Lotus 18
Lotus 18 Formula One car
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| Category | Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Junior | ||||||||||
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| Constructor | Team Lotus | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | Colin Chapman | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | 16 | ||||||||||
| Successor | 21 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Steel spaceframe | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone, with inboard coilover spring/damper units. | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Lower wishbone, top link and radius rod suspension, with outboard coilover spring/damper units. | ||||||||||
| Engine | Coventry Climax FPF 2467 cc / 2497 cc / 1499.8 cc mid-mounted | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Lotus (Ansdale-Mundy) sequential 5 speed 5-speed manual | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants |
Team Lotus Rob Walker Racing Team UDT-Laystall Racing Team Equipe Nationale Belge |
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| Notable drivers |
 Innes Ireland Stirling Moss Alan Stacey John Surtees Jim Clark Trevor Taylor
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| Debut | 1960 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
| n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. |
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The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One.
Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the 12 and 16. It was introduced for the 1960 F1, F2 and FJ seasons, with about 27 examples of the F1 and F2 versions and 110 of the FJ versions . As a stop-gap before the introduction of the 18's successor models, the Lotus 20 for F2/FJ and 21 for F1, some 18 chassis were rebodied with 21 skins to create the interim Lotus 18/21 hybrid derivative.
The 18 was replaced by the Lotus 21 in Formula One and the Lotus 20 in Formula Junior in 1961.
The car was a classic Chapman design, being extremely light and simple; the body was made up of lightweight panels bolted to heavily-triangulated tube frame (almost spaceframe) chassis. Thus the car was rigid, strong and light, maintaining the 16's forward weight distribution despite the engine moving behind the driver.
It was powered initially by a 2,467 cc Coventry Climax FPF (3.70" x 3.50") four cylinder DOHC engine inherited from the Grand Prix version of Lotus 16. In 1960, the FPF was enlarged slightly to 2497 cc (3.70" x 90 mm), which produced 239 hp (178 kW) at 6,750 rpm from a weight of only 290 lbs (132 kg) and had a wide torque range.
The 2.5 litre engine was replaced by a 1.5 Litre (82 mm x 71 mm) Climax FPF Mk.II with new Formula One engine rules in 1961. The Formula Junior variant used a 998 cc Cosworth Mk.III or a Downton BMC "A" Series with 948cc displacement. The Formula Junior version also used smaller gauge chassis tubing and Alfin drum brakes on all four corners.
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