The Lotus 41 was a Lotus Formula 3 and

Formula 2 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 re ...

racing car which ran between 1966 - 1968. John Joyce,

Bowin Cars Bowin Cars was an Australia, Australian designer and manufacturer of motor racing cars from 1968 to 1976. The company was founded by John Joyce (car designer), John Vincent Joyce (1938–2002), a successful designer and builder of racing cars and ...

founder, was the Lotus chief designer and was assisted by Dave Baldwin. They started with a clean sheet of paper. The chassis was a welded tubular steel space frame. The racing classes of this period imposed minimum weight requirements, so steel could be used in place of aluminium without a weight penalty. The most notable feature of the new design was the extensive use of stressed steel panels in the bulkheads, welded steel around the footwell and the instrument panel, a welded sheet of steel surrounding the driver's shoulder, and a double-sided steel cradle surrounding the gearbox. Floors were also welded for additional stiffness. Another clever design feature of the Type 41 was the use of a rear bulkhead as an oil overflow collector. Even the front oil tank had its overflow routed through a labyrinthine path using chassis tubes all the way to the back. The chassis of the Formula 2 Type 41 was also considered as the bases for a possible sports-racing car, using the Type 868 V8 engine of 500 bhp, Ludvigsen, Colin Chapman, p. 59 although nothing eventually came of these plans.

References

{{Lotus 41 Formula Two cars Formula Three cars Tasman Series cars Open wheel racing cars