The Lotus Seven Series IV
press materials and story as told by John Robinson
Lotus Seven Series IV Press Kit, 11 March 1970
John Robinson:
The designer for the Series IV was a gentleman called David Baldwin. Alan Barrett made the moulds for the bodywork and then the bodywork itself, and I was involved with the mechanical side. Arch Motors made the chassis for the Lotus Seven Series IV.
Note: Sometime after publishing this article from John Robinson, I was in contact with David Baldwin. He advised that Peter Lucas was the designer of the Lotus Seven Series IV. Peter Lucas was also responsible for designing the extra triangulation required for the Series 3 Twin-Cam SS cars.
We worked in a large lock-up garage across the road from the main factory and we started with a Series 3 in the first place.
With known problems with the suspension on the Series 3, we first looked at the front suspension, as the bump steer was very bad i.e. 3/4″ toe out on full droop of the suspension, going to 1″ toe-in on full bump. This was almost all removed by raising the rack and pinion up by around 2″ and at the ball joint end replacing the joints with a racing type adjustable joint.
The rear suspension was a different matter and I can remember quite clearly the day I re-learned how to weld. On the Series 3 there was an ‘A’ frame that located the axle, this David had re-designed for the Series 4 to the 2-piece system i.e. a small “A” and a separate link. I made up the required jig for these frames and proceeded to make the frames. I went and fitted them on the car and checked that the suspension worked, and called David to check that it was installed how he had designed it. He promptly jumped into the car and took the car to the test track with me as passenger, where he proceeded to drive the car far quicker than I had ever been before.
When we finally arrived back at the workshop with me still shaking at the thought of the welds on the suspension that I had made. I rang across to the fabrication workshop where I made immediate plans for later that day to learn how to weld properly, as that was the first time I had ever made anything that complicated!
Other modifications were tried on the Series 3 and my wife and I would go off with the car most nights and drive for 100 miles to test the mods. My aunt in Bournemouth (Dorset, U.K.) was not surprised to see us drop in for a cup of tea before returning home, some 300 miles round trip on a Sunday.
As mentioned previously, the fabrication of the Series 4 took about 2 years to complete and I was involved in setting up the production in the main factory. This was when I was approached by Tim Goss.
John Robinson on the Series IV production line with a Twin Cam, photos courtesy Lotus Press Office, Stewart White, and Eastern Daily Press.
Motor Sport Magazine Article on Lotus Components.
Reprinted with the kind permission of the Editor of Motor Sport Magazine (2021).
Lotus Seven enthusiast Martyn Heesom, kindly sent me an article from Motor Sport Magazine dated April 1970. It featured a visit to Lotus Components Limited by Mike Doodson also known as M.G.D.
Following is an abridged version of the full article, featuring Mike Warner as the driving force behind ‘Components’ as it was known. Many of Components’ accomplishments with other Lotus racing cars were documented in the article, but I have geared this page more towards Mike Warner and his association with the Series 4 or IV Seven.
“Colin Chapman has supplied the vehicles for club drivers to use since the Lotus 6 was announced and today there is a separate Lotus company to continue in the tradition. It is called Lotus Components and it has its own factory, which is part of the huge new complex which houses Lotus Cars and Team Lotus. The first duty of its thrusting 31-year-old Managing Director Mike Warner is to make a profit, and Warner in turn is able to keep down costs because he is a properly trained production engineer.”
“Chapman has never interfered with the day-to-day running of his company’s individual parts: apart from anything else, the Lotus empire is now far too big for one man to control. Mike Warner is typical of the new breed of young professional men who have taken over from the the traditional greasy-overalled genius in a one horse garage who has plenty of good ideas, but not enough capital to put them into practice.”
“A Lotus employee for ten years (with one short break), Warner briefly raced a 750 Special which he racedhimself. Admitting that he felt that he would never make the grade as a driver, he moved to Lotus, becoming a mechanic and ultimately in charge of the Lotus-Cortina project before it was taken over entirely by Ford. He is very conscious that he represents the Lotus image to customers, and is always approachable, for instance, on the telephone.”
The article was followed by:
The New Lotus Seven Sports Car
“The most interesting Components project at present is the Lotus 7, Series 4, several of which were in the course of construction to be ready in time for last month’s announcement. The old 7 had simply become far too expensive to manufacture: there were too many tubes and a lot of unnecessary aluminium panelling. In fact, the 7 was costing as much to make as a high performance racing model. Warner believed passionately that there was still a market for a car in the Lotus 7 idiom and despite a certain amount of disagreement from the top, he got the go-ahead to create a replacement which retained the character of its predecessor as well as upholding the Lotus tradition of good handling.
The result is an amusing exercise which will probably be taken very seriously by a large number of young people who are looking fo a car which is cheap, light and different. The styling, such as it is, is entirely in the 7 tradition and there is the bonus of increased weather protection and a larger boot space. The basis of is a pair of double ladder-section side members joined together by fabricated bulkheads, notable at the instrument panel. Reinforcement down the sides is by steel sheet and the bodywork is entirely in glass-fibre. Lotus 7 owners will not be sorry to learn that the footwell and sides of the passenger’s compartment are of one-piece “bathtub” type which guarantees freedom from draughts in the nether regions, although a baler will probably be required on rainy days. Nevertheless, weather protection is improved: sliding sidescreens become a feature for the 7 for the first time ever. The bonnet folds forward in one piece and there are flared wings of the type which first became popular on the Lotus Super 7. There is a considerable weight saving, although rear suspension continues to be by rigid axle (Escort) and coil springs. Front suspension utilises Europa wishbones and a prototype car has survived a hammering on the pave section at MIRA.
Although there is a new one-off Lotus 7 being successfully raced in Clubman’s Formula events at the present time, customers will be offered a racing version of the 7 S4, probably with a de Dion rear suspension, and this will be reasonably priced at around £650. Warner feels that Clubman’s racing is still worthwhile, despite the introduction of such expensive new forms of club racing as the Formula F100 two-seater Formula Ford.
Although the major part of Lotus’ income will continue to come from Elans and Europas which surround the Wymondham factory in such colourful profusion, it is appropriate that Lotus Components continues to supply the young man with a real wind-in-the-face motor car at a reasonable price. With such a full range of racing cars-and racing engines too nowadays-available, Lotus Components is assuredly the most professional of all the racing companies. And its products are once again in a position to give the customer what he wants: a competi- tive car with spares available at short notice, which is capable of winning races. —M. G. D.”
Peter Lucas, Lotus Senior Design Engineer.
I had contacted Peter Lucas regarding his work at Lotus, especially his involvement with the Lotus Seven Series 4 (or IV). Peter was very helpful and interested in passing on his knowledge, and provided the following information:
“I worked at Group Lotus from 1963 to 1973, and before that, I was a full scale layout draughtsman at Vickers Armstrong Aircraft (now BAe), in the forward fuselage section.
I started work in Lotus Developments following their advertisement for someone with my skills to produce full scale templates for the body buck on the M20 (Elan plus 2) project. This done, I worked not only on the Elan plus 2 detailing, but also other projects including the Elan Coupe (Mk 2 Airflow). I was then appointed Liaison Engineer on the Lotus Cortina Mk. 2. After this, I transferred to Lotus Components to work on the P5 Europa project I remained with this division until it was closed down, at which time I was Senior Design Engineer on all their projects excluding the racing cars, although I did a monocoque F3 privately for Bowin Cars (Australia) at that time.
I was therefore intimately involved with the design of the Seven Series 3 with Dave Baldwin, and had total control on the Mk 7 SS and Series 4 projects, the aborted Clubmans cars, and a cancelled factory project – the Sebring Mk 7 for Bill Brack – being directly responsible to Mike Warner, Components M.D.”
(My note: Peter was tasked with drawing further triangulation required for the Series 3 frame to take the extra power of the Lotus Twin Cam engine for the 13 or more 7 SS cars. Some triangulation had been removed as a cost saving measure when Lotus conceived the Series 2).
“I am not generally known in Lotus libraries, but I am mentioned in Doug Nye’s book ‘Story of Lotus 1961 to 1971’ (P. 234) in association with the 7S4 and another project I headed, the GKN 47D which is also shown in the book, but I am not mentioned in that instance.
After the closure of Components (by then known as Lotus Racing), I moved to Lotus Cars as Senior Design Engineer on the M50 (Elite Mk2) project.”
After I had contacted Peter, I found some very interesting posts on a forum dated 2017, in which Peter had responded to ‘set the record straight’ regarding the Lotus Seven Series 4 and his involvement. The following is reproduced with his permission:
“In 1969 I had just been promoted to Senior Design Engineer at Components and the Type 60 (7 Series 4) was my first project after completing the work I had done with Dave Baldwin on the S3 (and other projects). I was responsible for the ‘Package Design’ of the vehicle (body layout and all the mechanical components including weather protection and hood). The body design was completed by Alan Barrett who also made the excellent body moulds for the self-coloured shells (Mirror Finish, no filler possible).
I’d like to correct a misleading statement in Graham Arnold’s book on the Seven, where he stated that Dave Baldwin designed the vehicle; this has caused much confusion, and annoyance!
Dave Baldwin was involved with the S4 insofar as his advice was sought on a couple of occasions and also driving the prototype twin cam to a F3? race in Germany, where he sneaked off on a jolly with Emerson Fittipaldi who gave it a blast around the Nordschleife. Dave said that Emerson was quite impressed, particularly as it was on road tyres.”
(My note: Quite some time ago, David Baldwin confirmed to me that he had very little to do with the Seven S4 and that it was Peter Lucas’s project – see above).
“As far as I know Chapman could have been aware that the car was underway as a type number had been allocated, and a suitable section of the workshop had been partitioned and was under lock and key (3 key-holders only = M.D. Mike Warner, Alan Barrett, and self). Chapman usually trawled the drawing boards ‘out of hours’, but he was a bit preoccupied at this time, and also I had been asked to keep any ‘evidence’ off my board”
(My note: Peter told a good friend of his that Colin Chapman had shown surprise at the official unveiling of the ‘new’ car and relayed his exasperation to his wife Hazel Chapman).
“The project lead time was also extremely short, the layout package and running ‘skate’ design started early July 1969, and 10 cars were required by January 7th. 1970, so this could explain his surprise at the presentation!
Although there were 2 development cars, yellow and blue, available at the time, I thought that only one car was used, a red 1600 c.c. pre-production car (might be a case of brain fog though).”
(My note: On the forum, Peter included a picture of a quarter scale model made to his original layout drawings. He noted the non-production rear wing shape to take upright elliptical Rootes Group rear lights that were never used on the production cars).
“One thing I have noticed briefly is that as far as I remember, the first development car – WPW 477 H (yellow pigmented body), was followed later by the second development car – WPW 577 H, which appears in many of the Alan Barrett publicity pictures of the time, and had a blue self pigmented body. It was allocated to Alan for body development and 477, the prototype car, was allocated to me for mechanical development work and driver appraisal. I distinctly remember reserving these two numbers with the DVLC.
I know 577 still existed recently (*November 2017), and beneath whatever colours it has subsequently been sprayed, the blue gel should still be visible. I don’t think 477 exists any more as the desirable twin cam engine was removed some time later, and a Ford engine substituted and is no longer listed on DVLA.
I noticed also the updated styling model on which Alan had developed the finalised rear wing shape but I was not invited to view it at the time.
Both Alan and I had been promised the development cars as a gift from Mike Warner for achieving the ‘impossible’, but they were sold off in the wreckage of Lotus Racing after Warner suddenly left”
I received a message from an S4 owner where he queried the draughtsmen’s signatures on a copy of a production chassis drawing he had somehow got hold of. I politely explained that this was due to employing contract staff to ‘productionise my prototype drawings. By the way, the first half dozen or so cars down the production line were made entirely from my prototype drawings whilst the production drawings were being drawn and I think Alan Barrett’s car was the first made.
I did some private chassis design work for Graham Nearn, early days, when he was thinking about fitting larger capacity engines to the Caterham 7 S4”
Lotus Seven Series 3 and 4 Front Hubs.
“I was also the person who designed the front hubs for the 7 Series 3 and 4 which were specially cast in malleable steel and machined to suit the 4-1/4 inch p.c.d (*pitch circle diameter or bolt circle diameter) of the 5-1/2 J Series Cortina steel wheels.
To clarify the reason why Lotus had to redesign the front hub on the Series 3 and introduce the larger wheel stud p.c.d., was due to installing a Ford rear axle. The change was essential because of an increasing number of warranty claims on the Series 2 axle which led eventually to expensive mods. to cure the case cracking on the previous type fitted, which used the 3-3/4 inch p.c.d., matching the Standard Triumph front hubs on this model.”
Because of the difficulty of making an adequately strong steel hub on the 4-1/4 inch p.c.d. we also had a serious look at using the Series 2 hub at the front (*3-3/4 inch p.c.d.), and supplying a Triumph/Ford adapter ring with the spare wheel as a ‘get you home’.
Lotus did consider an alloy hub and rejected it due to strength factors caused by brake calliper issues.
I designed alloy hubs for the Lotus 7X and also road wheels, notably the ones fitted to the Lotus Elite Mk.2 series which were properly fatigue tested and type approved by GKN Sankey, as they were both the Dunlop and ‘Brand Lotus’ wheels fitted to the factory Sevens, which both featured completely flat machined interfaces to the hub. Sankey were trying, with Lotus support, to introduce type approval for all U.K. and imported alloy car wheels because their engineers had found that unsafe products were coming onto the U.K. marketplace.
The Lotus Seven Series 4 Clubman Car.
Peter Lucas contacted me in a separate email regarding the Lotus Seven Series 4 Clubman car that he had viewed on this site. Following is his recollection of the car:
“Firstly, thank you for the very informative reply. There are many interesting points both in that and also in the articles on your site.The updates on the ‘Clubman’ are interesting. As you know, we never completed the design, let alone the build. Glad to see it had some success.
The first thing I noticed from the pictures is seeing the Series 4 Seven Clubman car on the 1971 Racing Car Show stand. I didn’t even attend that event as to my knowledge there was nothing of mine on display, or so I thought!
I guess Alan Barrett assumed that as he had designed the show stand he might as well put the Clubman 7 on it. You can see how we operated seamlessly as a team!!
I hope our MD authorised this exposure because it was a part-built (therefore secret) development prototype with nothing tested and the rear suspension still being designed at the time, and the body/chassis fixings not structurally approved. Always good though to tell your competitors of your design in advance apparently!
I’d be interested to know how the later purchaser of the bits got over the non-compliant rear suspension geometry!! Only I know what I had actually intended”
Rob Ford of the Lotus Drivers’ Club, sent me an email from Peter Lucas dated 2020 after Peter had viewed this website with the articles on the Lotus Seven Series 4 and the 7X.
Regarding the 7X article, Peter advised the following:
“This site confirms my previous comments about the unsuitability of the basic chassis as anything other than its design purpose i.e. a production line trolley and subframe mounting/side intrusion beam, this supported by the comments on chassis weaknesses which should have been addressed for the 7X. I don’t remember Mike Pilbeam ever approaching me about the car at any time but by then it was, it seems, the Pilbeam R12. I further note that someone thinks that Martin Waide (Wade in America apparently) was involved, which is very unlikely seeing the end result and its lack of torsional stiffness etc., as well as knowing Martin’s commitments to Team Lotus work at that time. I reckon that the inside rear wheel was 2” off the ground during hard cornering”
My note: Martin Waide has been credited as co-designer of the 7X in at least two books published on the Lotus Seven, and his name has been misspelled in three books that I have in my small library covering the Seven and Lotus in general. The spelling of his name has been ‘Wade’ in every book. My sincere apologies to Martin Waide for originally assuming that these books were correct and continuing the misspelling. Thanks to Peter Lucas for correcting the errors.
Peter continued: “Quote from email referenced article” (my note – from John Robinson in his email to me regarding the 7X).
“Barry and Robin Hall purchased the car from Goss in 1972. It was rebuilt by them three times. It was not a strongly built car. It required much more tubing as it was too weak in its original form.”
Yes, Colin Chapman commented to me that it was “ExtremelyBold” when he was examining a Mk7 S4 kit of parts in the workshop with Mike Warner and self – and so it was – without the many attachments to the structural body tub it was inadequate.
I think I mentioned to you Rob, or in a Club Lotus talk, that my first approach after Mike Warner outlined the project to me was to make the 7S4 a monocoque design with significant nods towards the Series 3 and reviews of some archived styling thoughts by ‘Mac’ Macintosh (who designed the original Mk7 with Chapman) pertaining to the rear wings from our drawing chests, which would possibly have carried through in concept onto the Clubman racing version that I had started designing immediately after the 7S4. I was instructed that it, and the proposed Sebring car should look like a 7S4. Mike Pilbeam took over and morphed it into the R12/7X in the Team Lotus workshop, certainly in the early days of the project after I was moved onto design/management on the GKN47D.”
My note: After checking the web, I found a dedication to Alan Barrett (formerly of Lotus Cars) in a Facebook post from a gentleman identified as Megakles Rogakos. He advised that Alan Barrett born 1936, passed away in early 2022. Alan had retired to Agios Markos, Corfu, where he continued his design work.
Credit and my appreciation to:
Peter Lucas formerly of Lotus Cars and GRD (Group Racing Developments).
Rob Ford of the Avon and Somerset Lotus Drivers Club. Rob provided a wealth of information on all things Lotus.
Note: * Denotes my addition to the script.
The Closure of Lotus Components/Lotus Racing.
Rob Ford of the Lotus Drivers Club U.K. forwarded an article from Motor Sport magazine which detailed a change of job for some of the Lotus staff who had worked at Lotus Components, which subsequently became Lotus Racing in early 1971. Later that same year, Lotus Racing was closed.
The Editor of Motor Sport has kindly permitted me to reproduce articles from the magazine. Following is excerpts of the article published in Motor Sport, April 1972. The full article is available on the Motor Sport website under the following title:
“They Make Racing Cars – Group Racing Developments.”
Author Andrew Marriott
“Last summer saw a surprise turn at Lotus when Colin Chapman announced the departure from the main board, and from his position as Managing Director of Lotus Racing Ltd, of Mike Warner. Exactly two years ago Motor Sport published an article about Warner and the subsidiary, then known as Lotus components Ltd, which told of a happy future for Lotus as a manufacturer of customer racing cars. Things must have turned sour for, soon after the departure of Warner, Colin Chapman made a policy decision which took the firm completely out of this market. Lotus Racing Ltd, as opposed to the entirely separate Team Lotus Ltd, ceased trading and quite a few employees were left without the job they new best.
Soon after the closure of Lotus Racing there were murmurs of a new firm being formed and these gathered strength when one of Warner’s lieutenants, Gordon Huckle, announced the formation of a firm called Group Racing Services to service and maintain racing cars. Every few weeks came another announcement that an-ex-Lotus man had joined the firm and something was definitely brewing when former McLaren designer Jo Marquart moved in, followed smartly by Lotus Racing designer Dave Baldwin. In fact Baldwin has since returned to Hethel and now works for Team Lotus.
Mike Warner, himself, was still under contract to Lotus and while this barred him from taking an active part in the formation of the new company there seemed little doubt that he was keeping a fatherly eye on his former colleagues. This is still the case and one presumes that it is no coincidence that the premises of GRD abut those of a general engineering firm by the name of Griston Engineering which is owned by Warner”.
(My note: Griston Engineering was contracted to construct and supply Lotus Seven Series 4 tubular frames when Arch Motor was inundated with other work).
“Group Racing Developments Ltd. was publicly announced in September as a racing-car manufacturer in their own right. The parent company was GRD, run mainly by Jo Marquart and former Lotus Racing Development engineer Derek Wild, and is the manufacturing division. GRS, run by Huckle, was to continue but as a service facility for GRD while there was also a sales concessionaire by the name of Reystan Racing which was managed by speed shop owner John Stanton and his partner John Reynolds.
It was interesting to note that GRD are manufacturing a large portion of the cars themselves. The outer skins of the monocoque chassis are rolled to shape by Arch Motor(s) but the rest of the tub is completely manufactured at Griston. Griston Engineering itself is a very well equipped machine shop and here all the castings, uprights, racks and so on are machined. All the fabrications, like suspension components and the rear tubular frame, are made on the premises and Marquart feels that the fewer outside suppliers they deal with the better final delivery of the cars will be.”
(My note: The company was located in Griston, Norfolk, (not far from Lotus at Hethel), and Rob Ford advised that Peter Lucas also joined his Lotus Racing colleagues at GRD).
