The Lotus 12 was a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

and

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

Design

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...

's first foray into

single-seater An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

racing, the 12 appeared in 1957. It featured a number of important innovations Chapman would use on later models. To better use the power of the

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...

engine, it was designed, as usual, for low weight and low drag, relying on a

space frame In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...

. It placed the driver as low as possible, reducing the height of

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

tunnel by way of a "conceptually brilliant" five-speed sequential-shift

transaxle A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the ...

located in the back. This transaxle was designed by

Richard Ansdale Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

and

Harry Mundy Harry Mundy (1915–1988) was a British car engine designer and motoring magazine editor. He was educated at King Henry VIII School in Coventry and went on to serve his apprenticeship with Alvis. He left them in 1936 to join English Racing Autom ...

. The gearbox had a (long-undiagnosed) oil starvation problem, thus earned the nickname "

Queerbox The Queerbox was the nickname for an early sequential manual transaxle used by Lotus racing cars of the late-1950s and early-1960s, and was very similar in design and operation to a motorcycle gearbox. It was infamously unreliable. Lotus Twelv ...

" for its unreliability. Although the first two examples of Lotus 12 had De Dion rear suspension, it also introduced a new suspension configuration with what came to be called "

Chapman strut The Chapman strut is a design of independent rear suspension used for light cars, particularly sports and racing cars. It takes its name from, and is best known for its use by, Colin Chapman of Lotus. The characteristic feature of the Chapman ...

s" in the rear, essentially a

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...

with a fixed length halfshaft with

universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges lo ...

s on the ends utilised as a suspension arm.Setright, pp. 1225–6 Lotus 12 was the first Lotus to be fitted with the iconic

wobbly-web wheel The wobbly-web wheel is a form of metal disc wheel where the disc is 'wobbled' into spokes. This provides a stiffer, lightweight wheel. Wobbly-web wheels are best known through their iconic use on Lotus racing cars of the late 1950s and 1960s. ...

s. Reflecting Chapman's emphasis on engineering for lightness, these were cast in

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

alloy, a kind of crimped cylinder, resulting in minimum material and maximum strength, without the weaknesses induced by slots in conventional designs.Setright, p. 1225 Despite its engineering advances, the 12 was not a success in F1. In F2, the car won the class in the mixed F1/F2

1958 BRDC International Trophy The 10th BRDC International Trophy was a auto racing, motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 3 May 1958 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. The race was run over 50 laps of the Grand Prix circuit, and was won by British driver Peter Collin ...

, driven by

Cliff Allison Henry Clifford "Cliff" Allison (8 February 1932 – 7 April 2005) was a British racing driver from England, who participated in Formula One during seasons to for the Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud, Ferrari and UDT Laystall teams. He was bo ...

, but in spite of a small number of podiums, was usually drowned in a sea of Coopers.

Gallery

Lotus 12 Donington.jpg, Lotus 12 in the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition in 2007 Lotus 12.jpg, Lotus 12, Chassis No. 353 in 2010 Lotus 12 Chassis No 353 of 1958.JPG, Lotus 12, Chassis No. 353 in 2013

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.) All points scored using the

Lotus 16 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 Tw ...

. * F2 driver

Notes

Sources

*Setright, L. J. K. ''Lotus: The golden mean'', in Northey, Tom (ed.) ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, pp. 1221–34. {{F1 cars 1959 Formula Two cars 12