SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: Behind the Scenes: The GPL 1969 Mod

Private entrants ran different chassis/engine-combinations, but the factory teams were evenly matched as far as engine power was concerned. The engines used were:

Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
Capacity: 2,995 cc
Cylinders: V8
BHP: 430
RPM: 9500
Chassis: Brabham, Lotus, McLaren, Matra

BRM 3.0 V12
Capacity: 2,998 cc
Cylinders: V12
BHP: 425
RPM: 10000
Chassis: BRM

Ferrari 3.0 V12 (Type 255/C)
Capacity: 2,989.556 cc
Cylinders: V12 in 60 degrees
BHP: 436
RPM: 11000
Chassis: Ferrari

Cosworth Power

The Problem-Child: Lotus 63

A little earlier, I told you I would get back to the question of why 1969 was a very important year. Here is another very good reason for choosing 1969:

In 1969 Lotus introduced the "63". It was aerodynamic and wedge-shaped in form and as such an indication of things to come from Colin Chapman, the founder of, and driving force behind Lotus. The 63 was the link between models 49 and the 72. It had many of the lines that would become famous with the classic, unforgettable, drop-dead gorgeous Lotus 72, the black one with JPS logos, the one that gave Emerson Fittipaldi the World Championship crown in 1972 and won the Manufacturers crown the year after that.

But it wasn't only the shape that was revolutionary. The car was in fact also a four-wheel drive!

In theory the 4WD should give the car better grip than its rear-wheel drive only GP-adversaries. As already mentioned 4WD was thought to offer a solution to the problem of having more horsepower than the tires could cope with. It was a concept that was born in the times before wings became the obvious solution to the problem of getting more grip. In reality the car was somewhat... a lemon.

It proved to be slow, complex and very difficult to handle no matter what changes the Lotus mechanics did to it. Jochen Rindt decided that the older 49b was a much better racing car, and flatly refused to drive the 63, leaving the newer car to John Miles.

BRM had been experimenting with 4WD and even raced such a car once or twice in minor events before deciding that the added weight and complexity in the car did not result in a significantly faster or better-handling racing car, quite the opposite.

The mod team was therefore very anxious to include the 63 in the ´69 mod. It goes without saying that for the same reasons the car has also been near the top of the list for cars that the community would love to see in GPL.

The Lotus 63 in GPL 1969 lives up to its reputation as a car that is not very competitive. It is yet another credit to the good people who coded the physics of this car for GPL 69 that it feels so authentic. And GPL, as it was designed and sold, really never was meant to simulate four-wheel drive!

Brands Hatch

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