Lotus 76

The Lotus 76 was a Formula 1 racing car, built and used in 1974 by British Formula 1 Team Lotus.

The Lotus 76 was designed by Colin Chapman and Ralph Bellamy and should replace the Lotus 72 in 1973, was the fourth season in use. The aerodynamics of the car was radically improved and the vehicle was light, almost at the permitted minimum weight. From 72, the suspensions, the internal braking and the V8 engine was taken over by Cosworth. The great innovation was the new electronic clutch, which could be operated by means of a gear shift knob. Only when you start the driver had to push the pedal. However, the concept was not fully developed and the system was never deployed in the race.

The car was officially referred to as the John Player Special MK I, Colin Chapman 's urging followed a request by the main sponsor, who insisted strongly on the name change.

In testing the new clutch turned out as a real problem, the car was hard to connect the two race driver Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx demanded a return to a conventional clutch. The car made ​​its debut at the Grand Prix of South Africa in 1974 and although Peterson as well as short Ickx were at the Grand Prix of Spain in the lead, the vehicle is put in the course of the season out as bad design. The team grabbed therefore back on the tried and tested 72. In the summer, Chapman tried to save the 76 by ​​linking the front chassis with the rear car of the 72. However, this variant was a failure and the 76 finally disappeared from the race tracks.