Author Pete Lyons chronicles the story of the most legendary car in Formula 1.Lyons documents the incredible six seasons the Lotus 72 was in action (1970-75). Our Book Garage series showcases what every enthusiast should add to their library.

AuthorPete LyonsPublisherEvroISBN 978-1910505335 Where To Get it:Amazon

Lotus 72, published by Evro, and written by Pete Lyons covers one of the most important Grand Prix cars of all time and certainly one of the most important of its era. The book is large and thorough; and full of the kinds of photographs and technical details that make it a definitive record of the car.

Colin Chapman created more than a few revolutionary cars in his time, and more than a few revolutionary race cars too. His Lotus 72, more of an improvement on and a followup to his Lotus 49, could be seen as more of a baby step rather than a grand turn of the wheel. That is, until you look close.
Lotus 72: Diving Deep

Looking closely is just what Pete Lyons does with Lotus 72. At first glance, it does not seem like a great leap forward (to quote Chairman Mao) but it actually is. The Lotus 72 set the design and engineering trends race teams are still following to this day: things like side-mounted radiators, integrated aerodynamics, and lighter unsprung mass.

It is with this car Chapman moved the benchmarks (again), and it is with this car some of the greatest racers of the era made their mark, mo...