The influencers: Lotus 76

The Lotus 76 was rubbish. It nished only one race and its drivers – Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx, no less – hated it. An innovative genius Colin Chapman may have been, but he did sometimes barrel down an automotive dead-end, which is exactly what he did in 1974. With the dominant Lotus 72 nearing the end of its life, Chapman was searching for the next advantage, of which most obvious on the 76 was its aerodynamic design. It may have looked much like a 72 – especially with the iconic JPS livery – but its wheelbase was longer, the chassis narrower and it sported a larger front wing and biplane-like double rear wing.

It would be a curious little button on the top of the gearlever, however, that would prove to be the most prescient. Linked to the Hewland FG400 ve-speed gearbox, it controlled an electronic clutch designed to speed up gear changes. It was therefore a true forerunner of the semi-automatic gearbox that all F1 cars, and many road cars, use today.

Like most of the innovations on the 76, the gearbox was not a success, though... In early testing, both drivers would complain about the electronic clutch’s lack of feel and, at speed, they thought the gear changes were no quicker than on a conventional manual.