Driven by Ayrton Senna & Satoru Nakajima it acheived 1 Pole(San Marino) and 2 wins(Monaco, Detroit) all by Senna. Lotus came 3rd in the Constructors Championship while Senna and Nakajima came 3rd and 12th in the Drivers championship.
Throughout the history of Formula 1 Grand Prix starting from 1950,
Formula 1 cars have undergone numerous innovative developments. Many of
them were accomplished by the Team Lotus led by a genius, Colin Chapman.
Above all, invention of the monocoque construction chassis was one of
his most epoch-making creations. It was in 1962 when the Team Lotus
entered their Lotus 25 using the monocoque construction chassis for the
first time in the Formula one history. The monocoque frame formed by
bending thin aluminum plates made it possible to obtain rigidity and
lighter weight at the same time, compared to the "Space Frame"
construction with steel pipes which was commonly used until then. The
Lotus 25 was powered by the highly reliable 1.5 liter, V8 cylinder
engine developed by the Coventry Climax. The front suspension system
used rocking arm inboard spring type, while the rear end used lower A
and upper I arms with two radius rods. With the talented driver Jim Clark at the wheel, the Lotus 25 earned three victories in its debut
season of 1962. In the following 1963 season, the Lotus 25 and Jim Clark
gained stunning seven victories out of ten races, bringing not only the
driver's championship to him but also the manufacturer's title to Lotus
for the first time. With its innovative features, the Lotus 25 had a
profound influence in the design of the Formula 1 cars, and the glorious
history of the Lotus arose from this car.
David Coulthard drives the Lotus 25
The 1963 British Grand Prix
Here it is, took a while, and learnt a few things along the way which will hopefully help for future builds.
This is the Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 25 Coventry Climax. Tamiya have a reputation for making high quality kits and this is no exception. It is well detailed and everything fits together perfectly. Other than breaking one piece of the front suspension (because of my heavy handedness) and putting the Rear brake discs on the wrong way around, everything went together great. So far the model isn't fully finished, the Monocoque is all done with engine etc fitted, but the wheels, engine cover and body cowling still need doing. Here are the photos for what's done, I'll add an update when everything is finished.
Click photos to enlarge
Constructing the engine.
Assembling the Monocoque with the front suspension and brakes.
Dashboard and Gearstick
Radiator
Adding the Rear Suspension
Engine in place, Rear Brakes and Anti-roll bar fitted and finishing of the Suspension
This is the second car from the Airfix WRC giftset. It's pretty much the same as the Mini so I didn't bother with detailed photos. I came across the same problems as with the Mini, the windows were a really poor fit and needed cutting and trimming to fit in place. Also the Decals didn't fit great, and were really hard to get right(hopefully you wont notice :) ). This time I decided to spray the body of the car rather than handpaint like the Mini, so not having an airgun I bought some Humbrol Grey Primer and French Blue spraycans. Having never sprayed anything before i was a bit apprehensive but after watching endless YouTube videos I gave it a go, and I think for a first attempt I didn't do too bad.
A few shots of the interior of the car, as i said it's pretty much the same as the Mini.
The body with Primer applied
Fully painted ready for windows and decals.
(A little bit of orange peel i think, but im pleased with it as a first go.)
