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Lotus engine series: –<\/strong><\/p>\n Lady Godiva \u2013The Naked Truth: Coventry Climax Revealed<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a neat simple engine and set the template for engine designs years later\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n The engine series are neither technical treatise or Haynes Manuals <\/em>on the engineering minutiae of the engines or how they can be overhauled etc. Important as it is, it\u2019s better covered elsewhere [see references below] and is readily available in published form or on the net.<\/p>\n Rather our study concentrates on how and why Chapman and his colleagues’ selected engines and their contribution to Lotus success and sales.<\/p>\n In his choice of major mechanical components Chapman added both performance to a sophisticated chassis and extraordinary added value.<\/p>\n Lotus were not a major engine manufacturer until quite late on. Despite this they used and adopted a range of mainstream engines to extraordinary effect.<\/p>\n Chapman and Lotus practice provides inspiration for all Industrial Designers \/Specialists in their search for urgency and added value.<\/p>\n Our study focuses heavily on the fitment of these engines along with a visual representation. We debate the appeal to owners \/ racers and the beneficial publicity accredited to the manufacturers.<\/p>\n We believe that subscribers will be well able from this base line to research specific topics according to their needs.<\/p>\n The contribution of Coventry Climax engines to Colin Chapman and Lotus is extremely significant .It\u2019s probable that Chapman and his brand would not have achieved the competition success, sales and reputation they did, without Coventry Climax. Indeed their contribution to British motor sport was such that it in part galvanized the nation\u2019s preeminence in motorsport in the period c 1955-1965.The legacy and catalyst effect continued far beyond this.<\/p>\n This article briefly:-<\/p>\n This article has a resonance with a wide audience including design engineers, historians [various branches not least the British specialist car industry], artists and Industrial\/Product design professionals.<\/p>\n Subscribers might like to see related A&R pieces:-<\/p>\n Figure 1<\/p>\n Brands, Badges, Trademarks<\/strong><\/p>\n The Coventry Climax font\/script and Lady Godiva image in bass relief were proudly promoted on the cam covers of most engines, products and advertising material of Coventry Climax.<\/p>\n Lady Godiva is enshrined in Coventry folk law extending back to the middle ages when it\u2019s claimed she rode naked through the city streets in an attempt to persuade her husband to reduce tax on the poor.<\/p>\n The Godiva image is memorable and is indelible with the brand.<\/p>\n Not only was the Coventry Climax engine very well engineered it was attractively presented .Form and function were harmonized.<\/p>\n When Chapman selected the Coventry Climax engine for the Elite it was inspired as there was a homogeneity and holistic relationship between the chassis and engine. They were totally complementary and brought an added value to the Elite.<\/p>\n Figure 2.Magazine advertisement, A&R collection<\/p>\n Coventry Climax brief history<\/strong><\/p>\n We understand the company was started by H.P.Lee in 1903.Circa 1917 it was known as Coventry Climax.They were primarily an independent engine manufacturer [see list of customers below].<\/p>\n Other engines they made included:-<\/p>\n Post-war<\/strong><\/p>\n From the wiki and net:-<\/p>\n \u201cCoventry Climax ET 199 (1949 model)<\/p>\n In the late 1940s, the company shifted away from automobile engines and into other markets, including marine diesels, fire pumps<\/a>, and forklift trucks. In 1946, the ET199<\/strong> was announced, which the company claimed was the first British-produced forklift truck. The ET199 was designed to carry a 4,000\u00a0lb. (1,800\u00a0kg) load with a 24-inch (610\u00a0mm) load centre, and with a 9\u00a0ft. (2.7\u00a0m) lift height.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n In 1950, Harry Mundy<\/a> (previously of Alvis<\/a>, ERA<\/a>, Morris<\/a> and BRM<\/a>) and Walter Hassan<\/a> (previously employed by Bentley<\/a>, ERA<\/a> and Jaguar<\/a>) joined Coventry Climax, and a new lightweight all-aluminium overhead camshaft<\/a> engine was developed in response to the government’s ambitious requisition outline asking for a portable fire pump that is capable of pumping double the amount of water specified in the previous outline, with half the weight.<\/p>\n This was designated the FW<\/strong>, for “Feather Weight”. The engine was displayed at the Motor Show in London and attracted attention from the motor racing fraternity for its very high “Horsepower per Pound of weight<\/a>“. With strong persuasions at the Show including those by Cyril Kieft<\/a> (who had Stirling Moss<\/a> as a F3 driver) and a young Colin Chapman<\/a>, Lee concluded that success in competition could lead to more customers for the company and so the team designed the FWA, a Feather Weight engine for ‘A’utomobiles.<\/p>\n Kieft 1100 at 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans<\/a><\/p>\n The first Coventry Climax racing engine appeared at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans<\/a> in the front of one of two Kieft<\/a> 1100 sports racers, but both cars (one with a MG<\/a> engine) failed to finish the race for problems unrelated to engine. The FWA<\/strong> became popular in sports car racing and was followed by Mark II and then by the FWB<\/strong> which had a capacity of nearly 1.5-litres. The new Formula Two<\/a> regulations suited the 1.5-litre engine and it quickly became the engine to have in F2 racing. The following year, the first Climax engines began to appear in Formula One<\/a> in the back of Cooper chassis.<\/p>\n Initially, these were FWBs but the FPF engine followed. Stirling Moss<\/a> scored the company’s first Formula One victory in Argentina in 1958, using a 2-litre version of the engine. In general terms, however, the engines were not powerful enough to compete with the 2.5-litre machinery and it was not until the 2.5-litre version of the FPF arrived in 1959 that Jack Brabham<\/a> was able to win the World Championship in a Cooper-Climax. At the same time, the company produced the FWE engine for Lotus Elite<\/a> and this enjoyed considerable success in sports car racing<\/a>, with a series of class wins at the Le Mans event in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n In 1961, there was a new 1.5-litre formula and the FPF engine was given a new lease of life, although the company began work on a V8 engine, designated the FWMV, and this began winning races in 1962 with Jim Clark<\/a>. There would be a total of 22 Grand Prix victories before 1966 with crossplane, flatplane, 2 valve and 4 valve versions of FWMV. When the new 3-litre formula was introduced, Coventry Climax decided not to build engines for the new formula, withdrew from racing after the disastrous FWMW project, with the exception of the new 2-Litre version of FWMV.<\/p>\n Also in the early 1960s, Coventry Climax was approached by Rootes<\/a> to mass-produce FWMA for use in a compact family car project called Apex with all aluminium alloy over head cam<\/a> engine combined with full-syncromesh<\/a> aluminium transaxle<\/a>. This combination was considered very radical at the time, especially the syncromesh on all forward gears had been declared ‘impossible’ by Alec Issigonis<\/a> of the BMC Mini fame. The adoption to mass-production was successful, and the project came out to the market as 875cc Hillman Imp<\/a> totaling over 400,000 units made by 1976 including the later 998cc version.\u201d<\/p>\n Standard Engine Data<\/strong><\/p>\n Mass production engines of the era are compared in data below:-<\/p>\n\n
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