The result was the DFV, a three-litre, four-valves-per-cylinder 90-degree V8 that went onto power almost every car on the F1 grid at one point. Chapman persuaded Ford to fund Cosworth’s development of a new racing engine. The next big leap in F1, again made by Lotus, was as much a business innovation as it was to do with engineering. It’s successor, the Type 16, only improved the team’s standings slightly, but its front-engined layout still wasn’t a match for the mid-engined Cooper. Sadly, in both Formula 2 and 1, it wasn’t very competitive. It was an advanced car and it debuted Lotus’s strong and lightweight ‘wobbly web’ wheels (cast magnesium wheels without holes or slots, but spokes made from ripples) and the simple Chapman strut rear suspension (essentially a MacPherson strut but without the need for the wheels to steer). Although initially designed as an F2 racer, it was adapted to compete in F1 at the start of 1958. In 1957 Lotus built its own single-seater, the 1,475cc Coventry Climax-powered front-engined Type 12. During practice the rear brakes locked, he lost the car and crashed while at the same time losing his chance to start the race. He was considered a very talented racer by his peers and was given the opportunity to drive the Formula 1 car he’d helped design in the French Grand Prix at Reims. Vanwall almost turned Chapman into an F1 driver, too.
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