Lotus 77
The Lotus 77 was a Formula 1 racing car , built and used in 1976 by the British Formula 1 team Lotus .
The Lotus 77, officially called the John Player Special MK II at the sponsor's request , was the product of five designers. After the failure with the Lotus 76 , the pressure on the Lotus team to develop a usable racing car increased, as it seemed impossible in 1976 to continue using the six-year-old Lotus 72 in the World Championship. Colin Chapman divided the work on the new car among different designers with different methods and was successful.
Geoff Aldridge and Peter Wright designed the monocoque, Len Terry and Martin Ogilvie designed the suspension, and Tony Southgate put it all together. The track and wheelbase of the racing car were adjustable, which was made easier by the fact that the brake calipers also formed pivot points for the suspension. An adjustable roll bar was installed in the middle of the season and the cars were given aprons that greatly improved the car's downforce. The 77 had a very slim monocoque and the Cosworth V8 engine .
Ronnie Peterson had quarreled Lotus at the beginning of the season. The Briton Bob Evans was signed for two races before Mario Andretti , who made his Formula 1 debut at Lotus in 1968 , returned to the team. The second driver in the team was the Swede Gunnar Nilsson . As the season progressed, the Lotus 77 became a better and better racing car and the strong performances culminated in Mario Andretti's victory in the last race of the year, the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji .
literature
- David Hodges: A – Z of Formula Racing Cars. Bay View Books, Bideford 1990, ISBN 1-87097-916-8 (in German: David Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 ).
- John Tipler: Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground Effects Cars. 2009, The Crowood Press Ltd ISBN 978-1-86126-586-9 .
