Certainly the Lotus 7 guards (particularly the flared ones as opposed to the cycle wings) add a fair bit of wind resistance and the headlights will add a bit more. I should have added - "and, of course, the driver has a big influence on how fast the car is"Originally Posted by jim short
In the case of the Lotus 18 - handling (and a bigger engine) would make a difference, the mid-engine layout helping. Wikipedia again:
The car was a classic Chapman design, being extremely light and simple; the body was made up of lightweight panels bolted to heavily-triangulated tube frame (almost spaceframe) chassis. Thus the car was rigid and strong, maintaining the 16's forward weight distribution despite the engine moving behind the driver.
It was powered initially by a 2,494.93 cc Coventry Climax (3.70 x 3.54 in) four cylinder engine inherited from the Lotus 16 which produced 239 hp (178 kW) at 6,750 rpm from a weight of only 290 lbs (132 kg) and had a wide torque range. In order to capitalize on this weight advantage, Chapman designed a light, sleek machine only 28 inches (71 cm) high (excluding windscreen) and weighing just 980 lbs (440 kg). To help facilitate this, the driver was placed in a semi-reclining position, pioneered about a decade before by Gustav Baumm of NSU.
The Lotus 18 had remarkably good handling with a unique suspension system which drastically reduced weight transfer and body roll in cornering. Shortly, the Lotus 18 was proving to be faster than any car Grand Prix racing had ever seen, eclipsing even the legendary Auto Unions and being widely copied. It was also built as a two-seat sports-racer called the Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo.
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