The Lotus 56 was a racing car, designed by Maurice Philippe

Maurice Philippe

Maurice Philippe, also known as Maurice Phillippe, was a British aircraft and Formula One car designer.Philippe designed his first car in 1955, called the MPS , while employed developing the Comet 4 aircraft for De Havilland....

 as Team Lotus

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...

' 1968 entry in the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

, replacing the successful Lotus 38

Lotus 38

The Lotus 38 was the first mid-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500, in 1965, driven by the great Jim Clark. It was run by Lotus at Indianapolis from 1965 to 1967; a total of 8 were built, most for use by Lotus, but several were sold for use by other drivers, including A. J...

. The Lotus 56 was not based on the STP-Paxton Turbocar

STP-Paxton Turbocar

The STP-Paxton Turbocar was a racing car, designed by Ken Wallis as the STP entry in the Indianapolis 500.- History :Wallis, a distant relative of famed British engineer Barnes Wallis, had developed a workable plan for harnessing a gas turbine to a race car. He first presented the idea to Dan...

 ("Silent Sam") that almost won in 1967, but was an entirely new and more advanced design. While USAC, the governing body of the Indy 500 had implemented new rules aimed at making a turbine powered racing car uncompetitive by drastically reducing the air intake size, the Lotus 56 made up for reduced power with a sophisticated suspension design, retaining the 4wd concept of the Silent Sam, but with lighter weight, and advanced aerodynamics.

Following the death of Lotus' ace driver Jim Clark in a Formula 2 race in Germany, and Mike Spence (at Indianapolis in the 56 while testing a team mate's car), Graham Hill

Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...

, Joe Leonard

Joe Leonard

Joe Leonard , is a retired American motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Leonard won the first A.M.A. Grand National Championship Series in 1954 and won it again in 1956 and 1957. His record totals 27 wins, including the 1957 and 1958 Daytona 200...

, and Art Pollard

Art Pollard

Art Pollard , was an American racecar driver.Born in Dragon, Utah, Pollard died in Indianapolis, Indiana as a result of injuries sustained in practice for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. The car clipped the wall coming out of turn one and did a half-spin as it headed to the grass on the inside of the...

 were entered for the race, with Leonard claiming pole position. Unlike the year before, when the STP-Paxton Turbocar easily outperformed the other cars in the race, in the race the turbine cars were relatively evenly matched with the other top contenders, much of which must be attributed to aerodynamics and the 4wd chassis design and not the turbine engine. Leonard was leading with just a handful of laps to go when the a fuel pump shaft failed. For the second year in a row STP turbine cars had brought innovation to the Indy 500 and had failed to win while leading within a few laps of the end of the race. USAC subsequently banned turbine cars completely.

In 1971 the Lotus 56 was raced in Formula 1 on occasion by Team Lotus but the large fuel tanks required to allow it to run an entire race without refueling left it overweight and uncompetitive.

The Lotus 56, while never winning a race, demonstrated the importance of aerodynamics in racing cars, along with Jim Hall's Chaparrals, and effectively set the mold for open wheeled racing cars for the next ten years. Chapman's Lotus 72 employed the same wedge nose shape and went on to win three world championships in Formula 1.

Formula One

Colin Chapman developed the 56 as a potential F1 contender, part of his plan to have a single design to compete at both the Indy 500 and in Formula 1, but it was too heavy and never competitive. The car was designated as the 56B and Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...

 tried it in the 1971 Race of Champions

Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)

The Race of Champions was a non-championship Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom between 1965 and 1979, and again in 1983. It often attracted high quality entries from the Formula One World Championship. The first race was won by Mike Spence...

 and International Trophy

BRDC International Trophy

The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England...

 non-Championship meetings. At Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

, during wet practice, the 56 was far and away the fastest car on the track, but the race was held in dry weather and the car was lost in midfield. At the Silverstone

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

-based International Trophy, the car only lasted three laps of the first heat before suspension failure forced Fittipaldi's retirement. Dave Walker

David Walker (racing driver)

David Walker is an Australian former racing driver who drove for Lotus in the 1971 and 1972 Formula One Championships.-Career:...

 ran the car in the Dutch Grand Prix

1971 Dutch Grand Prix

The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 20, 1971. Due to heavy rain, the track was treacherously wet and slippery, giving a large advantage to "wet-weather men" Ickx and Rodriguez, who also happened to be equipped with highly suitable cars and...

, and had progressed from 22nd to 10th in five laps of the very wet track, before sliding off the road and into retirement. Fittipaldi used the car again in that year's 1971 Italian Grand Prix

1971 Italian Grand Prix

The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 5, 1971. This race is often referred to as the fastest Formula One race of all time, with a record average speed of 242.615 km/h , a record that was not broken until 32 years later at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at...

 and managed to bring the fragile design home 8th.

Formula One World Championship results

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WCC	Pts.
	Team Lotus 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...	Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...  turbine			RSA 1971 South African Grand Prix The 1971 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 6, 1971. The race, which was the first round of the 1971 Formula One season, was won by Mario Andretti who was driving for the Ferrari team.-Report:...	ESP 1971 Spanish Grand Prix The 1971 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on April 18, 1971. It was the second round of the 1971 Formula One season....	MON 1971 Monaco Grand Prix The 1971 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 23, 1971.- Race report :Qualifying was extremely wet and so it was Friday morning times that really counted for the grid - for Mario Andretti this was particularly unfortunate as his car was stranded out on the track at this...	NED 1971 Dutch Grand Prix The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 20, 1971. Due to heavy rain, the track was treacherously wet and slippery, giving a large advantage to "wet-weather men" Ickx and Rodriguez, who also happened to be equipped with highly suitable cars and...	FRA 1971 French Grand Prix The 1971 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit Paul Ricard on 4 July 1971.- Race report :The race was taking place for the first time at the brand new Paul Ricard circuit in the mountains outside Marseille. Jackie Stewart gained pole position - helped by extensive tyre...	GBR 1971 British Grand Prix The 1971 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on July 17, 1971.- Race report :On one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, horsepower counted for everything...	GER 1971 German Grand Prix The 1971 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 1 August 1971.The race returned to the Nürburgring after a year at the Hockenheimring after the safety was improved on the track. The race distance was shortened to 12 laps. Notable driver changes included Vic Elford, who...	AUT 1971 Austrian Grand Prix The 1971 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 15, 1971.- Race report :Jo Siffert took a surprise pole position from Jackie Stewart and led away at the start from Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx. The front two drew away from the pack, where Regazzoni was duelling...	ITA 1971 Italian Grand Prix The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 5, 1971. This race is often referred to as the fastest Formula One race of all time, with a record average speed of 242.615 km/h , a record that was not broken until 32 years later at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at...	CAN 1971 Canadian Grand Prix The 1971 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 19, 1971. Jackie Stewart took the win in the awful conditions and the race was stopped after 64 laps due to the weather...	USA 1971 United States Grand Prix The 1971 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 3, 1971 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...	21*	5th
				Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...									8
				Reine Wisell Reine Wisell Reine Wisell is a former racing driver from Sweden. He participated in 23 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on October 4, 1970. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 13 championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races...						NC
				Dave Walker David Walker (racing driver) David Walker is an Australian former racing driver who drove for Lotus in the 1971 and 1972 Formula One Championships.-Career:...				Ret

* No points with the Lotus 56B