Lotus 30
The Lotus 30 was a racing car that was developed by Lotus in 1964 .
Development history and technology
The Lotus 30 is a unique phenomenon in the history of the British racing car manufacturer and motorsport team. The car is the only Lotus that complies with the Group 7 technical regulations. These regulations gave the designers a great deal of technical freedom. There were practically unlimited possibilities to experiment with displacement, power, turbochargers and the downforce of the car. In 1964, the races of the British, US and Canadian sports car championships were carried out according to Group 7 rules. Since for Colin Chapman in the 1960s racing car construction always meant vehicle sales, Chapman and Martin Wade developed the Lotus 30.
The racing car had a tubular space frame that was clad with a fiberglass body. Lotus opted for a 4.7-liter V8 unit as the engine, which Ford itself used in the GT40 . The engine was large and heavy by Lotus standards and was installed behind the driver's seat. The car had disc brakes on all four wheels and a ZF 5-speed gearbox.
The car was fast, which was no wonder with the powerful Ford engine, but at the same time it was filigree and feared by the drivers, as the suspensions kept breaking.
Racing history
1964
The first use of a Lotus 30 was on April 11, 1964 in Oulton Park . Jim Clark won a race in the British Sports Car Championship. After Clark finished second overall at the championship run in Aintree , the Scot won a non-championship sports car race at Mallory Park in May . The American Bill Krause celebrated the only victory in a race in the USA at an SCCA race in Laguna Seca .
1965
In 1965 a large number of chassis were used in a great many races by different teams. Wins: Homer Rader , in a race in Green Valley; Jos van Altena in the fourth round of the South African sports car championship; Jim Clark at the first race of the British Sports Car Championship at Silverstone ; Jos from Altena in Killarney; Newton Davis at the SCCA race at Lime Rock; Homer Rader at the SCCA race in Stuttgart, USA; Bob Challman at the SCCA race in Santa Barbara; Leroy Melcher at the Kingsville SCCA race and Jerry Crawford at the Thompson SCCA race.
1966-1973
Until 1973, Lotus 30s competed in international and national sports car races and in recent years they have mainly been used in club races.
Web links
- Information about the Lotus 30 at www.lotus30.com
- Information about the Lotus 30 at www.conceptcarz.com
- All race results at Racing Sports Cars