Lotus 49
- Constructor
- lotus
- Years
- 1967–1970
- Designers
- Colin Chapman, Maurice Philippe
- Engine
- Ford Cosworth DFV V8
- Configuration
- 90-degree V8, 2993 cc, naturally aspirated
- Power
- 430 bhp (420-440 bhp at 9,000-10,000 rpm through its life)
- Chassis
- aluminium monocoque
- Gearbox
- Hewland-Lotus 5-speed manual
- Suspension
- Front: double wishbone with inboard spring/damper. Rear: top link, lower wishbone and radius rods
- Brakes
- disc
- Weight
- 501 kg
- Wheelbase
- 2413 mm
- Tyres
- Firestone, Dunlop
- Races
- 30
- Wins
- 5
- Poles
- 5
- Drivers' titles
- 2
- Constructors' titles
- 2
- Specification confidence
- high
Bolt the engine straight to the back of the tub and let it be the back of the car
The engine as a fully stressed structural member, carrying the rear suspension; and, from 1968, aerofoil wings mounted on struts to the uprights
Ford paid Cosworth £100,000 to build the DFV and gave Lotus a year of exclusivity. Clark won first time out at Zandvoort. When the exclusivity lapsed the DFV was sold to anyone who asked, and it went on to win 155 Grands Prix - the reason a small British team with no engine of its own could beat Ferrari for the next fifteen years. The 49 also carried the first wings, which appeared at Monaco in 1968 and were mounted so high and so flimsily that two of them collapsed at Montjuic in 1969.
12 wins, 19 poles. Hill's 1968 title and Rindt's posthumous 1970 title.