The Lotus Story Part 4 - The Final Chapman Years

The Final Chapman Years

Overview

Colin Chapman’s Team Lotus were the technological front-runners of the Seventies and Lotus enjoyed many more GP successes with racing legends Rindt, Fittipaldi, Peterson, Ickx and Andretti. Volume Four in the Lotus Story details the development of the Type 72 - the most successful GP car of all time until 1986 (when McLaren’s TAG Turbo MP4/2 took over its record), the lighter and stronger John Player Special 9, the aerodynamic Lotus 78, which showed the way ahead in producing a true ‘grounds-effect’ car and the ‘Black Beauty’ Lotus 79, a genuine classic whose innovative technology - building upon that of the Lotus 78 - totally redirected the course of all racing car design. Rindt was the 1970 World Champion, Fittipaldi 1972 Champion and Andretti lifted the crown in 1978 for Lotus and these successes brought the team a further three Constructors Championships. After this success in the Seventies, a downwards trend followed which Senna, Mansell and others could not reverse.