[MOC] Ferrari 312 vs. Lotus 49 (1967 F1 cars)

[MR Swordfish]

After taking a shot at creating a couple of 9-wide 2017 F1 cars, I though it would be fun to turn the clock back 50 years… to 1967. The cars back then were incredibly dangerous mid-engine-missiles, but I have been a fan of their classic look and simplicity for a long time. I made an effort to recreate one in 8-wide LEGO as a kid, but I was never fully satisfied with the results. Today I’ve started all over with new designs, and I’ve done my best to capture some key details that made these cars look so distinct. I present to you the Ferrari 312 vs. the Lotus 49.

^ And here they are! The yellow racing livery on the nose of the Lotus is made up of five individual custom stickers, and nothing is folded. I felt there were no attractive options for brick-built livery, plus I knew I’d have to make stickers regardless for the racing numbers, “TEAM LOTUS” logos, etc.

^ The ’67 Ferrari 312 is one of my absolute F1 favorites, producing what is perhaps my favorite engine sound of all time. It was featured prominently in that Ferrari/Shell V-power commercial showcasing a variety of Ferrari’s Grand Prix machines.

^ The iconic Lotus 49 was easily the fastest F1 car in ’67, but arguably lost the championship because it… broke a lot. Still, with the innovation of bolting the engine directly to the chassis to act as part of the car’s structure, Lotus effectively changed the sport.

^ The raised lip surrounding the cockpit is, in my opinion, an important aspect of these classic cars’ look. I tried several ideas for capturing it before settling on this one.

^ The sections of the Lotus’ low lying exhaust pipes seen beneath the rear axle are actually attached separately from the rest of the pipes seen in the rear, using minifigure “Tool Box Wrench” pieces.

^ These two models, like their real life counterparts, differ most visibly in shape towards the rear. While there was no way to capture every detail in this scale, I did my best to approximate the distinct look of each car. The Ferrari’s 3-litre V12 engine is very different from the Lotus’ famous Cosworth DFV V8.

^ Note that the rear tyres are wider than the fronts, just like the real cars. Those older LEGO tyres actually fit perfectly on the newer Speed Champions wheels, which really worked great for these MOCs.

^ These classic cars are essentially in scale with both of the 2017 F1 cars I built a little while ago. The wheelbase of this Ferrari 312 is just over 2/3rds the length of the wheelbase on the Ferrari SF70H, which is accurate! The 2017 cars are also a bit wider than the 1967 cars (9-wide vs. 8-wide), which is also just about right.

^ While full minifigures can’t fit in the cars’  narrow cockpits, it is possible to build “drivers” using minifig heads on 1x1 bricks with a round 1x1 plates underneath. They may look like bizarre board game pieces on their own, but they work well inside the cars for display.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my MOCs! I've also posted this on MOCpages (link), and larger images can be found on my Flickr page (link). Comments and feedback are always appreciated.

Edited February 11, 2018 by MR Swordfish

[austindave]

Nice pair of classic racers.

Dave

[MR Swordfish]

On 2/8/2018 at 1:46 AM, austindave said:

Nice pair of classic racers.

Dave

Thank you!