{"id":2149,"date":"2016-01-04T10:43:58","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T10:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colinchapmanmuseum.org.uk\/?page_id=2149"},"modified":"2022-06-24T08:19:16","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T08:19:16","slug":"lotus-type-63-the-four-wheel-drive-four-square","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/?page_id=2149","title":{"rendered":"Lotus Type 63: The Four wheel drive: Four Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article in part was prompted by our piece on Lotus consultancy and the potential for a Lotus SUV.We see the possibility that Lotus cold use their heritage connection with 4×4 racing cars as marketing device.<\/p>\n

This article offers no new significant information but the editor\u2019s analysis challenges the epitaph that the Lotus 63 was a white elephant and or an expensive failure. This is an over easy simplification and does not demonstrate an appreciation of Chapman and Lotus.<\/p>\n

We take an opportunity to examine the context peers and the form and function of the Lotus 63. We benchmark.\u00a0In doing so we concur with Crombac when he observed:
\n\u201cThis project was the most extensive ever launched by Team Lotus and the two new cars \u2013the Type 63 for F1 and the 64 for Indy were the most complicated and expensive they ever built\u201d<\/p>\n

We borrow information from the net in order to concentrate our focus on a wider assessment and appreciation of the Lotus 63.<\/p>\n

4 wheel drive from the net
\n<\/strong>
\n\u201cFour wheel drive (4WD)<\/strong> refers to vehicles with two or more axles providing power to four wheel ends. Four-wheel drive vehicles have a transfer case, not a differential, between the front and rear axles, meaning that the front and rear drive shafts will be locked together when engaged. This provides maximum torque transfer to the axle with the most traction, but can cause binding in high traction turning situations. These include full-time and selectable part-time 4WD. 4WD is not intended for high speeds without a limited-slip mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n

4 Wheel drive in Motor Racing
\n<\/strong>
\nThere has been 4×4 racing cars in the past and examples include:
\nFrom the net<\/p>\n

\u201cRoad racing<\/p>\n

Spyker is credited with building and racing the first ever four-wheel racing car, the Spyker 60 HP in 1903.<\/p>\n

Bugatti created a total of three four-wheel-drive racers, the Type 53, in 1932, but the cars were notorious for having poor handling.<\/p>\n

Miller produced the first 4WD car to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, the 1938 Miller Gulf Special.<\/p>\n

Ferguson Research Ltd. built the front-engine P99 Formula One car that actually won a non-World Championship race with Stirling Moss in 1961. In 1968, Team Lotus raced cars in the Indy 500 and three years later in Formula 1 with the Lotus 56, that had both turbine engines and 4WD, as well as the 1969 4WD-Lotus 63 that had the standard 3-litre V8 Ford Cosworth engine. Matra also raced a similar MS84, and McLaren entered their M9A in the British Grand Prix, while engine manufacturers Ford-Cosworth produced their own version which was tested but never raced. All these F1 cars were considered inferior to their RWD counterparts, as the advent of aerodynamic downforce meant that adequate traction could be obtained in a lighter and more mechanically efficient manner, and the idea was discontinued, even though Lotus tried repeatedly.<\/p>\n

Nissan and Audi had success with all-wheel drive in road racing with the former’s advent of the Nissan Skyline GT-R in 1989. So successful was the car that it dominated the Japanese circuit for the first years of production, going on to bigger and more impressive wins in Australia before weight penalties eventually levied a de facto ban on the car. Most controversially was the win pulled off at the 1990 Macau Grand Prix where the car led from start to finish. Audi’s dominance in the Trans-Am Series in 1988 was equally controversial as it led to a weight penalty mid season and to a rule revision banning all-AWD cars, its dominance in Super Touring eventually led to a FIA ban on AWD system in 1998.<\/p>\n

New 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations may revive AWD\/4WD in road racing, though such systems are only allowed in new hybrid-powered Le Mans Prototypes. One example is the Audi R18 e-tron quattro (winner of 2012 race, the first ever hybrid\/4WD to win Le Mans), utilizing an electric motor in the front axle while combining the engine motor in the rear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advantages\/Disadvantages 4 wheel drive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Advantages:<\/p>\n