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Originally Posted by Perfectlap
yes he wanted his car to die and his drivers didn't want to die in them!
He made them so light that they came apart and were suspect in the crash worthy department, even by the abysmal safety standards before this ultra safe era of long/narrow cars with huge crumple zones, onboard fire extinguishers,etc.
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Hi,
That's not true, when I said
Die, I meant mechanical failures - engine, gearbox.
Lotus were as robust on the track as any others, in fact safer than some what with the 1st monocoque chassis (Lotus 25), 1st mid-engined car (Lotus 18), Lotus 49 - 1st to have the engine as a stressed part of the chassis, Lotus 56 - the 1st Turbine powered Race Car - the STP Special (Indy), Lotus 60 - 1st mid-engine 4 wheel drive Race Car, Lotus 72 - 1st Aerodynamic Car, .
True Jochen Rindt died in a crash when a Brake shaft broke - common and not one of Chapman's
lightened parts. Jim Clark was killed driving a Lotus at Hockenheim in a non-championship Formula Two event, but was attributed to tire failure, not a fault of the driver or the car...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99