Although I never actually saw it race, I am sure I have seen photos and have read descriptions of the Lotus that Jack Brabham raced early in 1962, before the first F.1 car was ready to race.
IIRC the car was described as being BRIGHT GREEN. I just wondered if anyone knows the story behind this rather strange choice of colour. After all, Jack's F.J. cars were not bright green, nor was the F.1. car when it eventually appeared and there is no Australian connection to that sort of green shade, so.......?
Brabham's green Lotus
Started by
Barry Boor
, Aug 14 2003 22:27
11 replies to this topic
Advertisement
#2
Ray Bell
-
- 82,322 posts
- Joined: December 99
Member
Posted 14 August 2003 - 22:42
We had a thread that touched closely on this car quite a while back...
There were issues like garage fires and so on covered, Doug Nye was involved in that. I think if you put 'fire' into search with Doug's name you'll find something.
There were issues like garage fires and so on covered, Doug Nye was involved in that. I think if you put 'fire' into search with Doug's name you'll find something.
#4
Wolf
-
- 7,883 posts
- Joined: June 00
Member
Posted 15 August 2003 - 11:14
That's more like that, Rob... 
I've seen B/W photo, captioned as Black Jack's Lotus on a transporter, showing only nose (or air intake, to be more precise) of the car which seemed just as dark as works' cars. IIRC, the photo was in Daley's 'Cruel Sport'.
I've seen B/W photo, captioned as Black Jack's Lotus on a transporter, showing only nose (or air intake, to be more precise) of the car which seemed just as dark as works' cars. IIRC, the photo was in Daley's 'Cruel Sport'.
#5
Doug Nye
-
- 11,943 posts
- Joined: February 02
Member
Posted 15 August 2003 - 18:37
It's an interesting fact that while Jack's memory today is generally very, very good he has some significant blind spots. He recalls the Lotus-Climax 24 as above very well indeed, but has NO recollection whatsoever of ever having had the 4-cylinder Lotus-Climax 21 which preceded it, and which he drove for example in the Pau GP, nor his original Lotus-Climax 21 which had previously burned out in the garage in Victoria Road, Surbiton soon after he had taken delivery of it. "I never had a 4-cylinder Lotus" was a response which took a lot of disproving to the man himself.
One of the most admirable gestures I recall from contemporary Formula 1 is the manner in which Colin Chapman loaned Jack the works' spare Lotus 25 on the morning of the following Monaco GP, after Jack had run out of sufficient Climax engines for himself and team-mate Dan Gurney - so let Dan have the only one available for the race.
Chunky's gesture was somewhat like Jean Todt saying to Kimi Raikonnen today, "There you go, son, use our spare 'rari...".
As it happened, Jack couldn't really make head nor tail of the Lotus 25, he was crammed into it like an apple in a cider press, had no room to move his feet, couldn't handily reach the gearlever and when he did he found the ZF gearchange gate was all back-to-front. The one thing he does recall is that the 25 certainly seemed to provide terrific traction.
DCN
One of the most admirable gestures I recall from contemporary Formula 1 is the manner in which Colin Chapman loaned Jack the works' spare Lotus 25 on the morning of the following Monaco GP, after Jack had run out of sufficient Climax engines for himself and team-mate Dan Gurney - so let Dan have the only one available for the race.
Chunky's gesture was somewhat like Jean Todt saying to Kimi Raikonnen today, "There you go, son, use our spare 'rari...".
As it happened, Jack couldn't really make head nor tail of the Lotus 25, he was crammed into it like an apple in a cider press, had no room to move his feet, couldn't handily reach the gearlever and when he did he found the ZF gearchange gate was all back-to-front. The one thing he does recall is that the 25 certainly seemed to provide terrific traction.
DCN
#6
Don Capps
-
- 5,933 posts
- Joined: May 99
Member
Posted 15 August 2003 - 18:49
I recall seeing JB jammed into the 25 and it as if it were the result you would get cramming a marshmellow into a thimble...... I was amazed that he could function in the car at all.
As to the gesture of Chapman allowing JB to use the spare 25, that always struck me as one of those gestures which on the one hand was very much in the character of the period, and yet even then was an extraordinary thing.
As to the gesture of Chapman allowing JB to use the spare 25, that always struck me as one of those gestures which on the one hand was very much in the character of the period, and yet even then was an extraordinary thing.
#7
Bladrian
-
- 1,491 posts
- Joined: July 02
Member
Posted 15 August 2003 - 19:06
Originally posted by Don Capps
I recall seeing JB jammed into the 25 and it as if it were the result you would get cramming a marshmellow into a thimble...... I was amazed that he could function in the car at all.
And they say a picture is worth a thousand words ........ not in this case. The picture those words evoked will stay with me for a very long time.
#8
Aanderson
-
- 126 posts
- Joined: July 03
Member
Posted 15 August 2003 - 23:55
Originally posted by Barry Boor
Although I never actually saw it race, I am sure I have seen photos and have read descriptions of the Lotus that Jack Brabham raced early in 1962, before the first F.1 car was ready to race.
IIRC the car was described as being BRIGHT GREEN. I just wondered if anyone knows the story behind this rather strange choice of colour. After all, Jack's F.J. cars were not bright green, nor was the F.1. car when it eventually appeared and there is no Australian connection to that sort of green shade, so.......?
All the Team Lotus cars I saw back in the 1960's (Lotus 25 F1 car on display at Indy in '63, Lotus 29, 34, and 38 Team cars at Indy) were (and still are, those that are restored) a fairly bright green, not the very dark green shades one usually thinks of as "British Racing Green".
Art Anderson
#9
Pedro 917
-
- 1,767 posts
- Joined: August 02
Member
#10
Rob Ryder
-
- 2,654 posts
- Joined: June 00
Member
Posted 16 August 2003 - 09:53
Found another pic... Belgium
#12
MarkWill
-
- 489 posts
- Joined: December 01
Member
Posted 16 August 2003 - 11:21
Just looking at how shallow the waistline was of these cars makes me think that they must have flexed a bit on bumpy circuits. And the driver must have had the impression that he was in a go-kart (great all-'round visibility). Whats the brand of cigarettes being advertised in the background of the last picture?
