Lotus 31
Encyclopedia
The Lotus 31 was a racing car produced by Lotus
for the new 1-litre Formula 3 introduced in 1964, replacing the expensive Formula Junior
. The chassis was a multi-tubular spaceframe, of similar design to the 1962 Lotus 22
Formula Junior. A 997 cc Ford Cosworth
109E with Single Choke Weber or SU carburettors produced 97 bhp at 8000 rpm. The 31 had little success against the more advanced monocoque cars that dominated in 1964. Records show only 12 were built in 1964/65.
In 1966 19 cars were built with the Chassis 22/F3. The relative simplicity and low price of the car made it an ideal training car. Motor Racing Stables at Brands Hatch ran 4 cars to graduate students from Lotus Cortina
s. Jim Russell ran the cars at Snetterton, later being recognised as a club under the RAC. JRRDS ran 5 31's at Brands Hatch BARC Trophy Races in July 1967.
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
for the new 1-litre Formula 3 introduced in 1964, replacing the expensive Formula Junior
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...
. The chassis was a multi-tubular spaceframe, of similar design to the 1962 Lotus 22
Lotus 22
The Lotus 22 was a racing car built by Lotus cars in 1962, and a total of 77 cars were built. It was developed from the 1962 Lotus 20, with the major differences that it had disk brakes all round, had a top link to the rear suspension, and had a dry sump engine that was canted over to lower the...
Formula Junior. A 997 cc Ford Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
109E with Single Choke Weber or SU carburettors produced 97 bhp at 8000 rpm. The 31 had little success against the more advanced monocoque cars that dominated in 1964. Records show only 12 were built in 1964/65.
In 1966 19 cars were built with the Chassis 22/F3. The relative simplicity and low price of the car made it an ideal training car. Motor Racing Stables at Brands Hatch ran 4 cars to graduate students from Lotus Cortina
Lotus Cortina
The Lotus-Cortina is a high-performance car, which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1970 by the Ford in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The original version, which was based on the Ford Cortina Mark 1, was promoted by Ford as the "Consul Cortina developed by Lotus", with "Consul"...
s. Jim Russell ran the cars at Snetterton, later being recognised as a club under the RAC. JRRDS ran 5 31's at Brands Hatch BARC Trophy Races in July 1967.