Some cars leave a paper trail; the Lotus 72 left a name and a place in Lotus's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it. Its designer of record is Colin Chapman / Tony Rudd / Maurice Philippe.
Where it came from
The Lotus 72 is a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season. The 72 was a pioneering design featuring inboard brakes, side-mounted radiators in sidepods (as opposed to the nose-mounted radiators, which had been commonplace since before World War II), and aerodynamic wings producing down-force.
Under the skin
it is rated at 440-465 hp @ 10,000-10,800 rpm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Lotus's history is not in doubt: the 49 / 63 came before it; the 56B / 76 / 77 followed it. Nearby in the Lotus catalogue sit the Lotus 100T and the Lotus 101.