Lotus 43

Lotus 43

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman
Predecessor	Lotus 33
Successor	Lotus 49
Technical specifications[1][2]
Chassis	Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front)	top rocker arms, lower wishbones, inboard coil springs over dampers
Suspension (rear)	reverse lower wishbones, twin radius arms, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Engine	BRM P75 2,996 cc (183 cu in) H16 Naturally aspirated
Transmission	BRM T82 6-speed manual
Weight	563 kg (1,241 lb)
Fuel	Esso
Tyres	Firestone
Competition history
Notable entrants	Team Lotus
Notable drivers	Peter Arundell Jim Clark Graham Hill
Debut	1966 Belgian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 5 1 1 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Lotus 43 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1966 season. Hampered by its heavy and unreliable BRM engine, it won only one race, the 1966 United States Grand Prix.

Concept

Lotus 43 at the BTCC Knockhill 2014

Lotus 43 being demonstrated in 2014

The Lotus 43 was partially based on the Lotus 38 Indycar, due to Chapman's experience at Indy with larger engine capacity and tyre/suspension setup. The car was designed in this way in response to new regulations which came into force in 1966, which increased the engine capacity to 3 litres. Along with newer, wider tyres better able to handle the power of the larger engines, the need for a more robust design was obvious.

Cosworth were developing a new engine for Lotus, the DFV, to be introduced for the 1967 Formula One season, and in the meantime Chapman made a deal for use of BRM's new P75 H16 engine. The P75 on paper was technically advanced and powerful, and Chapman had hopes that it would power his cars to another successful season.

The first sign of trouble was when the new engine arrived and it required four men to lift it from the truck. The engine proved to be overweight, unreliable and was unable to produce the promised power. The car was supposed to debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, driven by Peter Arundell, but it was unavailable. Its first outing at the following Belgian Grand Prix ended during practice, when the engine gave out.^[3] Both Clark and Arundell then reverted to using the Lotus 33 while the new car's problems were ironed out.

The 43 reappeared at the Italian Grand Prix but retired with gearbox failure. Clark then won the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, the only race win for the P75 engine and borrowed the P75 engine before the race. However, gearbox failure again led to the 43's retirement from the final race of the season, the Mexican Grand Prix.

In 1967 the 43 made its final appearance at the South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami circuit, where Clark and new team mate Graham Hill both retired their cars.

Engine problems aside, the 43 chassis was an excellent design and elements of it were used in its 1967 successor, the far more successful Lotus 49, including the use of the engine as a stressed structural member which bore weight and to which the rear suspension was attached.

Complete results

Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

¹ Total points scored by all Lotus-BRM cars, including 4 points scored by drivers of Lotus 33 variants.

² Total points scored by all Lotus-BRM cars, including 6 points scored by drivers of Lotus 33 variants.

Non Championship results

(key)

PC simulation

A driveable, detailed reconstruction of the Lotus 43 (with matching car physics) appeared in 2007 in the freely-available '66 Mod' for the PC-based racing simulation Grand Prix Legends.

References

Team Lotus
Founder Colin Chapman Noted personnel Frank Dernie Gérard Ducarouge Maurice Philippe Peter Warr Peter Wright Len Terry World Champions Mario Andretti Jim Clark Emerson Fittipaldi Graham Hill Jochen Rindt Other notable drivers Elio de Angelis Martin Donnelly Mika Häkkinen Johnny Herbert Jacky Ickx Nigel Mansell Satoru Nakajima Gunnar Nilsson Ronnie Peterson Nelson Piquet Carlos Reutemann Ayrton Senna John Surtees Derek Warwick Alex Zanardi Drivers' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1978 Constructors' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1973 1978 Formula One cars 12 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