Lotus 72, 1970-75

PETE LYONS, Evro, £50, ISBN 978 1 91050 533 5

Lotus was already one of the dominant forces in F1 when the 72 came along, having taken three Drivers’ Championships in the previous six seasons. The most recent had been for Graham Hill in the 49, the Cosworth-powered last vestige of of the cigar-shaped Lotus that had evolved out of the pencil-shaped 25, which started that run of wins for Jim Clark in 1963.

When the Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe designed 72 emerged in 1970, it reset the template for F1 cars. Its shovel-nose look was dramatic, with shades of the turbine 56, but it was what was going on under the skin that upped the ante with inboard brakes and side-mounted radiators.

Thanks to the improved aerodynamics it was far quicker than the 49 and ‘by rote’ rival cars, the nine chassis taking three constructors’ titles (1970, ’72 and ’73) and two drivers’ crowns (posthumously for Rindt in 1970 and for Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972).

It is Fittipaldi who provides the foreword to this impressive book by long-term Lotus devotee and one of American motoring journalism’s doyens, Pete Lyons. Coming from the EVRO stable, the 304-page hardback is typically well produced for the price (£50) and does a thorough job of covering the 72’s development and history.

The episodic narrative runs chronologically and covers all six seasons in which the 72 was active. It could easily have become just a series of truncated race reports delivered via extended captions, so credit to Lyons for dropping into the timeline enough behind-the-scenes info and development insight – plus personal views – to keep it fresh.

Surprisingly for a book of this nature, there are no appendices, but there are over 300 splendid photos from Motorsport Images (formerly LAT), all given excellent space and detailed explanation.

Of course, we couldn’t talk about the 72 without mentioning the back-and-gold JPS livery with which it became inextricably associated – it almost makes you miss cigarette advertising.