Lotus 18: Colin Chapman’s U-Turn

Colin Chapman’s previous attempts at producing a Formula 1 car had been a complete disappointment. Despite being technically advanced, extreme lightness led to numerous structural failures.

In 1960, Chapman decided to start with a clean sheet of paper, assessing the basic requirements for a contemporary Formula 1 car, and identifying how to achieve them in the most straightforward, uncomplicated way. The result was one of Chapman’s greatest creations - the Lotus 18 - a trendsetting, rear-engined car that was to set new performance standards from the outset.

Driven by some of the top drivers of the era - including Innes Ireland, Jim Clark, and John Surtees - it was Stirling Moss who made the car’s name, winning four Grands Prix, including his sensational victories over Ferrari, against all odds, at Monaco and the Nürburgring in 1961.

This book descibes the history of the Lotus 18 throughout its 7-year competition career, via season by season summaries, and provides detailed appendices charting the individual histories of all 28 chassis that were built. Full race results are also presented, along with driver achievements.

Mark Whitelock’s enthusiasm for motorsports was started when his father took him to Goodwood on Easter Monday 1957. His knowledge of the sport grew in the 1960s, giving him a special affinity with the 1-1/2-litre Formula 1. By the early 1990s he had become disillusioned by contemporary Grand Prix racing and turned his attention to historic racing. A retired banker, Whitelock lives in East Sussex, England.