UK carmaker Lotus has a fine history in motorsport. Since its founding more than 70 years ago as Lotus Engineering, racing was a focus and found great success in competitions, including Formula One, for decades.
In 1970, the company’s founder, Colin Chapman, looked to enter a company car – the Type 66 – into the then high-profile Can-Am Series in North America. However, Lotus’ success in, and focus on, Formula One meant that the design that Lotus draughtsman Geoff Ferris came up with never made it into production, and never went beyond technical drawings and scale models.
This year – the 75th since Chapman built his first competition car – Lotus has gone back, dusted off those drawings and premiered the ‘new’ car, confirming the Type 66 track-only racer will go into production. Just 10 examples of this ‘rediscovered and reimagined’ Lotus V8 will be built.
Adorned in heritage-inspired livery, the Type 66 is a retro beauty, and as one of the most exclusive projects Lotus has ever undertaken, it will have a price tag to match – each example will cost in excess of £1million ($AU1.96 million).
The Type 66 has benefitted from more than 50 years of technical progress since it was first sketched, and in order to conform to modern safety standards, the original designs were, Lotus says, ‘delicately reinterpreted.’
New features include a modernised driver compartment, inboard fuel cell, sequential transmission and anti-stall system, and everything is contained in a full carbon fibre bodyshell.
The company says more than 1000 hours of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) work has gone into the Type 66 program, resulting in downforce in excess of 800kg at 150mph (241km/h). That’s far more than the original underbody design would have been able to manage, Lotus says, enhancing both driver safety and vehicle performance for quicker lap times. Lotus claims that the Type 66 now matches the dynamic performance and lap times of a modern GT3 race car.
At the heart of the Type 66 is a period-representative V8 push-rod engine. It’s mid-mounted and tuned to produce more than 830bhp (619kW). Modern components include a forged crank, rod and pistons, and the there’s more than 746Nm og torque being generated.
Other modern features include an EPASS motorsport power steering column, a sequential racing gearbox, a race ABS braking system, an anti-stall multi-plate clutch and a fixed rollover bar.
“The Type 66 perfectly blends the past and present,” said Simon Lane, Executive Director, Lotus Advanced Performance. “It takes drivers back in time, to the iconic design, sound and pure theatre of motorsport more than 50 years ago, with added 21st century performance and safety. This is a truly unique project and in our 75th anniversary year it’s the perfect gift from Lotus to fans worldwide and to a handful of customers.”
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (September 2023)
4 October 2023