The History of the Lotus 72 - The Car That Changed F1

In the 1970s Colin Chapman, Maurice Philippe and Tony Rudd created a car that would change the face of Formula 1 racing forever. It competed in a total of six different seasons from 1970 to 1975, winning 20 races along the way, making it one of the most successful F1 cars of all time. This car was of course the Lotus 72 and here is its story.

Following the development and success of the Lotus 25 and 49, Chapman and Philippe needed to create a car that could take advantage of the aerodynamic developments that were rapidly occurring in motorsport. The 72 would be born out of their work. With its low monocoque chassis, massive rear wings and aggressive appearance, the 72 was like nothing the F1 world had seen before.

The Lotus 72 first turned a wheel in anger at the Spanish Grand Prix in April 1970, with Jochen Rindt and a young John Miles at the wheel. While things didn’t exactly go according to plan at the car’s first event, the incredible Lotus soon proved it worth. With brilliant drivers such as Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson at the wheel, the 72 would go on to claim 3 Constructors’ titles and two drivers’ championships during its service.

Without a doubt the Lotus 72 is one of the most iconic race cars ever built. It would bring about a new era of Formula 1 development and would solidify Lotus as one of the great teams. If you would like to find out more about the car, check out our article on it here - The History of the Lotus 72 - A Formula 1 Revolution - Garage Dreams

Music (reproduced under license)

Track 1 – The History (SerjSalkoffStudio): The History by SerjSalkoffStudio | AudioJungle

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Photo Credits

00:08 – Colin Chapman (1965) - Joost Evers / Anefo; - Nationaal Archief - CCO

00:58 – Fast Speed Racing - pixabay

01:34 - Clark at 1962 Dutch Grand Prix - Nationaal Archief - CC BY-SA 3.0 NL

01:41 - Jim Clark 1965 - Nationaal Archief - CCO

02:07 - Lotus 43 2014 - Patrick Down - Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

04:03 - Grand Prix 68 Zandvoort training. Graham Hill (nr. 3) - Nationaal
Archief - public domain

04:34 – Andretti Mario 1969 0801 Lotus63 - Lothar Spurzem - Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Germany

04:40 - Lotus-49c - Softeis - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

07:49 - Rindt and Ickx at 1970 Dutch Grand Prix - Nationaal Archief - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Netherlands

08:46 - Rindt at 1970 Dutch Grand Prix - Nationaal Archief - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Netherlands

08:57 - Emerson Fittipaldi – license purchased from alamy

09:25 - Tyrrell 003 driven by Jackie Stewart in 1971 British GP - license purchased from alamy

09:30 - Anefo 924-6616 Jackie Stewart, Zandvoort - Gahetna in het Nationaal Archief - CC0 1.0 Universal

09:40 - 1971 Emerson Fittipaldi, Lotus 72 - Lothar Spurzem - Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Germany

11:37 - Grand Prix 1970 van Nederland voor Formule I wagens , Zandvoort Ronnie Peterson - Nationaal Archief - public domain

11:37 - Emerson Fittipaldi GP74 - Gillfoto - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

11:37 - Jacky Ickx, Bestanddeelnr - Nationaal Archief - public domain

11:54 - Lotus 76 - Daniel Herrick LBIPP - Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

12:38 - Ronnie P JPS Lotus - Gillfoto - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

[garagedreams]

Correction: Emerson Fittipaldi was the youngest F1 champion until Fernando Alonso, not Lewis Hamilton - Thanks to Firstname Secondname for pointing that out.

[bobstuart]

The point of inboard brakes is not to move the weight toward the center, which only gives a slight improvement in the rotational moment of inertia, but to reduce unsprung weight, so the wheels follow the road with more consistent traction.

[patlatorres]

The JPS Lotus 72, quite probably the most beautiful F-1 car ever built!, Having had the opportunity to have seen one in person, I'll be forever smitten.

[jed]

Just to let you know - Tyrrell is pronounced to rhyme with squirrel, not tie-rell. It grates .

[NINEWALKING]

When I was a kid I got JPS model toy. It was mot beautiful thing I have ever seen till then.

[legeekdechepaou]

And when the world needed him the most, he returned

Also I recognize the front grille of a Porsche 917 at the end

[jjanderson]

Lotus 72 was so beautiful, I became a Lotus freak. As a 16 y.o. I recall a Texaco TV commercial with Emerson onboard the 72 describing the car... very cool, I bought Emerson Fittipaldi autograph sunglasses after that and skied in them in '73 (didn't grow the sideburns though). 😆 Great technical story w. sims, specs, Amazing video. Kudos!

[Buckoux]

Increased torsional rigidity and longitudinal stiffness are the paramount features of monocoque construction. These attributes make the car stable under cornering, acceleration and braking giving the driver confidence to drive fast.

[roland]

Jochen Rindt, world champion.
Ultimate driver

[codeREDsim]

Quote from Bernie Ecclestone,

‘At the end of ’68 we had the choice for Jochen of the Goodyear deal with Brabham, or the Firestone deal with Lotus, ’ Ecclestone told David Tremayne. ‘I said to him, “If you want to win the World Championship, you’ve got more chance with Lotus than with Brabham. If you want to stay alive, you’ve got more chance with Brabham than with Lotus.”’

Rindt won the 1970 title, driving a Lotus. But he was dead before the end of the season – making him F1’s only posthumous champion.

[LDTOK-zsoz]

Colin Chapman the greatest race designer in history. What people don't realize about the Lotus 72 it was the piston engine version of the Lotus 56 Turbine car. The concept actually started during March 1967 Indy 500 tire tests.Colin wondered how low the Lotus 38 rides at racing speed, so he put a device on Jimmy Clark's Lotus 38 and was astonished to find out the car lifted so it was at its lowest ride standing still. After the 1967 Indy 500, Andy Granetelli asked Colin if he could design a Turbine car for 1968 race and he said yes. The wedge shape concept he got from GM engineer. The Pratt & Whitney engine weighted only 260lbs and did not need radiators so he was able reduce drag without a opening in the nose. The 72 debuted at the 1970 Spanish GP and Bruce McLaren saw the car and said thats going to be our 1971 Indy Car(M16). The McLaren M16 broke the Indy qualifying record by nearly 9mph. The next year the qualifying record was broken by nearly 15mph by a Gurney Eagle which was based on the 72 concept.

[BensWatchClub]

Would love to see more videos from this channel

[davidsargent]

What a great video, my favourite f1 car of all time. I still have my original corgi jps '72 when I was a kid and I'm 56 now!

[wewe]

Lovely, 1 months ago i got lucky and was able to see a lotus 49, 76, 77, 88 and 95T in real life. Seeing some of the cars completely disassembled and being able to see them up close makes you appreciate the engineering beauty that went in to these cars. The 3d model you made for the 49 is lovely. Having seen the car in real life i can say its really accurate.

[ogladacz]

WOW the editing made me cry from longing of times when racing was about racing.

[andradejurk]

Nice to see this amazing car! And E. Fittipaldi, one of the best F1 driver. The man that open F1 to brazilian drivers!

[firstnamesecondname]

Bro I love this channel. Great video.

Small correction at 10:23 though. Fittipaldi was the youngest F1 champion until Alonso, not Hamilton.

[huatseng]

This channel is so underrated… amazing work as always and very visually entertaining. I’m so happy you uploaded again

[fanman]

Saw Rindt in the 72 at the 1970 Oulton Park Gold Cup. Awesome looking car and quite unlike anything else at the time. That was the last race my dad took me to. My strongest memory of that meeting was the T70 Lolas which used to knock all the air out of your lungs as they went past due to the bass frequency of the big V8s and a demo run by Jackie Oliver in the H16 engined BRM.

[jimleech]

The Lotus 72 had a major influence on Indy car racing as well, by way of Mclaren copying the design in 1971. By 1972 most Indy cars had wings, wedge nose and side radiators.