litre V8. The car won numerous races throughout its four-year career, being driven by drivers such as McLaren and Roger Penske.

References