Lotus 23
The Lotus 23 was a racing car that was developed by Lotus in 1962 .
technology
The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a two-seater sports car; in the racing versions, the second seat was removed or covered. The Lotus 23 used the chassis of the Lotus 20 , a Formula Junior racing car from 1961. The suspensions were also taken over from this monoposto . The body was made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic . The Lotus 23 was designed for different displacement classes. 750 cc and 1 liter engines were used. The "B" versions had 1.5 and 1.6 liter Ford engines .
Some vehicles had a BMW engine. The German racer Toni Fischhaber equipped 23er chassis with 1.6 and 2-liter Agreggaten and went with the car in national in circuit and hill climb at the start.
Racing history
The Lotus 23 made its debut in 1962 at the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring . In heavy rain, the Scot Jim Clark took the lead right from the start. The competition from Porsche , Aston Martin and Ferrari brought sports cars to the Nordschleife , some of which had four times the performance of the little Lotus. Nevertheless, Clark finished the first lap with a lead of 27 seconds on Dan Gurney's Porsche . Only when the track began to dry out after a few laps was he slowly caught. On the twelfth lap, Clark lost control of the vehicle in the Hocheichen curve at the exit of Hatzenbach and went off the track. Fumes from a damaged exhaust made him sick and unable to control the car. A second Lotus 23 with Peter Ashdown and Bruce Johnstone at the wheel finished the race four laps behind the winners Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien in a Ferrari Dino 246SP in eighth place overall.
At the 24-hour race at Le Mans there was a scandal when the ACO officials refused to allow the factory 23 to participate after the technical inspection. Even before the race, it became known that this was due to pressure from French racing teams, who feared for their chances in the small classes. The Lotus team had to leave and an angry Colin Chapman made his announcement true that he would never return to Le Mans with a factory team. More than 130 of this car were built by Lotus and were popular and successful racing vehicles until the mid-1960s and can still be seen today at events for historic racing vehicles.
Technical specifications
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| Lotus 23 (1962) | Data |
|---|---|
| Engine: | 4-cylinder in- line engine (four-stroke), installed as a mid- engine |
| Displacement: | 1498 cc |
| Power: | approx. 100–110 hp (74–81 kW) at 7500 rpm |
| Compression: | 9.5: 1 |
| Carburetor: | two Weber double carburetors 40 DCO E 2 |
| Cooling: | Water cooling with thermostat |
| Transmission: | 5-speed gearbox with center shift, synchronized, gear ratio and axle ratio of your choice |
| Front and rear suspension: | Double wishbones |
| Suspension: | front spring damper units , rear coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers, stabilizer front and rear |
| Chassis: | Tubular space frame |
| Body: | fiberglass reinforced plastic |
| Brakes: | Hydraulically operated disc brakes, Girling system |
| Track width front / rear: | 1308/1270 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2286 mm |
| Tires rim: | 4.50–13 in front, 5.50–13 in back |
| Length × width × height: | 3530 × 1447 × 584 mm |
| Empty weight : | 399 kg |
| Tank capacity: | 36.4 liters |
| Top speed: | approx. 230 km / h |
