Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground Effect Cars [Hardcover]

John Tipler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

The Lotus 78 was the car that started the ground effect revolution in Formula 1. By means of ducts and flexible skirts, the air that passed under the car was used, literally, to suck it to the ground. It created a sensation and revived the British team's fortunes. Its successor, the 79, was a true 'wing car', and beautiful too, though it made its debut in a field that had already been transformed by the 78. The author has spoken to the men - engineers, designers, drivers and mechanics - who were at the chalk face of this revolution and this book is the fascinating result. Illustrated with superb photography and original working drawings, this is a book for fans of the golden era of Formula 1.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

New in paperback, this is a book for fans of the golden era of Formula 1.Aimed at motor historians and enthusiasts, this is the first, and the last, word on these fabulous 'ground effect' racing cars. Superbly illustrated with 170 black & white photographs, 20 color photographs and the original working drawings and the cutaways of Tony Matthews. John Tipler is a freelance motoring writer and historian with numerous books on motorsport topics to his credit.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

John Tipler is a motoring writer with over thirty books published on a variety of motor sport topics. His most recent offerings have been studies of the Lotus 25 and 33 F1 cars and a biography of Graham Hill. In the mid-1970s he co-ran the John Player Motorsport Press Office, and later raced an Alfa Romeo GTV6 at club level.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: The Crowood Press (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861265867
• ISBN-13: 978-1861265869
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,861,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and lively, May 5, 2005

By 

P. Spalart (Redmond, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground Effect Cars (Hardcover)

This book does an excellent job of balancing admiration for the Lotus people and drivers, and criticism when needed. It has much inside information and many inside photos and drawings from Lotus and Ford. The technical discussion has some depth, and none of it is speculative. Also some asides on the personalities involved, which prevent any monotony. Many B-W and about 30 color pictures. Covers in enough depth the Lotus F1 cars before and after the 78/79.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview, December 22, 2009

By 

John Mccarrier (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground-Effect Cars (Paperback)

This book delivers on the promise of its title. It gives a comprehensive history of the development and race history of the Lotus Type 78 and 79. It includes several excellent appendices on all the F1 cars made by Lotus and their histories in competition.

The presentation is handicapped by the small page size, tiny type face for quotes, and dark black and white photographs of cars under construction. It should be a coffee table sized book with large clear drawings of the skirts and the underside of the chassis and side pods. It also spends too much time on Colin Chapman's management style and the team's facilities.

The only drawings of the Type 78 and 79 are views of the complete car. They are very small with thin lines. There are better drawings of the Type 88 in last chapter. The many black and white photographs of the cars during construction do a poor job of showing the key components.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chapman would be proud!, December 28, 2009

By 

John Demarchi - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground-Effect Cars (Paperback)

This is a great history of the initial "wing car" concept. Lotus wins races w/ innovative ideas and this book proves it! I love the interviews w/ the small crew of brilliant minds who put into reality the ideas of a true racing genius, Colin Chapman. It is amazing that they created this by slide rule, "what if" concepts and experimentation that is now replaced w/ huge teams and computer imaging. Could Ross Brawn's winner been built by any other means? It is a very enlightening book and a great book for any motor racing enthusiast.