<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Chapman and his chief designer Maurice Philippe decided to retain much of the Lotus 56 chassis, which had worked so well in 1968. The stressed skin monocoque, double wishbone suspension and four-wheel drive system were carried over. The big difference was found in the engine compartment where the turbine was no longer found. Instead it boasted the latest Turbocharged Ford V8 engine, mounted with the tail forward to meet the mid-mounted gearbox and transfer case. A single Garrett-AiResearch Turbo mounted on top of the gearbox boosted the power of the 2.6 litre engine to a staggering 700 bhp. This made the new 64 the most powerful Lotus built to date. It had been developed alongside the similar 63 that was headed for Formula 1 duty.
Liveried in the striking orange STP colours three Lotus 64s were rolled out for the practice sessions. The cars could be distinguished by different coloured wings on the nose and tail. A fourth tub was available as a spare in case of accident. And an accident happened after one of the rear hubs failed on Andretti's example, sending him into the wall at an incredible speed. Up until then the new Lotus had been clocking as fast as the 56 had done in the previous edition, setting a new practice record. A quick investigation revealed that the hub had failed due to overheating, which was caused by a design flaw. There was no time to rectify the situation and Lotus withdrew from the race. Only suffering from minor facial burns, Andretti jumped into a Hawk-Ford to win the race.
What followed was a hard fought battle over the remaining three cars and at first also their engines. Granatelli wanted to get one of the cars for his son Vince to drive, but the negotiations between him and Chapman did not go very well. Eventually Chapman stormed out and famously announced 'Bring the cars back to Hethel. I will personally put a hack-saw through them, I will personally dig a hole and I will personally bury them.' The cars were indeed shipped back to England, but Chapman never picked up a power tool. Instead he stored the engine-less cars for many years in a shed on the company property. It was a sad end to Chapman's brief and at times successful fling with American single seater racing. Some twenty years later and after Chapman had passed away, Lotus built another Indy racer, but like its predecessor it was never raced. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Chapman and his chief designer Maurice Philippe decided to retain much of the Lotus 56 chassis, which had worked so well in 1968. The stressed skin monocoque, double wishbone suspension and four-wheel drive system were carried over. The big difference was found in the engine compartment where the turbine was no longer found. Instead it boasted the latest Turbocharged Ford V8 engine, mounted with the tail forward to meet the mid-mounted gearbox and transfer case. A single Garrett-AiResearch Turbo mounted on top of the gearbox boosted the power of the 2.6 litre engine to a staggering 700 bhp. This made the new 64 the most powerful Lotus built to date. It had been developed alongside the similar 63 that was headed for Formula 1 duty.