Lotus 59
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Lotus 59 | ||
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Kerb weight 390 KG | | |
Chronology | ||
Predecessor | Lotus 41 | |
Successor | Lotus 69 |
The Lotus 59 is a racing car built by Lotus Components Ltd. for the 1969 and 1970 seasons of Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Ford and Formula B.
Design
Following the failure (at least in sales) of the Lotus 41, Lotus 59 was designed from the ground up by Dave Baldwin using rectangle steel tubing in a complex spaceframe configuration. This configuration was in response to the customer complaints on difficult and expensive repair on aluminium alloy monocoque Lotus 35 and the welded steel tubing and sheet steel combination on Lotus 41 of John Joyce design. The frame tubes were used as water passage to/from the radiator on the F3/FF versions, but were not used on the F2/FB version, using long water pipes mounted outside of the body instead. Oil cooler was mounted on the rear-most bulkhead above the transmission.
Lotus 59 originally came in two versions; 59 for
However, the front anti-dive geometry which was introduced on the
The 59 appeared for the first time on 27 December 1968 at the Brands Hatch Boxing Day meeting. After some initial problems on spring rates and on the oil circuit were solved, the design proved successful. Its strong point was the superb road holding which enabled the driver to put the power down more effectively than the competition exiting the corners on less-than-perfect road surface.
For 1970, 59B was succeeded by Lotus 69. The 59 was mostly unchanged for the year, but the chisel-shaped nose of Lotus 69 was retrofitted in mid-season. This new configuration is commonly known as 59A for F3, and as 59FB for Formula Ford.
Due to the closure of Lotus Components in 1971, Lotus 59 production records are incomplete, erratic and unreliable. However, about 46 chassis are believed to have been made with the newest known record of chassis number "59xF3/FF/46" with the build date of "13/12/70".[1]
As it is customary for Lotus Components products, initial 59 frame assembly was carried out in-house, and then taken over by Arch Motors. The earliest known 'AM' serial number stamp is "AM-59FB5" on chassis number "59xB/F2/38".[2]
Dave Baldwin joined many other Lotus Components employees to form GRD in 1971, and continued to support Lotus 59 and 69 users.
Engines
59B - Formula 2 - 1598 cc Cosworth FVA[3]
59B - Formula B - 1594 cc Cosworth Mk.XIII[4]
59 - Formula 3 - 997 cc Cosworth MAE[5]
59 - Formula Ford - 1599 cc Ford Crossflow[6]
Records
The successes include
His non-graded teammates, Alan Rollinson and John Miles, scored some points in the championship, but were no match against the non-graded Johnny Servoz-Gavin on Matra MS7-Ford, Hubert Hahne on Lola T102-BMW, François Cévert on Tecno-Ford, and Henri Pescarolo on Matra MS7-Ford.
Gold Leaf Team Lotus ran Roy Pike and Mo Nunn on 59B in British F2 races in the 1969 season.
Emerson Fittipaldi on a 59 won nine F3 races in the MCD Lombard Championship to become the 1969 champion. Also, Freddy Kottulinsky and Tetsu Ikuzawa won several F3 races on the 59 in 1969.
For the
In F3, Carlos Pace on a 59 won the F3 Forward Trust Championship in the UK for the 1970 season. Freddy Kottulinsky and Sten Axelsson of the Lipton Tea team won four Formula 3 European Championship races.
References
- ^ "1970 Lotus Type 59 Formula Ford". Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ "Lotus Formula Ford Register". Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Most were tuned by Cosworth or Brian Hart
- ^ Most were tuned by Vegantune or Novamotor
- ^ Most were tuned by Holbay, Vegantune or Novamotor; some with the specially cast "Screamer Head"
- ^ Many were tuned by Holbay
- ^ See Formula Two#The 1.6-litre era, and driver grading (1967–1971)