The Lotus 78 is one of the Lotus entries the open record knows by name, and by little else. That is not nothing: a name in the catalogue is where a car's story starts to be recoverable. Its designer of record is Colin Chapman (Executive Engineer) / Tony Rudd (Head of Engineering) / Ralph Bellamy (Chief Designer) / Martin Ogilvie (Vehicle Engineer) / Peter Wright (Aerodynamicist).
How it came about
The Lotus 78 was a Formula One racing car used in the 1977 and 1978 seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the first ground effect car in Formula One.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Lotus's history is not in doubt: the Lotus 77 came before it; the Lotus 79 followed it. Its Lotus stablemates include the Lotus 100T and the Lotus 101.