Lotus 24

Colin Chapman devised the Lotus 24 as a conventional companion piece to the revolutionary monocoque Lotus 25 he was simultaneously developing for works use. The 24 was a completely new design, distinct from its predecessor the Lotus 21, and shared much of the same suspension geometry as the 25. Chapman intended the 24 to serve a dual purpose: providing a stopgap for the works team while also being sold to privateers who wanted competitive customer machinery.

To attract buyers, Chapman promised that the 24 would be mechanically identical to the team's own cars, leaving himself only the freedom to alter what he termed the car's "bodywork." This assurance proved contentious when the far superior Lotus 25 appeared and it became clear that customers had paid for a car that was already obsolete by the works team's standards. Power came from either the Coventry Climax FWMV V8 or the BRM P56 engine, with at least one example fitted with the older Coventry Climax FPF four-cylinder unit.

The Lotus 24 made its competition debut at the 1962 Brussels Grand Prix, a non-championship event where Jim Clark claimed pole position for the opening heat before retiring after a single lap. Two weeks later Clark demonstrated the car's potential by winning the Lombank Trophy race at Snetterton. These non-championship results suggested the 24 was a capable design, at least against the field of that era.

Its World Championship debut came at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, where Trevor Taylor brought the car home in second place — a result that would remain the 24's best finish in title-contending competition. By that point the Lotus 25 had arrived at races, and it was immediately apparent to drivers and team alike that the monocoque car was the future. Those who had invested in the spaceframe 24 found themselves racing a car that the constructor himself had moved beyond.

Private teams continued to field the Lotus 24 through 1963 and 1964 with limited success, the car gradually fading from competitiveness as the rest of the field also developed newer and more sophisticated designs. The final World Championship entry for the model came at the 1965 British Grand Prix, where Brian Gubby failed to qualify.

The Lotus 24 occupies an unusual place in motorsport history: it was rendered obsolete by its own stablemate almost before it had raced. Chapman's decision to simultaneously develop the spaceframe 24 and the monocoque 25 meant that paying customers received a car the factory had already quietly abandoned. The episode highlighted the tension between Chapman's innovative ambitions and his commercial obligations to private entrants, a tension that would recur throughout Team Lotus's history. The 24's brief career also underscored just how significant the monocoque construction of the 25 was — the jump in rigidity and performance between the two cars was immediate and dramatic.