The Lotus 21 was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing car designed by

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...

. It was a mid-engined design using a tubular

spaceframe In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...

structure skinned with fibreglass panels, of a more advanced build than seen in the

Lotus 18 The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula One, Formula Two, and Formula Junior, which was used from 1960 until 1966 in F1. Overview Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a mark ...

. Powered by the 1.5-litre

Coventry Climax FPF Coventry Climax was a British manufacturer of forklift trucks, fire pumps, racing engines, and other speciality engines. History Pre WWI The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, a joint venture by Jens Stroyer and Pelham Lee. In 19 ...

4-cylinder engine, it used disc brakes all round. Used by the works Lotus team and the privateer

Rob Walker Racing Team Rob Walker Racing Team was a Privateer (motorsport), privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the ...

in 1961, the 21 was the first works Lotus to win a Formula One Grand Prix, in the hands of

Innes Ireland Robert McGregor Innes Ireland (12 June 1930 – 22 October 1993) was a British racing driver and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Ireland won the 1961 United States Grand Prix with Lotus. Born in Mytholmroyd and raised in S ...

at the

1961 United States Grand Prix The 1961 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 8, 1961, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the eighth and final race in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the ...

. (Previous victories were taken by Rob Walker's team). Customer teams continued to use it up to 1965. It was soon rendered obsolete by the

Lotus 24 The Lotus 24 was a Formula One racing car''Automobile Year'', No. 10, 1962-1963, Page 198. designed by Team Lotus for the 1962 Formula One season. Despite some early success in non-Championship Grands Prix, it was eclipsed by the technically s ...

and the

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

Lotus 25 The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in Formula One. In the hands of Jim Clark it took 14 World Championship ...

introduced for the

1962 Formula One season The 1962 Formula One season was the 16th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 13th World Championship of Drivers, the 5th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World ...

Scale models and die cast

*Meccano

Dinky Toys Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles, traffic lights, and road signs produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in ...

; No. 241 (production 1963–1969), approximately

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sc ...

(1:44).

Complete Formula One World Championship results

¹ 17 points were scored using the Lotus 21, the other 15 points were scored using other Lotus models
² All points were scored using other Lotus models

References

{{F1 cars 1965 21