Lotus 20 was a
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...
car built by
Lotus for the 1961 season as a successor to the
Lotus 18
The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One.
Overview
Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only ...
.
The chassis was a spaceframe, clothed in fibreglass bodywork. It had front double wishbone suspension, but the rear had a lower wishbone with the driveshaft being fixed length and therefore used as a top link. Originally fitted with Alfin
drum brake
A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum.
The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...
s at all four corners, it was soon upgraded to
discs in front and inboard drums at the rear. Equipped as standard with the
Cosworth Mk.IV engine and with either a
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
Dauphine gearbox or
Hewland
Hewland is a British engineering company, founded in 1957 by Mike Hewland, which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland currently employ 130 people at their Maidenhead facility and have diversified into a variety of markets being particul ...
-modified
VW box.
Compared with the Lotus 18, the 20 had a much reduced frontal area and lower centre of gravity, aided by the fact the driving position was reclined so the driver was nearly lying down, compared with being more upright in the Lotus 18.
A 1962 Lotus 20 can be found hanging from the ceiling on the first floor at the
Canadian Automotive Museum
The Canadian Automotive Museum is an automobile museum located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum features many Canadian-made cars as the automobile industry, specifically the Canadian division of the General Motors, known as General Motors Ca ...
, located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lotus 20B
The 20B was mostly the same as the 20, but with
sway bar
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspension (vehicle), suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposi ...
and stock inboard drum brakes in the rear. Occasionally, 20Bs ran with
Lotus TwinCam
The Lotus-Ford Twin Cam is an inline-four petrol engine developed by Lotus for the 1962 Lotus Elan. A few early examples displaced 1.5 litres, but the majority were 1.55-litre (1557ml) engines. It used a Ford 116E iron cylinder block and a ne ...
, and therefore didn't race as a
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...
, but as Formula Libre and in other series such as the Tasman series.
A Lotus 20 was entered in the
1965 South African Grand Prix
The 1965 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Prince George Circuit, East London on 1 January 1965. It was race 1 of 10 in both the 1965 World Championship of Drivers and the 1965 International Cup for Formula One Manufac ...
for
Dave Charlton
David William Charlton (27 October 1936 – 24 February 2013) was a racing driver from South Africa.
Charlton was born in Brotton, Yorkshire. He participated in 13 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 January 1965. He sco ...
but failed to pre-qualify.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
References
20
Formula Junior cars
Tasman Series cars
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