Lotus 56B Gas Turbine, 1971
Encourage by the performance of the Lotus 56 at Indianapolis in the late sixties, Colin Chapman decided to enter a version in Formula 1. The car was powered by a Pratt & Whitney gas turbine and also boasted four-wheel drive. The latter proved to be a great advantage in the wet but, in the dry, the car’s excessive weight made it uncompetitive. The drivers also found that a new driving style had to be adopted to cope with the gas turbine’s power delivery characteristics.
Emerson Fittipaldi was given the honour of driving the 56B on its competitive debut, at the 1971 Brands Hatch Race of Champions. The Brazilian retired, as did Reine Wisell who drove the machine on its second outing. British driver Dave Walker also tried the car, showing stunning early pace at Zandvoort. After making up 12 places on a wet track in the opening laps he promptly crashed out.
Fittipaldi was again in the car for the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, where he qualified 18th and finished eighth. The car’s best results came when it was entered in a Formula 5000 meeting, scoring two second places. Despite showing some potential the gas turbine project was abandoned at the end of 1971, with Lotus focusing on the development of the tried and tested type 72.
Tyrrell P34 Six-wheeler, 1976-77
Tyrrell dominated Formula 1 in the early 1970s with Jackie Stewart driving the brilliant designs of Derek Gardner. Following the retirement of Stewart in 1973 and the death of his protégé François Cevert the same year, Tyrrell struggled to challenge for the title. Seeking a performance advantage Gardner designed the extraordinary P34, which featured four wheels at the front and two at the rear.
The theory behind the design was simple. The tiny wheels at the front reduced drag while having four of them increased grip. The car made its debut at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix, in the hands of Patrick Depailler. Although he retired after an accident the P34 quickly became a force to be reckoned with. At the Swedish Grand Prix Jody Scheckter scored the car’s only Formula 1 World Championship victory, with Depailler second.
The P34 was also used in 1977, with Ronnie Peterson joining Depailler, but it was nowhere near as competitive. While the teams using conventional cars benefited from better tyres, development of the Tyrrell’s unique front tyres lagged behind. At the end of the season the P34’s were retired. In later years March, Ferrari and Williams all experimented with six-wheeled Formula 1 cars, but none of them raced.
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