Lotus 63

Lotus 63

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman (Technical Director) Maurice Philippe (Chief Designer)
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	Aluminium monocoque.
Axle track	59 in (1,499 mm)
Wheelbase	98 in (2,489 mm)
Engine	Ford Cosworth DFV 2,995 cc (183 cu in) V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted.
Transmission	Hewland-Lotus 5-speed manual gearbox. Four-wheel drive.
Weight	600 kg (1,323 lb)
Fuel	Shell
Tyres	Firestone
Competition history
Notable entrants	Gold Leaf Team Lotus
Notable drivers	John Miles Mario Andretti
Debut	1969 Dutch Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles Fastest laps 9 0 0 0
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

The Lotus 63 was an experimental Formula One car, designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1969 season. Chapman's reasoning behind the car was that the 3 litre engines introduced in 1966 would be better served by building a car that could take full advantage of its power while retaining the Lotus 49's simplicity.

As the Lotus 56 for Indy 500 (and later F1), the 63 chassis was designed around a four wheel drive system. This was no revolution at the time, as four wheel drive had been used on the Ferguson P99 F1 car that won at Oulton Park as early as 1961. However, it was not a successful design. In fact, the Matra MS84 was the only 4WD F1 which scored points with Johnny Servoz-Gavin, something neither Lotus nor McLaren managed, while Cosworth did not even race their 4WD design. The 63 was an evolution of the 49, but featured wedge shaped rear bodywork and integrated wings, which would be used to great effect in the Lotus 72.

Lotus 63 4WD driven by Mario Andretti (1969).

John Miles, Lotus' third driver was entrusted the task of developing the car, while Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt used the 49 in the early races of 1969. The car proved extremely difficult to drive and set up, and the four wheel drive system was especially problematic. After a single test run, Hill flatly refused to drive the car again stating it was a 'deathtrap,' as did Rindt, who agreed with Hill after taking the car to its best result, 2nd in the non-championship Oulton Park Gold Cup. This infuriated Chapman as he saw the 63 as another quantum leap ahead of its rivals, just as its predecessors had been.

The car was entered at the 1969 British Grand Prix as a test run. Whilst Rindt finished fourth in the older 49 behind Jackie Stewart, Miles could only bring the 63 home in 10th place, confirming the car's uncompetitiveness. After several other fruitless outings, the 63 was abandoned, but parts of the chassis design were worked into the Lotus 72, which debuted in 1970.

The four wheel drive technology returned into F1 with the Lotus 56B in 1971.

Like the Lotus 88, the 4WD cars proved to be huge white elephants for Lotus, but it paved the way for better models to follow.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lotus 63.

v t e Team Lotus Founder Colin Chapman Noted personnel Frank Dernie Gérard Ducarouge Maurice Philippe Peter Warr Peter Wright World Champions Mario Andretti Jim Clark Emerson Fittipaldi Graham Hill Jochen Rindt Other notable drivers Elio de Angelis Mika Häkkinen Johnny Herbert Jacky Ickx Nigel Mansell Gunnar Nilsson Ronnie Peterson Nelson Piquet Carlos Reutemann Ayrton Senna John Surtees Alex Zanardi Formula One cars 16 18 21 24 25 33 43 49 56B 63 72 76 77 78 79 80 81 86 87 88 91 92 93T 94T 95T 97T 98T 99T 100T 101 102 107 109 112 Formula Two cars 12 16 18 32 35 41 44 48 59 69 Formula Three cars 22 31 35 41 55 59 69 Formula Junior cars 18 20 22 27 Formula Ford cars 51 59 61 69 Formula 5000 cars 68 70 Tasman Series cars 32 39 67 Indianapolis 500 cars 29 34 38 42 56 64 96T Sports racing cars 15 17 19 23 30 40 47 53