Lotus 41

Last updated

Lotus 41
Lotus 41B
Lotus 41C
Lotus41.jpg
A Lotus 41B on display
Overview
Manufacturer Lotus Components Ltd.
Production1966-1968
Designer John Joyce
Body and chassis
Class Formula Two, Formula Three
Body style Open wheel
Powertrain
Engine 997 cc Ford Cosworth MAE Straight 4
Transmission Hewland Mk VI 4 speed Manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 89.9 inches
Kerb weight 420 KG
Chronology
Predecessor Lotus 39
Successor Lotus 59

The Lotus 41 was a Lotus Formula 3 and Formula 2 racing car which ran from 1966 - 1968.

John Joyce, Bowin Cars founder, was the Lotus chief designer and was assisted by Dave Baldwin. They started with a clean sheet of paper. The chassis was a welded tubular steel space frame. [1] The racing classes of this period imposed minimum weight requirements, so steel could be used in place of aluminium without a weight penalty. [2] The most notable feature of the new design was the extensive use of stressed steel panels in the bulkheads, welded steel around the footwell and the instrument panel, a welded sheet of steel surrounding the driver's shoulder, and a double-sided steel cradle surrounding the gearbox. Floors were also welded for additional stiffness.

Another clever design feature of the Type 41 was the use of a rear bulkhead as an oil overflow collector. Even the front oil tank had its overflow routed through a labyrinthine path using chassis tubes all the way to the back.

The chassis of the Formula 2 Type 41 was also considered as the bases for a possible sports-racing car, using the Type 868 V8 engine of 500 bhp, [1] [3] although nothing eventually came of these plans.

References

  1. 1 2 Ludvigsen, Karl (2010). Colin Chapman: Inside the Innovator. Haynes Publishing. p. 57. ISBN   978-1-84425-413-2.
  2. Ludvigsen, Colin Chapman, p. 178
  3. Ludvigsen, Colin Chapman, p. 59