53 replies to this topic

[Postnoff]

Hi!
I've heard that Lotus 56B appeared on 4 WC races. But I know only three of them GPs of Holland, Italy and Britain. What was the fourth?

Igor

[Allen Brown]

The 56B did indeed appear in four championship events.

But only in three World Championship events.

The other was a F5000 round.

See http://www.oldracing...asp?CarID=56B/1

Allen

[quintin cloud]

F1 WC

1971 Dutch GP

Reine Wisell Disqualified after 17 laps ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 British GP

Reine Wisell Not Classified 11 laps behind leader ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 Italian GP

Emerson Fittipaldi 8th 1 lap behind leader ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 European F5000 Championship Round at Hockenheim.

Emerson Fittipaldi 2nd ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

F1 Non-Championship Races

1971 Race of Champions

Emerson Fittipaldi Did Not Finish 38 of 50 laps completed ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 Spring Trophy

Reine Wisell Did Not Finish 17 of 40 laps completed ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 International Trophy

Emerson Fittipaldi Heat 1 Did Not Finish 2 laps of 26 completed
Heat 2 3rd
Aggregate Not Classified 28 laps completed of 52 laps
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

[Marcor]

Emmo said in Motorsport that the Lotus 56B was the worst car he ever raced.

And what about the Spirit with which he tried to come back in F1 in the 80's ? (with Mickey as sponsor !)

[BRG]

Originally posted by Marcor
Emmo said in Motorsport that the Lotus 56B was the worst car he ever raced.

What, worse than the Copersucar? Hard to imagine!;)

[Barry Boor]

Before anyone says anything, Gary C asked me to post this image, honestly!!

[Wolf]

Nice mousepad. But I have even prettier one (W125, Mercedes photo; plus one with Gullwing, ditto). Pity I'm too lazy to use a mouse...;)

[Michael Oliver]

Having exhausted all sources I have immediately available to me at this time of night : , I wonder if anybody here might be able to help me with a piece of missing information for my upcoming Lotus 72 book.

I am including a chapter on the Lotus 56B turbine F1 car in the book as chronologically it raced during the period that the 72 was active and it was a factor that contributed in part to the poor season the team had during 1971.

To go with this I have prepared a race record for the car but am missing one competition number, from the final race the car did, the Preis der Nationen at Hockenheim on September 12 1971. I have seen pictures of the car, still in the livery and aero setup it used at that race, with competition number 2 but have no way of telling if this was the number used in the race. The only photo I can find is a very grainy pic in Autosport which doesn't enable positive ID. Any takers?!

Cheers

Michael Oliver

[Allen Brown]

Michael

Sorry, I don't have an entry list for that particular F5000 race. Island might. He'll probably find this thread but PM him if he doesn't.

Allen

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by Allen Brown
Michael

Sorry, I don't have an entry list for that particular F5000 race. Island might. He'll probably find this thread but PM him if he doesn't.

Allen

Thanks Allen, but who is Island? Profuse apologies to Island but I don't post that regularly on this forum so am not familiar with the regulars Perhaps he could make himself known to me?

Cheers

Michael Oliver

[island]

Michael,

I checked German magazine`s "Rallye Racing" report on the Preis der Nationen race.
A picture shows Fittipaldi`s Lotus with #2.

[ensign14]

Sheldon also has a full entry list with Emmo's number as 2.

[Allen Brown]

Originally posted by island
Michael,

I checked German magazine`s "Rallye Racing" report on the Preis der Nationen race.
A picture shows Fittipaldi`s Lotus with #2.

Michael

That's Island. Better known (under his real name) as one of OldRacingcars.com's foremost contributors and probably the planet's leading expert on F5000.

Allen

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by island
Michael,

I checked German magazine`s "Rallye Racing" report on the Preis der Nationen race.
A picture shows Fittipaldi`s Lotus with #2.

Marvellous! That is exactly what I needed - indisputable photographic evidence Thank you

Michael

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by ensign14
Sheldon also has a full entry list with Emmo's number as 2.

It's good to know that they agree with Island's findings then, at least

I felt fairly confident about going with 2 but it's best to double-check to avoid copious amounts of egg on face

Cheers

Michael

[karlcars]

FYI here's what I said about the turbine at the beginning of Chapter 4 of my book about Emerson:

‘I have always referred to 1971 as “the year of the turbine”,’ wrote Elizabeth Hayward, the nom de plume of Priscilla Phipps, who was timer and scorer for Team Lotus. ‘Frankly I have held the opinion that Colin jeopardised his future relationship with Emerson, his prestige and the morale of the team by persevering with an idea that was fabulous in theory, and just didn’t work in practice.’

In practice it sort of worked, but Colin Chapman’s unique and unprecedented attempt to make a gas turbine power a Grand Prix car unquestionably undermined his team’s 1971 world-championship effort. The result was that for the first time since 1960 Lotus failed to win a single Grand Prix. ‘We spent from the end of 1970 to the end of 1971 testing that car,’ Emerson said of the turbine-powered 56B. ‘That was bad for the Formula 1 programme.’ It was also risky, he added: ‘Five times the suspension broke while I was driving that car.’

Fittipaldi gave the Lotus turbine its race debut in the Race of Champions at Brands in March, 1971. Based on the wedge-shaped Lotus 56 that almost won the Indianapolis 500 in 1968, its Pratt & Whitney turbine was modified to meet the FIA’s regulations for such engines. Although he qualified respectably, Emerson never figured in the race, the kerosene-laden racer ‘bottoming all round the circuit,’ said Doug Nye, ‘showering sparks as it graunched and ground over the bumps.’ One of the five suspension failures retired it.

Another suspension breakage stopped Fittipaldi’s turbine in another non-championship race, this at Silverstone in May. Emerson was deeply disappointed with his second-lap exit in the first heat after having qualified the whooshing racer in the front row, an onlooker saying that ‘he seemed to cope with the turbo lag pretty well, and the sheets of flame exiting just behind his head on the entry to Stowe left us, and the marshals, pretty impressed.’ Repaired for the second heat, Fittipaldi’s turbine scythed through the field from the back row to finish third – but nowhere on aggregate for the International Trophy after his aborted first heat.

Technically oriented as he was, Emerson had a love-hate relationship with the Lotus turbine. ‘It was a very difficult car to drive,’ he said, ‘very, very difficult. We knew we would have to do a lot of development on that car to make it competitive, but it never gave good results.’ It had two last chances in 1971, one of them in a championship Grand Prix at Monza. There the hot weather didn’t suit the turbine and Emerson struggled, finishing eighth a lap behind. Its final outing was in a September non-points race at Hockenheim, where Fittipaldi set fastest lap and finished second in a mixed field.

Abortive and time-consuming though the Lotus turbine was, that 8th of May at Silverstone it gave Emerson his first real form of the 1971 season. Until then he’d struggled. His Grand Prix year started with a non-championship Formula 1 race at Buenos Aires. Because an engine shortage had annulled Lotus’s plans to test pre-season, practice there was Emerson’s first experience of his 72 with Firestone’s new low-profile tyres. He was appalled by the dodgy handling of a car that had worked so well in 1970. ‘One of the few times I spun a car was in Argentina,’ he told Elizabeth Hayward. ‘I had never spun in Formula 2 or Formula 1 since I’d started racing, and this was the first time because I was trying too hard to drive the car quickly, and it just didn’t handle.’ He struggled to 10th in his heat with expiring oil pressure.

‘I went back to Lotus to speak to Maurice Philippe about it, and I told him the car was impossible,’ said Emerson. ‘He wanted to know how it could be so good in 1970 and how I, as a new driver, could possibly know. I couldn’t tell him why it was wrong.’ That his colleagues knew something was wrong was evident, as Philip Turner wrote after the Argentine race: ‘The Lotus team were terribly puzzled by the odd handling of their 72s and are now busy collecting and studying all the photographs they can lay hands on of the cars in action.’

Nevertheless Lotus chief Chapman was not convinced. He felt ‘my bloody drivers’ were at fault. ‘Reine and I were still so new to Formula 1 racing,’ said Fittipaldi, ‘that Colin just didn’t believe us. When we were explaining a problem to him we had a job to convince him that it was a real one and not simply our lack of experience. On top of this Colin was really more interested in the turbine car.’ His Lotuses were right out of it and unreliable to boot in the Grands Prix of South Africa and Spain and a non-championship race at California’s Ontario Motor Speedway.

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by Allen Brown
Michael

That's Island. Better known (under his real name) as one of OldRacingcars.com's foremost contributors and probably the planet's leading expert on F5000.

Allen

Hi Allen - I'll bear that in mind for a future project then ;)

Have now scanned those old Lucky Strike Racings you were asking about, just have to work out the best method of getting them to you as I'm not sure about file size at present. Also expecting trannies back from publisher in a couple of weeks time, including numerous SA photos - might be some use to you?

Michael

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by karlcars
FYI here's what I said about the turbine at the beginning of Chapter 4 of my book about Emerson:

Hi Karl. Thanks for your info. From interviews I've done with Peter Warr, Emerson, Dave Walker and the mechanics, I get the impression that they feel too much of the blame for the poor year the team had in 1971 was laid at the door of the poor old turbine I guess there were lots of other factors, which when combined also made a big contribution to the team's below par performance.

The drivers were a bit 'green', not knowing some of the circuits and very hard on the machinery in the first half of the year. It was really only when they revised the suspension on the cars that they started to go well again. But, for sure, the turbine must have been an unwelcome distraction in the midst of all this :

Michael

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Michael Oliver

Have now scanned those old Lucky Strike Racings you were asking about, just have to work out the best method of getting them to you as I'm not sure about file size at present. Also expecting trannies back from publisher in a couple of weeks time, including numerous SA photos - might be some use to you?

The ebst way of getting them to Allen is to publish them on AtlasF1.

worth a try...

[Allen Brown]

Originally posted by Michael Oliver


Hi Allen - I'll bear that in mind for a future project then ;)

Have now scanned those old Lucky Strike Racings you were asking about, just have to work out the best method of getting them to you as I'm not sure about file size at present. Also expecting trannies back from publisher in a couple of weeks time, including numerous SA photos - might be some use to you?

Michael

Michael

Yes please! And yes please!!

Trying emailing me one or two and let's see how we get on.

Allen

PS Yes, ensign, worth a try, but you know you'll get to see them this way too . As long as they're a manageable size, I'll make the images available on OldRacingCars.com and link to them from TNF.

[Don Capps]

Ah, another satisfied customer....

[Reyna]

Why Emerson Fittipaldi raced with the Lotus 56B at a F5000 event (Hockenheim september 12th), just a week after the italian GP ??

Was this the last 56B appearance ??







Photos: Rallye Racing

[GIGLEUX]

Originally posted by Reyna
Why Emerson Fittipaldi raced with the Lotus 56B at a F5000 event (Hockenheim september 12th), just a week after the italian GP ??

Was this the last 56B appearance ??

Why not? More seriously in Turbine Grand Prix, Gerard Crombac wrote: "On its way back (from italian GP), the 56B was taken to the Preis der Nationen in Hockenheim, another fast tack, where it achieved its best result, second place and fastest lap, after starting from the front row. But this was a race for F5000 cars, to which Fittipaldi had been invited for spectator appeal, and this achievement wasn't therefore very significant. The car was then retired from competition...".

[Twin Window]

That's a great shot of a rather obscure race! To see the British-based guys in that frame alone is a bit special, given the race was (I think I'm correct in saying) a non-Championship one. Frank Gardener, Fittipaldi E, Alan Rollinson, Teddy Pilette, Ray Allen, Trevor Taylor... Great days!

TW

[David Hyland]

Originally posted by Reyna

Photos: Rallye Racing

What on earth is car number 3 (nearest camera) with the enormous air intakes(?) next to the cockpit?

[Twin Window]

Hi David

That's the works Lola T300 driven by Frank Gardner. It was the forerunner of the Lola T330, one of - if not the most - successful F5000 chassis of all time.

Regards, TW.

[Vitesse2]

Might Chapman have been considering running the 56B or a successor regularly in F5000, either in Europe or America? It would have run under the same equivalency formula as in F1 and on (then) fast circuits like Silverstone, Hockenheim and Monza turbo lag would have been less of a problem. This point would seem to be proved here, even allowing for the fact that Emerson was possibly the best driver in the field. However, looking at the 1971 Yellow Book, there's a lovely catch-all phrase which would seem to discourage anyone from doing anything with turbines:

The CSI reserve the right to modify the basis of comparison established between conventional type engines and new type engines, while giving a previous notice of one year to start from January 1st, following the date on which the decision was made.

In other words, just like Indy: get it competitive and we'll legislate it out of contention!

:

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by Vitesse2




In other words, just like Indy: get it competitive and we'll legislate it out of contention!

:

Shame the FIA didn't adopt the same attitude with Ferrari's semi-automatic gearbox in 1989...

TW

[GIGLEUX]

Always from Turbine Grand Prix, Gérard Crombac:
"When I discussed with Colin Chapman the reasons for the failure of this car (the 56B), he explained to me: I think this was a blind alley because if we had eventually become successful with it, it would promptly have been banned and then a great deal of money would have been wasted. It happened before at Indy, where the four-wheel drive turbine cars were banned as soon as they started to be successful. Unfortunately the innovator in motor racing is often penalized the moment he produces something of benefit to himself and which makes his cars go faster than those of other competitors. If I could have been sure of at least two year's stability, I would have carried on with developing it, because the turbine is a very good converter of torque. What was wrong with it in Grand is that we ran it with four-wheel drive. If we had built a two-wheel-drive turbine I think that with its smoothness, its very high torque at low rpm and the power it was capable of producing under the formula equivalence, it woukd have been very competitive.".

[Vitesse2]

Coincidentally (?) there's a feature on the 56B by Simon Taylor in the June issue of Classic & Sports Car, recalling how he track tested it for Autosport before the 1971 International Trophy. He also has some comments from Peter Warr, recalling that Dave Walker was actually lapping faster than the leaders at Zandvoort (it was raining hard) having started 22nd and got the car up to 10th by lap 5. Then he misjudged the throttle lag and lost it at Tarzan .... Chunky was not amused.

[Nanni Dietrich]

Originally posted by Twin Window
That's a great shot of a rather obscure race! To see the British-based guys in that frame alone is a bit special, given the race was (I think I'm correct in saying) was a non-Championship counter. Frank Gardener, Fittipaldi E, Alan Rollinson, Teddy Pilette, Ray Allen, Trevor Taylor... Great days!

TW

First, n. 3 Lola T300 - Frank Gardner. Then the Lotus 56B (Emmo Fittipaldi), and I think a Surtees TS??? perhaps driven by Alan Rollinson (as TwinWindow said), and two (or three) McLarens: the white one on right is driven by Ray Allen, I'm sure, and the other dark on left... mmmmm... perhaps belgian VDS colours and white helmet... Pilette?
Doubt about the last car with that great large nose: it seems something about a Chevron, but I don't think...

[Nanni Dietrich]

Trevor Taylor drove for Surtees in these years...

Confusion!

[ensign14]

You're about 18 months too late, Reyna; wasn't Michael Oliver after photographic evidence of the car number for his Lotus 72 book? for Sod's law.

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by Nanni Dietrich


Doubt about the last car with that great large nose: it seems something about a Chevron, but I don't think...

I can assure you that it is Trevor Taylor driving a Leda LT25; he finished fourth behind Pilette. He raced it all season, except for rounds 8-12 inclusive.

TW

[GIGLEUX]

Entry list:
1 Redman McLaren M18 dna
2 Fittipaldi Lotus 56B
3 Gardner Lola 300
5 Russel Lotus 70 dna
8 Allen McLaren M10B
10 Ashley Lola 190
11 Taylor Leda LT25
15 Hailwood Surtees TS8 dna
16 Heiler Lola 190 dns
17 "Ippocastano Cooper 86B
19 Trimmer Surtees TS5A
20 Gerrish BRM 83/Rover
21 Prophet McLaren M10B
22 McRae McLaren M10B
25 Holland McLaren M10B
26 Rollinson Surtees TS8
27 Sanger Harrier 1
28 Bowtell Lola 142
33 Pilette McLaren M10B
41 Miller Dulon LD8
44 Spice McLaren M10B
66 Saunders Crossle 15F
69 Lamplough Lola 102
77 Walker Lola 192
78 Wood Lola 142
79 Coulter Lola 142 dns

Starting grid Heat 1

Gardner Fittipaldi

Walker Rollinson

Allen Pilette

Holland Taylor

Spice McRae

Trimmer Ashley

Saunders Sanger

Miller (Heiler)

Ippocastano Wood

Prophet (Coulter)

Gerrish Lamplough

(Bowtell)

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Coincidentally (?) there's a feature on the 56B by Simon Taylor in the June issue of Classic & Sports Car, recalling how he track tested it for Autosport before the 1971 International Trophy. He also has some comments from Peter Warr, recalling that Dave Walker was actually lapping faster than the leaders at Zandvoort (it was raining hard) having started 22nd and got the car up to 10th by lap 5. Then he misjudged the throttle lag and lost it at Tarzan .... Chunky was not amused.

Well, that's a well-worn story but not actually true at all. Unfortunately, I have to admit that it is one I swallowed 'hook, line and sinker' too, to the extent that I repeated it in my 72 book having been told it by Walker, Peter Warr and just about anyone else who mentioned that day However, I have since discovered otherwise, thanks to a thread on TNF, and should the book be reprinted, I will endeavour to correct it (along with spelling Regazzoni correctly )

Anyway, the truth is that Walker was lapping slower than most of the top 10 guys in front of him (apart from the ones running Goodyears, IIRC) and at no time was he ever even close to the pace of the two leaders... Again IIRC he was something like 50 seconds behind them when he crossed the line to start his rather ill-fated 6th lap. It is all there in black and white in Autocourse (apparently, I don't have that edition, another TNFer very kindly emailed the lap times to me).

So another urban myth put around at the time, I guess, to make it look as if Walker had thrown away a 'dead cert' debut F1 win for himself, a turbine F1 and a 4wd F1 car!!!

@Ensign14

Well, I suppose in the fullness of time, it all comes out. Unfortunately, I went with the number on the car today, as my understanding was that it hadn't been touched since. However, my 'understanding' appears to be wrong, in this case. Annoyingly, I had 2??? in my original spreadsheet, so it just goes to show I should trust my instincts!

@Gigleux
Jean-Maurice, I will have to revise my results section in the 72 book, now that I know the race number for sure. What is your source?

[GIGLEUX]

Michael, being an ex-Formula One register's member, this entry list was given to me by Paul Sheldon. I presume he had it from official program.

[Vitesse2]

Corr .... I dunno .... if yer can't believe a respected journalist like Simon Taylor 'oo can yer believe?

Thanks for the correction, Michael! Perhaps you should write to C&SC and set them straight ....

[Michael Oliver]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Corr .... I dunno .... if yer can't believe a respected journalist like Simon Taylor 'oo can yer believe?

Thanks for the correction, Michael! Perhaps you should write to C&SC and set them straight ....

Indeed! However, I'd feel a bit of a fraud writing to C&SC to set them straight as I would be running the risk of them pulling my 72 book off the shelf and saying that I had repeated the same story in there, which would be a 'fair cop'

@Jean-Maurice
Actually, I don't know why I am questioning the source, as Reyna's 2nd photo quite clearly shows the number as 2!!!!

[2F-001]

I saw this thread for the first time this morning; then the post arrived with "MotorSport".
A quick flick through revealed a piece about Dave Walker... naturally, my first thought concerned what it might say about that Zanvoort.
It did not appear to perpetuate the idea that he might actually have won, and later on I sat down to read it properly over lunch.
Then, of course, I noticed the byline... nice work Michael!


Also in this issue, I did like the 'Celebrity Deerstalker' feature. Completely barking but real genius...

[John-w]

Hello,

this Lotus 56B is actual on my workbench. The kit is from Model Factory Hiro in scale 1/20th.
Does anybody know the actual location of the original cars? and in which livre (gold/black or Gold Leaf)
are the cars?

Pratt & Whitney STN 6/76 Turbine




Front and rear suspension






Actual status


John-w

[arttidesco]

F1 WC

1971 Dutch GP

Reine Wisell Disqualified after 17 laps ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 British GP

Reine Wisell Not Classified 11 laps behind leader ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 Italian GP

Emerson Fittipaldi 8th 1 lap behind leader ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 European F5000 Championship Round at Hockenheim.

Emerson Fittipaldi 2nd ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

F1 Non-Championship Races

1971 Race of Champions

Emerson Fittipaldi Did Not Finish 38 of 50 laps completed ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 Spring Trophy

Reine Wisell Did Not Finish 17 of 40 laps completed ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

1971 International Trophy

Emerson Fittipaldi Heat 1 Did Not Finish 2 laps of 26 completed
Heat 2 3rd
Aggregate Not Classified 28 laps completed of 52 laps
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

Call me pedantic, but just for the record, and I do know I am 9 years two months behind the ball on this one and some of the subsequent posts have picked up on it but

1971 Dutch GP

Reine Wisell Disqualified after 17 laps ,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine

Should be

1971 Dutch GP

Reine Wisell Disqualified after 17 laps ,
Lotus 72/3 - Ford Cosworth

http://www.lotusespr...m/Lotus_56B.jpg

Dave Walker, Accident 5 laps completed,
Lotus 56B/1 - Pratt & Whitney turbine


Any one got any idea why Wisell who qualified 4th was disqualified ?

Fab Model John=w sorry I can't help with details of the cars whereabouts :-(

But I am sure someone will soon :-)

Edited by arttidesco, 20 May 2010 - 16:05.

[alansart]

Any one got any idea why Wisell who qualified 4th was disqualified ?

Had a loose wheel and reversed into the pits.

I spent a very damp day in the sands of Zandvoort in 1971 and was thinking how far Dave Walker was going to get.... then he disappeared off into the advertising hoardings

Edited by alansart, 20 May 2010 - 16:16.

[arttidesco]

Woops sounds like GLTL was not at it's best at Zandvoort,

Dave Walker had already blotted his copy book at Zandvoort crashing Charlton's 72 in practice so badly that DC could not take the start I believe.

Am I correct in thinking the 1971 Dutch GP dried out towards the end rather like 1975 ?

Does anyone remember why Emerson Fittipalldi was not on the driving strength at Zandvoort in 1971 he came 5th in Monaco prior to Holland and 3rd in France after Holland, seems very odd that Lotus should line up on the grid in Holland with Wisell and Walker and poor Dave Charlton hors d combat thanks to new boy David Walkers efforts ?

[Michael Oliver]

Hello,

this Lotus 56B is actual on my workbench. The kit is from Model Factory Hiro in scale 1/20th.
Does anybody know the actual location of the original cars? and in which livre (gold/black or Gold Leaf)
are the cars?

Pratt & Whitney STN 6/76 Turbine




Front and rear suspension






Actual status


John-w

John

Nice model!

The 56B is currently in the ownership of Classic Team Lotus and is still painted in the black and gold colours in which it ran its last race at Hockenheim. CTL are looking for a patron to fund the installation of an engine and restoration of the car to working condition, so if there is anybody out there with a few mill going spare...

Re the 56s, that is more complicated. From memory, there are a couple in museums, Parnelli still has his, but the waters were muddied by both the Granatellis and Vels Parnelli building copies of the 56 to take piston engines. One of these has since been 'restored' to become a Lotus 56, which it is not...this one is demonstrated on track in the US, although it has the wrong make of turbine (an Allison, IIRC).

Apologies for the shameless self-publicity but there are lots of photos of the 56B in my Lotus 72 book (a whole chapter about the car plus race results), plus lots of anecdotes and photos relating to the 56s in my most recent book, Tales from the Toolbox.

Hope this helps a little...

Michael

[alansart]

John

Nice model!

The 56B is currently in the ownership of Classic Team Lotus and is still painted in the black and gold colours in which it ran its last race at Hockenheim. CTL are looking for a patron to fund the installation of an engine and restoration of the car to working condition, so if there is anybody out there with a few mill going spare...

Re the 56s, that is more complicated. From memory, there are a couple in museums, Parnelli still has his, but the waters were muddied by both the Granatellis and Vels Parnelli building copies of the 56 to take piston engines. One of these has since been 'restored' to become a Lotus 56, which it is not...this one is demonstrated on track in the US, although it has the wrong make of turbine (an Allison, IIRC).

Apologies for the shameless self-publicity but there are lots of photos of the 56B in my Lotus 72 book (a whole chapter about the car plus race results), plus lots of anecdotes and photos relating to the 56s in my most recent book, Tales from the Toolbox.

Hope this helps a little...

Michael

Am I right in thinking the engine from the 56B was returned to Pratt & Whitney?

[alansart]

Does anyone remember why Emerson Fittipalldi was not on the driving strength at Zandvoort in 1971 he came 5th in Monaco prior to Holland and 3rd in France after Holland, seems very odd that Lotus should line up on the grid in Holland with Wisell and Walker and poor Dave Charlton hors d combat thanks to new boy David Walkers efforts ?

Fittipaldi was ill.

Dave Charlton's car was there in case the 56B wasn't ready after Turbine problems after the last race. (Source Motorsport)

[Tim Murray]

Does anyone remember why Emerson Fittipalldi was not on the driving strength at Zandvoort in 1971 he came 5th in Monaco prior to Holland and 3rd in France after Holland, seems very odd that Lotus should line up on the grid in Holland with Wisell and Walker and poor Dave Charlton hors d combat thanks to new boy David Walkers efforts ?

Fittipaldi was ill.

Dave Charlton's car was there in case the 56B wasn't ready after Turbine problems after the last race. (Source Motorsport)

Fittipaldi was recovering from the very nasty road accident he and his wife had been involved in a couple of weeks previously in France. It took quite a while for him to fully regain his form after this.

[arttidesco]

Fittipaldi was recovering from the very nasty road accident he and his wife had been involved in a couple of weeks previously in France. It took quite a while for him to fully regain his form after this.

Thanks Tim & Alan.

[Michael Oliver]

Am I right in thinking the engine from the 56B was returned to Pratt & Whitney?

Yes Alan, I remember when I interviewed 'Flameout' Fred Cowley, the P&W engineer assigned to the project, that he very proudly told me that they got Chapman to pay to use the engine and that it always remained the property of P&W, and so was returned to them when the project finished.

I visited Fred in Montreal in 1999 (unreal to me to think that this was 11 years ago now, it seems like it was still quite recent!) and asked him if there would be any suitable engine available should the car be restored. He replied that similar engines were available a few years back but that they probably would have appeared to be too expensive to make it worthwhile. He doubted then that it would be particularly easy to find the right type of engine again, which is a shame...

Michael