The Lost Lotus—1968 Lotus 57/58

European Editor Ed McDonough recently became the first person outside Team Lotus to drive one of the best kept secrets ever created by Colin Chapman, the Lotus 58, or by its proper designation, the Type 57/58. Had Jim Clark not been killed at Hockenheim in April 1968, Lotus history might have been different – the 58’s radical wedge shape may well have meant wings didn’t get as much attention as they did – the future landscape of racing may have looked very different.

Colin Chapman, as is well known, was probably the greatest innovator in Grand Prix and all other single-seater racing. He had an unsurpassed knack for creating the future, as evidenced by his stunningly successful Formula One cars, the Lotus 25, 33, 49 and 72. As the 1967 season was winding to a close, Chapman was desperately trying to engineer a Lotus renaissance. Clark hadn’t won a Driver’s Championship since 1965, when Lotus also took the constructor’s crown. In 1966, Clark won only one race, and Lotus was a lowly 6th in the constructor’s points. The Cosworth DFV-powered Lotus 49 burst onto the scene in 1967 to replace the Climax-powered 33, and while Clark won 4 times he was to end up 3rd in the championship to Hulme and Brabham, with Lotus 2nd in the constructor’s race. The 49 still had some way to go.