Lotus 18

The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula One, Formula Two, and Formula Junior, which was used from 1960 until 1966 in F1.

Lotus 18

Lotus 18 Formula One car
Category	Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Junior
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman
Predecessor	16
Successor	21
Technical specifications
Chassis	Steel spaceframe
Suspension (front)	Double wishbone, with inboard coilover spring/damper units.
Suspension (rear)	Lower wishbone, top link, and radius rod suspension, with outboard coilover spring/damper units.
Engine	Coventry Climax FPF 2467 cc / 2497 cc / 1499.8 cc mid-mounted
Transmission	Lotus (Ansdale-Mundy) 5-speed sequential manual
Tyres	Dunlop
Competition history
Notable entrants	Team Lotus Rob Walker Racing Team UDT-Laystall Racing Team Equipe Nationale Belge
Notable drivers	Innes Ireland Stirling Moss Alan Stacey John Surtees Jim Clark Trevor Taylor
Debut	1960 Argentine Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 23 4 9 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

Overview

Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the 12 and 16. It was introduced for the 1960 F1, F2 and FJ seasons, with about 27 examples of the F1 and F2 versions and 110 of the FJ versions. As a stop-gap before the introduction of the 18's successor models, the Lotus 20 for F2/FJ and 21 for F1, some 18 chassis were rebodied with 21 skins to create the interim Lotus 18/21 hybrid derivative.

The 18 was replaced by the Lotus 21 in Formula One and the Lotus 20 in Formula Junior in 1961.

Design

The car was a classic Chapman design, being extremely light and simple; the body was made up of lightweight panels bolted to heavily-triangulated tube frame^[1] (spaceframe) chassis. Thus the car was rigid, strong and light, maintaining the 16's forward weight distribution despite the engine moving behind the driver.

Lotus 18 Formula Junior

It was powered initially by a 2,467 cc Coventry Climax FPF (3.70" x 3.50") four cylinder DOHC engine inherited from the Grand Prix version of Lotus 16.^[2] In 1960, the FPF was enlarged slightly to 2497 cc (3.70" x 90 mm), which produced 239 hp (178 kW) at 6,750 rpm from a weight of only 290 lbs (132 kg)^[2] and had a wide torque range.^[2]

The 2.5 litre engine was replaced by a 1.5 Litre (82 mm x 71 mm) Climax FPF Mk.II with new Formula One engine rules in 1961. The Formula Junior variant used a 998 cc Cosworth Mk.III or a Downton BMC "A" Series with 948cc displacement. The Formula Junior version also used smaller gauge chassis tubing and Alfin drum brakes on all four corners.

Further contributing to the weight advantage was the adoption of lightweight sequential manual transmission originally developed for Lotus 12 by Richard Ansdale and Harry Mundy incorporating the unique sequential-shifting motorcycle gearbox, and a ZF limited-slip differential in a common Magnesium alloy housing to form a transaxle, which also provided the mounting points for inboard rear brakes. This gearbox had been improved in its reliability for Lotus 15 and 16 in 1957-58 by Keith Duckworth, who had just joined Lotus as a gearbox engineer.

Although Porsche in Austria pioneered the sequential-shifting gearbox for racing cars, with the Type 360 Cisitalia, the idea was relatively new and the original transaxle in the Lotus 12, which was essentially an enlarged motorcycle gearbox, combined with ZF limited-slip differential, had gained the nickname "Queerbox", or "Gearbox-full of neutrals" for its poor reliability. With Duckworth having left to form Cosworth in 1958, Mike Costin, who, despite being the co-founder of Cosworth, remained with Lotus for a while longer, adopted the improved Queerbox in the Lotus 16, into a configuration for directly mounting it behind the engine for Lotus 18 with dedicated oil scavenge and pressure feed pumps, further improving its reliability while retaining the small and light design.

The Formula Junior version utilized the Renault 4-speed transaxle, and both of the Lotus transaxle and this Renault 'box had the gear shifter lever on the left side of the driver. An optional gearbox was the VW gearbox with Hewland 4 speed gears. This last gearbox has the added advantage of being able to change gear ratios from behind the gearbox without removing the gearbox from the car.

The front suspension was by double-wishbone arms with an outboard coil/damper unit. Unlike Chapman's former designs where the ends of the anti-roll bar acted as a leg of the upper wishbone, the 18 had a separate front anti-roll bar. The rear suspension was by upper and lower radius arms with a reversed lower wishbone, where the fixed-length half-shaft acted as the upper-link. The coil/damper unit was also mounted outboard in the rear, and the 18 sometimes ran with and without the rear anti-roll bar.

In order to capitalize on the weight advantage, Chapman designed a light, sleek machine only 28 inches (71 cm) high (excluding windscreen) and weighing just 980 lbs (440 kg).^[3] To help facilitate this, the driver was placed in a semi-reclining position,^[2] pioneered about a decade before by Gustav Baumm of NSU.^[4]

Racing history

The Lotus 18 had remarkably good handling with a unique suspension system which drastically reduced weight transfer and body roll in cornering. Shortly, the Lotus 18 was proving to be faster than any car Grand Prix racing had ever seen,^[5] eclipsing even the legendary Auto Unions and being widely copied. It was also built as a two-seat sports-racer called the Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo.^[2]

Stirling Moss in Rob Walker's Lotus 18 at the 1961 German Grand Prix

The car took Lotus' first F1 victory, by Innes Ireland in the non-championship Glover Trophy, on 8 April 1960.^[6] Its first World Championship win happened six weeks later, on 29 May, albeit by privateer Rob Walker, who leased the car from Chapman. Driven by Stirling Moss the car took a dominant win at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix. It was an early taste of things to come. Moss also won the United States Grand Prix at the end of the season helping Lotus finish second in the constructors' championship.

Moss repeated his win in a legendary race at Monaco the following year, beating off the more powerful and faster 'sharknose' Ferraris. He then won at the fearsome Nürburgring in changeable weather, while Innes Ireland took a third win in the USA to help Lotus finish second in the constructors' championship in 1961. The Lotus 18 was also notable for giving Jim Clark his first Grand Prix start in 1960.

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in 1960 was notable for Moss's accident in the Rob Walker 18 in practice which kept him from the race and the death of Alan Stacey when he left the track in his 18 apparently following a bird strike in the face.

Complete Formula One results

Championship results

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points	WCC
1960	Team Lotus	Climax Straight-4	D		ARG	MON	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	POR	ITA	USA	34	2nd
				Innes Ireland	6	9		2	Ret	7	3	6		2
				Jim Clark				Ret	5	5	16	3		16
				Ron Flockhart						6
				John Surtees		Ret					2	Ret		Ret
				Alan Stacey		Ret		Ret	Ret
	Rob Walker Racing Team			Stirling Moss		1		4	DNS			DSQ		1
	Taylor-Crawley Racing Team			Mike Taylor					DNS
	Jim Hall			Jim Hall										7
1961	Team Lotus	Climax Straight-4	D		MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA			32*	2nd
				Innes Ireland							Ret
				Trevor Taylor		13
	Rob Walker Racing Team			Stirling Moss	1	4	8	Ret	Ret	1		Ret
	UDT-Laystall Racing Team			Cliff Allison	8		DNS
				Henry Taylor	DNQ			10	Ret		11
				Juan Manuel Bordeu				DNS
				Masten Gregory							Ret	Ret
				Olivier Gendebien								11
				Lucien Bianchi				Ret	Ret
	Equipe Nationale Belge						Ret
				Willy Mairesse			Ret
	Scuderia Colonia			Michael May	Ret			11		DNS
				Wolfgang Seidel				DNS		17	Ret	Ret
	Camoradi International			Ian Burgess		DNS	DNS	14	14
	Tony Marsh			Tony Marsh			DNQ		Ret	15
	Tim Parnell			Tim Parnell					Ret		10
	Gerry Ashmore			Gerry Ashmore					Ret	16	Ret
	Louise Bryden-Brown			Tony Maggs					13	11
	J Frank Harrison			Lloyd Ruby								Ret
	Jim Hall			Jim Hall								Ret
	J Wheeler Autosport			Peter Ryan								9
	Prince Gaetano Starrabba	Maserati Straight-4		Gaetano Starrabba							Ret				0	-
1962	UDT-Laystall Racing Team	Climax Straight-4	D		NED	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	RSA		36*	2nd
				Masten Gregory	Ret
	Scuderia Repubblica di Venezia			Nino Vaccarella		DNQ
	Emeryson Cars			John Campbell-Jones			11
	Equipe Nationale Belge			Lucien Bianchi			9			16
	Ecurie Excelsior			Jay Chamberlain					15	DNQ	DNQ
	Gerry Ashmore			Gerry Ashmore							DNQ
	Scuderia Jolly Club			Ernesto Prinoth							DNQ
	John Dalton			Tony Shelly					Ret	DNQ
		BRM V8									DNQ				1*	8th
1963	Tim Parnell	Climax Straight-4	D		MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	MEX	RSA	54*	1st
				Tim Parnell						DNQ
				André Pilette						DNQ
	André Pilette										DNQ
	Kurt Kuhnke	Borgward Straight-4		Kurt Kuhnke						DNQ					0	-
1965	Clive Puzey Motors	Climax Straight-4	D		RSA	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA	MEX	54*	1st
				Clive Puzey	DNPQ

* Includes points scored by other Lotus models

Non-Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1960	Team Lotus	Climax Straight-4	D		GLV	INT	SIL	LOM	OUL
				Innes Ireland	1	1	Ret	1	Ret
				John Surtees		Ret	6	Ret	Ret
				Alan Stacey		4
				Jim Clark			Ret	2	Ret
	Taylor-Crawley Racing Team			Mike Taylor		Ret
	RRC Walker Racing Team			Stirling Moss					1
	Vandervell Products Ltd.	Vanwall L4		Tony Brooks				DNS
	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati Straight-4		Ian Burgess					Ret
1961	Team Lotus	Climax Straight-4	D		LOM	GLV	PAU	BRX	VIE	AIN	SYR	NAP	LON	SIL	SOL	KAN	DAN	MOD	FLG	OUL	LEW	VAL	RAN	NAT	RSA
				Jim Clark	6		1	Ret		9	6						7
				Innes Ireland	10	5		Ret		10	Ret				9	Ret
				Trevor Taylor			Ret			19				9						Ret
	Rob Walker Racing Team			Stirling Moss		4		7	1		8			1				1
	UDT Laystall Racing Team														Ret	1	1							2	2
				Cliff Allison	2	8		5		15			8
				Henry Taylor	4	6		Ret		Ret			2	8			4	Ret		8
				Carl Hammarlund												Ret
				Masten Gregory													Ret	NC		5			Ret	Ret	Ret
				Jo Bonnier										11
	Scuderia Colonia						2
				Wolfgang Seidel			Ret	Ret	2		11		5	Ret				DNQ	Ret	8
				Maurice Trintignant				DNS
				Michael May						Ret				Ret	Ret
	Tony Marsh			Tony Marsh		7		3					3	6
	Louise Bryden-Brown			Dan Gurney						14				5
	Camoradi International			Ian Burgess			Ret	6		DSQ		4
				Lloyd Casner		DNS				DNS					DNS
	RHH Parnell The Three Musketeers			Tim Parnell	7				6	Ret		8		7		5	5	DNQ	7	Ret	3
				André Pilette				Ret
				Gerry Ashmore					Ret	11		2
	Gerry Ashmore																				DNA
	Scuderia Dolomiti			Ernesto Prinoth					3		DNS	10							Ret			2
	Jack Holme			Jack Holme																			Ret	WD
	Prince G. Starabba	Maserati Straight-4		Giorgio Scarlatti														Ret
				Gaetano Starrabba																		Ret
	Syd van der Vyver	Alfa Romeo Straight-4		Syd van der Vyver																			7	5	6
	Equipe Judette	Ford Straight-4		Bob van Niekerk																			9	Ret	9
	Bernard Podmore			Bernard Podmore																			Ret	WD	Ret
	Neville Lederle			Neville Lederle																				Ret
	Ecurie Wolman	Borgward Straight-4		Helmut Menzler																			Ret	Ret	10
1962	UDT-Laystall Racing Team	Climax Straight-4	D		CAP	BRX	LOM	LAV	GLV	PAU	AIN	INT	NAP	MAL	CPL	RMS	SOL	KAN	MED	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
				Masten Gregory	4	Ret	Ret		5		Ret			5
				Innes Ireland		3	Ret		3		Ret
				Stirling Moss			7		Ret
	Rob Walker Racing Team					Ret
				Maurice Trintignant						1		Ret
				Graham Hill										3
	Scuderia Republica di Venezia			Nino Vaccarella		DNQ				6		Ret							Ret
				Colin Davis										Ret
				Carlo Abate												Ret
	RHH Parnell			Tim Parnell			Ret				9	Ret	7
				John Dalton										Ret
				Gary Hocking															Ret	Ret
	John Dalton			Tony Shelly			5	3	6		7	Ret	6	8		Ret					5
	Ecurie Excelsior			Jay Chamberlain				5	Ret		DSQ	16	DNQ		Ret				Ret			9
				Olle Nygren														Ret
	Gerry Ashmore			Gerry Ashmore				Ret	9												8
				Graham Eden											Ret						Ret
	Speed Sport			David Piper							11	17	8		7
	A. Robinson & Sons			Philip Robinson																	Ret
	Walter Hansgen			Walt Hansgen																		Ret
	Jim Hall			Homer Rader																		8
	Jack Holme			Jack Holme																			DNQ	Ret
	Autosport Team Wolfgang Seidel			Günther Seiffert				Ret	WD		12		DNQ		Ret		NC		9		10
				Kurt Kuhnke						DNQ							Ret
	Kurt Kuhnke	Borgward Straight-4																DNA	DNA	DNA
	Ecurie Wolman			Helmut Menzler	10
	Vern McWilliams			Vern McWilliams																			DNQ	DNQ
	Prince G. Starabba	Maserati Straight-4		Gaetano Starrabba									Ret
	Syd van der Vyver	Alfa Romeo Straight-4		Syd van der Vyver	7
	Bill Scheepers			Bill Scheepers																				DNQ
	Equipe Judette	Ford Straight-4		Bob van Niekerk	11
	Bernard Podmore			Bernard Podmore	13
	Neville Lederle			Neville Lederle	14
	Ted Lanfear			Peter van Niekerk																			DNQ	DNQ
1963	A. Robinson & Sons	Climax Straight-4	D		LOM	GLV	PAU	IMO	SYR	AIN	INT	ROM	SOL	KAN	MED	AUT	OUL	RAN
				Brian Robinson	Ret
				Philip Robinson		8					Ret
	RHH Parnell												NC
				Tim Parnell			7			DSQ	Ret	9
				Ron Carter									Ret	WD
				André Pilette			Ret						12	10		9	12
	André Pilette									DNS	DNS
	Ernesto Prinoth			Ernesto Prinoth				8
	Scuderia Jolly Club															Ret
	Jock Russell			Jock Russell						Ret
	Jack Holme			Jack Holme														Ret
	Prince G. Starabba	Maserati Straight-4		Gaetano Starrabba				Ret	6			5			DNQ
	Kurt Kuhnke	Borgward Straight-4		Kurt Kuhnke								DNQ	Ret	Ret
				Ernst Maring								DNQ	Ret	Ret
1964	Jock Russell	Climax Straight-4	D		DMT	NWT	SYR	AIN	INT	SOL	MED	RAN
				Jock Russell	Ret
	Clive Puzey Motors			Clive Puzey								8
	Kurt Kuhnke	Borgward Straight-4		Ernst Maring						Ret
				Joachim Diel						Ret
1965	Scuderia Nord-Ouest	Climax Straight-4	D		ROC	SYR	SMT	INT	MED	RAN
				Colin Davis					DNQ
	Clive Puzey Motors			Clive Puzey						9
1966	Clive Puzey Motors	Climax Straight-4	D		RSA	SYR	INT	OUL
				Clive Puzey	7

References

• Lotus Formula Juniors 1960-1963 - Robinshaw & Bouckley

1. Setright, L.J.K., "Lotus: The Golden Mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p.1228.
2. Setright, p.1228
3. This was virtually the same as the 16 with, oddly enough, more weight actually on the front wheels. Setright, p.1228.
4. Setright, p.1230.
5. Setright, p.1229.
6. http://www.statsf1.com/saisons/gphc/gp.aspx?idGp=169&LG=1%5B‍%5D