1978 Lotus 79

This was in a display of cars by the Historic Lotus Club at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's a 1978 Lotus 79, the first car to take full advantage of the superior road-holding made possible by the ground effects aerodynamics developed by Colin Chapman and his team. Colin Chapman had explored the use of ground effects with the previous year's Lotus 78 and the problems encountered were resolved in the Lotus 79. Like the Lotus 78, the Lotus 79 was powered by the 2,993cc Ford Cosworth V8 engine. At the start of the 1978 season the team's two drivers, Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson used the previous year's car for the first few races, Andretti winning the Argentine Grand Prix and Peterson the South African Grand Prix. Mario Andretti drove the Lotus 79 in the Belgian Grand Prix, winning the race, while Ronnie Peterson finished in second place in the Lotus 78 and started with a Lotus 79 in the next race. Mario Andretti won another four races, ending the season as World Drivers' Champion, while Ronnie Peterson won the Austrian Grand Prix to end up in second place in the Championship, though sadly losing his life in a Lotus 78 in an accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix. Lotus won the World Constructors' Championship in 1978, the last occasion on which they have done so.