Lotus 22

Infobox Automobile


name = Lotus 22
manufacturer = Team Lotus
production = 1962-1965
predecessor = Lotus 20
successor = Lotus 27
class = Formula Junior
body_style = Open wheel
engine = 1098 cc Ford CosworthThe 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 centre of gravity.

The 22 is a single seat race car primarily for the Formula Junior series and most had a 1098 cc Cosworth MAE engine with about Convert|100|hp|kW|-1|abbr=on. However,7 of the Lotus 22's built were sold with the then newly introduced 1500 cc Lotus Twin-Cam engine then powering the just introduced Lotus Elan sports car, but these were ineligible for Formula Junior. The 22 was very successful and the works car driven by Peter Arundell won nearly 75% of the races for the FIA Formula Junior European championship in 1962. The car was also successful in 1963, the final year of FJr, and up against the new Lotus 27, a full monocoque car, the 22 won several races early in the season before the stiffness problems that plagued the 27 were solved.

The 22 chassis also later was reintroduced several times, although modified, as other "new" Lotus models becoming first the Lotus 31 F3 car in 1964 and then most famously the famous Lotus 51 in 1967 the first Formula Ford race car created for the Jim Russell racing school in England.

Also the Lotus 22 was the car from which the Lotus 23 was derived being essentially a two seat 22 widened in the middle but using the same front and rear suspension, engine bay, and gearbox as the 22 did. The 23's famous introduction at the legendary Nurburgring 1962 driven by Jim Clark where he lead many laps in the tiny 1,000 pound 23 with only 1500 cc engine against cars with many times the displacement at one point leading by a minute or more.