Car · Team Lotus · 1962–1967
Lotus 25
Chapman is said to have sketched it on a napkin. The spaceframe it replaced was a lattice of tubes that had to be triangulated around the driver; the monocoque made the driver's compartment itself the structure. Frontal area came down to 8 square feet. Every serious Formula One car since has been a monocoque of one material or another, and the 25 is the reason.
- Seasons
- 1962–1967
- Entries
- 28
- Wins
- 7
- Poles
- 7
- Fastest laps
- 6
- Constructors' titles
- 2
- Drivers' titles
- 2
Why it mattered
The idea. Replace the tube frame with a stressed aluminium skin: half the weight, three times the stiffness
New on this car. The first fully stressed monocoque chassis in Formula One, and an extremely low, narrow body around a reclined driving position
What it did. 14 wins and 14 poles. Clark's 1963 and 1965 titles, with Lotus taking the constructors' championship both years.
- Designers
- Colin Chapman
- Supersedes
- —
- Design life
- 1962–1965
- Confidence
- high
Specification
- Chassis
- Aluminium monocoque
- Front suspension
- Double wishbone, with inboard coilover spring/damper units.
- Rear suspension
- Lower wishbone, top link and radius rod suspension, with outboard coilover spring/damper units.
- Brakes
- disc
- Gearbox
- ZF 5DS10
- Gears
- 5-speed
- Tyres
- Dunlop
- Fuel
- —
- Engine
- Coventry Climax FWMV, 1496cc, 90° V8; Naturally aspirated, mid-mounted; BRM P56, 1498 cc, 90° V8; Naturally aspirated, mid-mounted
- Configuration
- 90-degree V8
- Capacity
- 1,498 cc
- Aspiration
- naturally aspirated
- Power
- 195 bhp
- Power note
- —
- Weight
- —
- Wheelbase
- —
- Track, front
- —
- Track, rear
- —
A blank is a figure nobody published for this car. Where several teams quote the same number in a season it is usually the rule they were all built to rather than a measurement, so it is kept with the regulation limits instead of here.
Seasons that cannot be attributed 1
| Season | Also entered by this constructor |
|---|---|
| 1963 | lotus-18+lotus-18-21+lotus-21+lotus-22+lotus-24 |
Every entry 28 entries
Show all 28 entriesShow the first 10, Every entry
Photographs
From Wikimedia Commons, each shown with the photographer and licence its terms require.
A photograph marked unchecked has a file name that does not name the car it is shown for. Most are still the right car, filed under the driver rather than the machine — but nobody has confirmed these one by one.
Where this comes from
- Constructor
- Team Lotus
- Predecessor
- Lotus 21 / Lotus 24
- Successor
- Lotus 33
- Races (published)
- 49
- Wins (published)
- 14
- Poles (published)
- 14
- Confidence
- reference
- Specification source
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_25
- Register source
- https://github.com/f1db/f1db