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1967 Lotus 49 & Ford 3-Litre Twin Cam Engine
Maiden Victory at Dutch Gran Prix Set 1:12

1967 Lotus 49 Jim Clark & Ford 3-Litre Twin Cam DFV Set 1:12


 
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©2015-2018 Automodello
Set includes 1967 Lotus 49 as driven by Jim Clark, and, 1967 Ford 3-Litre Twin Cam engine which powered the Lotus 49.

Limited Set Edition: 50 sets celebrating next year's 50th anniversary of this dual historic debut and win.


1967 Lotus 49 Jim Clark

"Just Like Clark's - Automodello Produces a Captivating 1:12 Scale Tribute to the '67 Lotus 49" AutoWeek November 23, 2015

  • Scale: 1:12
  • Manufacturer: Automodello
  • Exterior Color: British Racing Green with Yellow
  • Marque: Lotus
  • Year: 1967
  • Features: Includes display cover
  • Limited Edition: Set includes one Lotus 49 and one Ford 3-Litre - up to 50
  • Official Release Date: July 1st 2016

A singular talent with an engaging personality, Jim Clark was a beloved figure on the track and off, and remains one of the most highly regarded drivers in F1 history. Clark won 25 Grands Prix in just 72 starts—a winning percentage that trails only Fangio and Ascari for the greatest in history. He also won two world championships—the first two of Lotus’s illustrious history —in 1963 and again in 1965. For the 1967 season Clark campaigned the innovative Lotus 49 starting with the third race of the season, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. He won in the car’s debut, and went on to win three more times in 1967, as well as the first race of the 1968 season before losing his life in a Formula 2 accident during the first of a two heat race. Team mate Graham Hill went on to take the ’68 title in his Lotus 49.

The Lotus 49 was innovative for a number of reasons. Lotus head engineer and team founder Colin Chapman had pioneered the revolutionary semi-monocoque chassis design in the Lotus 25, and the technology had quickly become the standard across all of F1. With the Lotus 49, which was a full monocoque, he introduced yet another design concept which would become de rigueur with all winning teams, and it hinged upon—quite literally—the engine. Formula 1 had switched to the larger 3.0L engine formula for the 1966 season, prompting longtime Team Lotus engine supplier Coventry Climax (a specialist in the tiny 1.5L formula which had ruled from 1961 through 1965) to withdraw from the sport. This left Team Lotus scrambling for an engine supplier, and its ’66 performance suffered. For the 1967 season Ford-Cosworth was looking for a team to help it develop its new “Double Four Valve” 3.0L V8, and Lotus jumped at the opportunity, becoming the official development team for the Cosworth DFV—an engine that would dominate F1 for the next 20 years. Chapman designed an all-new chassis around the DFV, and he used the engine’s block as a stressed component rather than dropping it in a traditional frame. This was the first ever use of an engine as a fully stressed member in Formula 1, and it made the car significantly stronger and lighter than traditional designs. The benefits were immediately apparent; in addition to Clark’s four wins, the Lotus 49 took the pole position for every race in which it appeared in 1967—an astounding nine in a row!

The Lotus 49 was truly a new beginning for Team Lotus, and for F1 technology. It also represents a new beginning for Automodello, as Automodello steps into the large scale arena for the first time. Diecasm as Automodello's corporate parent is proud to be able to deliver this groundbreaking machine to you as one of just 499 fortunate Formula 1 fans, in highly detailed, meticulously researched and replicated 1:12 scale. The entire Automodello team strove to get the details perfect and are proud that Classic Team Lotus—the custodians of the original car—has given its endorsement. This is the perfect way to celebrate the engineering genius of Colin Chapman and the Lotus team, but most especially the skill and panache of one of Formula 1’s all-time greatest—Jim Clark. Jimmy’s driving career was cut tragically short by his death at age 32, which makes his extraordinary accomplishments in Formula 1—every lap of which was at the wheel of a Lotus—all the more astonishing.

1967 Ford 3-Litre Twin Cam DFV as debuted in 1967 Lotus 49

  • Scale: 1:12
  • Manufacturer: Automodello
  • Marque: Ford and as used in the 1967 Lotus 49
  • Year: 1967
  • Features: Includes display cover
  • Limited Edition: Set includes one Lotus 49 and one Ford 3-Litre - up to 50
  • Official Release Date: July 1st 2016
As engineering breakthroughs usually do, the development of the most successful engine in Formula 1 history began with a problem. In 1965, the FIA—Formula 1’s governing body—announced that it would be reworking the engine formula for the 1966 season, doubling the maximum engine displacement from 1500cc (the limit that had been in place since the start of the 1961 season) to 3000cc. This would effectively double horsepower, but it would also add weight, complexity, and cost. Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman had famously been a steadfast crusader for—and beneficiary of—light, efficient, highly engineered and minimalist racing machines. As such, Lotus thrived under the 1.5L rules, powered by Climax motors that perfectly suited the nimble Lotus. Lotus finished no lower than 3rd in the Constructors and Drivers Championships during the 1.5L era, and won each twice outright—in 1963 and again in 1965. But Team Lotus struggled mightily under the 1966 rules, and longtime engine supplier Coventry Climax’s announcement that they would be leaving F1 added insult to injury. Chapman sought help from a pair of former Team Lotus engineers Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin, who had paired to form the race engineering firm Cosworth and with whom Lotus had collaborated on the Lotus Cortina and Formula 3 projects. Duckworth was confident he could design a competitive 3.0L F1 powerplant by joining two Four Valve 4-cylinder engines—like those Cosworth ran in lower formulae—into a V8. All they needed now was financing. After initially being rebuffed by Ford in America, Chapman approached friend and Ford Britain PR man Walter Hayes, who had collaborated on the Cortina project. He agreed to underwrite the Cosworth V8 program, which was dubbed the ‘Double Four Valve’ or DFV.

As Cosworth developed the DFV, Chapman built an all-new and revolutionary car—the Lotus 49—to hold it, which utilized the DFV as a fully stressed component of the chassis. The DFV made its debut in the third race of the 1967 season, and was a sensation—rocketing to a win in its inaugural appearance at the Dutch Grand Prix at the hands of Jim Clark. Clark would win 3 more races that season, after some initial reliability gremlins were sorted out. By 1968 it was nearly unstoppable, easily carrying Team Lotus driver Graham Hill to the Driver’s Championship (after Jim Clark’s untimely death early in the season). That was the first of four titles for a DFV-powered Lotus, and the first of 12 overall—including an astounding 7 in a row from ’68-’74. It also secured 10 Constructor’s titles during the same span—both records that will likely stand indefinitely. DFVs also won Le Mans twice, and numerous titles in other formulas, making it one of most successful powerplants of all time.

The replica you hold in your hands is the Cosworth DFV as it debuted in the Lotus 49 in 1967—the start of its amazing career. We know you will thrill at the exquisite technical detail and the accuracy with which it depicts this historic engine. It is one of just 499 models, hand serialized and mounted on its attractive display base. Congratulations on becoming one of the discerning few fortunate enough to collect this engineering marvel!

Diecasm Payment Plan:
This set is eligible for Diecasm's exclusive Automodello 1:12 payment plan. Please see details here.


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