Photo: David Merrett / CC BY 2.0 – 1971 Lotus 56B gas turbine F1 car, Autosport International 2016 (CREDIT LINKS AT THE END OF THE CONTENT)
In 1971, the British team introduced an F1 car that was unlike anything the sport had seen before, the Lotus 56B.
The team known for their experiments, light cars that Colin Chapman always tried to build, but this was another special car different from other teams, so why? It was a type normally used in aircraft rather race cars.
However, Chapman was a man of trying and doing experiments, trying to be at the top always, the British mastermind who always found a way to beat the best teams on the grid.
Lotus 56B, which was originally developed for the 1968 Indianapolis 500, both Chapman and Maurice Phillipe wanted to bring it into F1, and explore the potential of the turbine tech combined with four wheel drive.
Lotus 56B Story
The 56B’s design was strikingly modern for its time, it featured a wedge-shaped body and added front and rear wings for improved downforce, which were necessary for the high speed corners of F1 circuits.
In the past especially those years, everyone in F1 was focused on building the best engines, and less focused on aero or design.
Let’s not forget his Lotus 72 and Lotus 78, Chapman did something that nobody ever did, bringing fresh ideas into the paddock that shocked everyone.
How the Lotus 56B Performed
The Lotus 56B made its debut at the 1971 race of champions, a non championship event. Emerson Fittipaldi who drove the car, showed that the car had potential in wet conditions, setting fast times during practice.
However, when the track dried, the car struggled, its slow throttle response and lack of engine braking made it difficult to control, and the car’s weight and heavy fuel consumption further hindered its performance.
The car entered in F1 that year, at the Dutch GP, driver Dave Walker managed to climb from 22nd to 10th position in just five laps under wet conditions but eventually retired after spinning off the track.
Best race of this car came at the Italian Grand Prix, Fittipaldi finished in 8th place but had a lot of problems, cracked brake discs and reliability issues.
In other races, such as the International trophy, mechanical failures like suspension problems forced early retirements, showing the car’s fragility and the limits of turbine tech in F1.
In a non-championship Formula 5000 race at Hockenheim, Fittipaldi finished second. This was the car’s highest placement in competition, but it came against a mixed field of cars and did not reflect its ability in the regular F1 season.
Why the Lotus 56B Failed
Even today, making a four-wheel-drive car for racing is tricky; it might help on straights, but corners are another story.
However, Lotus 56B faced several challenges that prevented it from being competitive, the gas turbine engine suffered from significant power lag, meaning the car responded slowly to throttle inputs, a critical disadvantage on the tight, twisty corners of F1 tracks.
Another unusual challenge for the Lotus 56B was its severe throttle lag, which forced drivers to adapt in ways rarely seen in 1971.
To keep the turbine spinning and ready to respond, they had to use left-foot braking, maintaining turbine RPM while slowing on corners.
Unlike any other car in F1, the turbine was incredibly thirsty, so they were forced to carry around 350 liters of fuel, roughly twice as much as a normal F1 car at the time, just to finish the race. It made the Lotus 56B heavy, and unpredictable, difficult to manage.
And Pratt & Whitney STN 6/76 turbine produced roughly 500 to 600 hp, which was significant, the normal dominant Cosworth DFV engines delivered roughly 450 horsepower.
So it did not end there, the lack of engine braking was another problem, nowadays, the piston engines help slow a car when the driver lifts off the throttle, but the turbine offered no such resistance.
Another interesting thing about the 56B was its complete lack of a traditional gearbox or clutch, it used a single-speed transmission, made possible by the turbine’s smooth and continuous flow of power.
Normal engines needed multiple gears to stay in the optimal rev range, the turbine delivered constant torque allowing the car to accelerate without shifting.
This placed excessive strain on the brakes, which were prone to overheating or failure, while four-wheel drive gave the car an advantage in wet conditions, it struggled to compete in dry races.
By the end of ’71 season, Lotus decided to abandon the turbine project and focus on the Lotus 72, the car that would become one of the most successful cars in F1 history.
Chapman’s 56B – last words about it
Though it failed on track, Lotus 56B remains a remarkable chapter in F1 history, the four-wheel-drive system combined with a turbine engine, this experiment was never repeated in the sport.
In 2021, Classic Lotus Team restored their 56B challenger, firing up its turbine engine for the first time after decades.
However, it may not have won titles, but it remains a symbol of Colin Chapman’s philosophy, always daring to try something different, something that rivals had no idea about.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS:
Photo: David Merrett / CC BY 2.0 via FLICKR – 1971 Lotus 56B gas turbine F1 car, Autosport International 2016
