Lotus 18
The built 1960 Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined Lotus and a milestone in motorsport history.
The race car had a compact trellis frame and was 27 pounds lighter than its predecessor, the Lotus 16 for the suspension were used the front wishbones of unequal length, the rear of the car had the bottom wishbones ( with the tip inside) and trailing arm, above the wishbone the the drive shaft and to the longitudinal arm and a stabilizer. All four disc brakes sat at the wheel carriers.
The Lotus 18 was for the categories of Formula 1 and Formula 2 with 4 - built and later 8- cylinder engines of Climax and for the Formula Junior from the factory with Ford Kent engines from the Ford Anglia 105E. Some Formula Junior cars had a BMC motor as a drive, and the German Gerhard Mitter relied on a DKW engine.
The Lotus 18, there were many different variants, because the many privateers who used the car, always first names adjustments. So had the 18 of Rob Walker a completely different transmission than the factory car. The most exotic variants had Vanwall, Borgward or Maserati engines. In 1960, 125 pieces of this race car built. This results in a production of at least two cars per week, a very high number for a small racing car manufacturers such as Lotus.
Innes Ireland was the debut driver of plant - 18th At the Grand Prix of Argentina at the beginning of 1960, he was briefly in the lead and finished sixth. This was followed by victories in both the Formula 1 and Formula 2 in the Easter race at Thruxton. Stirling Moss won the Monaco Grand Prix in 18er by Rob Walker and celebrated the first win for Lotus in Formula 1 World Championship. In the Constructors' World Championship Lotus 1960 second behind Cooper.
1961 got the factory cars a redesigned body. In Formula 1 racing cars ran partially under the name Lotus 18/21, indicating generally to a private vehicle and the V8 engine of Climax and on an adapted chassis from the Lotus 21 not in the Formula Junior the car was hit and became overwhelmingly successful.
Two Lotus 18 with Borgward engine were reported in 1963 and 1964 by the German team Borgward Kuhnke Lotus to several motorsport events, including the Grand Prix of Germany 1963.