The Lotus 21 was a
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 designed by
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 ...
. It was a mid-engined design using a tubular
spaceframe
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 ...
structure skinned with fibreglass panels, of a more advanced build than seen in 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 ...
. Powered by the 1.5-litre
Coventry Climax FPF 4-cylinder engine, it used disc brakes all round.
Used by the works
Lotus team and the privateer
Rob Walker Racing Team
Rob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and (along with ...
in 1961, the 21 was the first works Lotus to win a Formula One Grand Prix, in the hands of
Innes Ireland at the
1961 United States Grand Prix. (Previous victories were taken by Rob Walker's team). Customer teams continued to use it up to 1965. It was soon rendered obsolete by the
Lotus 24 and the
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
Lotus 25
The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in Formula One. In the hands of Jim Clark it took 14 World Championship ...
introduced for the
1962 Formula One season
The 1962 Formula One season was the 16th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for F1 ManufacturersFIA Yearbook 1974, Grey Section, pages 118–121 which were cont ...
.
Scale models and die cast
*Meccano
Dinky Toys
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.
Dinky Toys were am ...
; No. 241 (production 1963–1969), approximately
O scale
O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...
(1:44).
Complete Formula One World Championship results
1 17 points were scored using the Lotus 21, the other 15 points were scored using other Lotus models
2 All points were scored using other Lotus models
References
{{F1 cars 1965
21