Lotus 38 Indianapolis Race Car

Constructor:	Lotus
Class	Race Car
Years:	1965
Designer:	Colin Chapman
Chassis:	monocoque aluminium alloy and steel
Engine:	V8 Ford
Gearbox	ZF gearbox
Wheelbase:	96 in.
Overall length:	13 ft
Width:	73 in
Dry weight:	1,250 lb.

The Lotus 38 was a racing car, built by the British motorsport team Lotus in 1965.

History

The improved 1965 Indianapolis Lotus 38 monoposto racing car. Jim Clark won the race at a record speed of 150.69 mph, with the similar cars of Parnelli-Jones and Miller second and fourth. In 1966 Clark took second place.

This was the first mid-engined racing car to win the 500-mile Indianapolis race. Colin Chapman and Len Terry engineered this all-new racing car, which had nothing in common with the Type 29 and 34, which previously ran in Indianapolis, except for the engine. The powerful Ford V8 engine, which produced almost 500 hp, was installed as a mid-engine and managed to provide excellent handling for the riders in the oval The oil tank, 3 gal., mounted behind radiator with supplementary reservoir available if required in forward part of the chassis; oil and water pipes run in channels in lower part of the chassis with the Fuel system of aircraft-type flexible tanks situated in chassis sides and behind driving seat (3 tanks); mechanical fuel pump on engine. In the original construction, the 38 had an asymmetric chassis the full monocoque fabricated from aluminium alloy and sheet steel various gauges with longitudinal and lateral diaphragms forming the fuel tank bays and providing additional strength and stiffness; front and rear sub-frames carry the suspension steering and pedal mountings. Because the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Only has left turns and Terry wanted to take this circumstance into account. He experimented with different lengths of wishbones. What works in theory does not have to be successful on the racetrack. During the first practice runs the car had dangerous driving characteristics at the corners and Terry changed the car to symmetrical suspensions. Although the Lotus 38 was much longer than Formula One racing cars of that time, it was small and manoeuvrable against the mighty USAC monoposto cars.  The body chassis unit with separate G.R.P. nose cone, tail panel and engine covers, quickly detachable by Dzus fasteners; Perspex aero screen.

Eight Lotus 38s were built and most were used by the factory team. Two were handed over to the American racers AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti.

In 1965, Jim Clark qualified 38 for the front row and led 190 laps of the 200-lap race. In the end, there were only four more pilots in the same round as Clark, who celebrated a superior triumph. In 1966, Clark Graham Hill narrowly defeated and in 1967 he fell early in the race after an engine failure.

The Lotus 38 was groundbreaking in the US monoposto of the 1960s. All manufacturers took over the mid-engine concept and by the end of the decade, almost all race cars in Indianapolis were similar to the Lotus 38. The 38 also had an effect on Lotus's Formula One cars, as many components were adopted in the Lotus 49.