THE ANATOMY OF A LOTUS 56B: The most radical car in Formula 1 history? Surely 1971's wedge-shaped, turbinepowered Lotus 56B. We look under the skin of the sport's most intriguing car.

Back when Fittipaldi, Walker and Wisell were racing the car, they'd have got on the power while still braking, getting the turbine spinning into its powerband ready for the exit. The chassis is an aluminium monocoque, with steel bulkheads for the engine and the suspension pick-up points, the bodywork predominantly glassfibre, with a huge one-piece mould for its upper surface, which lifts up and away from the car in one go. The fascinating Rover-BRM turbine car ran three times at Le Mans, and the pretty Howmet TX from America competed at Daytona, Le Mans and beyond later in the decade, but it was at Indianapolis that the technology really made its mark. But there was still Formula 1 With four-wheel-drive traction and a huge horsepower advantage over the Cosworth DFV-powered F1 cars of the time, Chapman could see the inherent potential in the 56, and at the start of 1970 the Fl-evolution 56B was born, embarking on a season of testing before its '71 race debut. [Extracted from the article]