The Lotus 78 'wing car' was the car that started the ground effect revolution in Formula 1, in the 1977 racing season. It was also used several times in the 1978 season. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, and Tony Rudd. Ground effect (or Wing In Ground effect) is a phenomenon of aerodynamics where the flow of air around part of an aircraft or a racing car is interrupted by the ground. ... Formula One, abbreviated to F1 and also known as Grand Prix racing, is the highest class of single-seat open-wheel auto racing. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... See also Peter Wright (rugby player) and Pete Wright (musician) Peter Wright (born on August 9, 1916 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom - died April 27, 1995 in Tasmania, Australia) was a former MI5 counterintelligence officer noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher (ISBN 0670820555), which was part memoir, part expos... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (born 9 May 1928 in London - died 16 December 1982) was an influential designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. ...

Its sidepods, bulky constructions between front and rear wheels containing the radiators, were shaped as inverted aerofoils and sealed with flexible "skirts" to the ground. Peter Wright and Colin Chapman had discovered that by carefully shaping the underside of the car they could accelerate the air passing under the car, thereby reducing the air pressure under the car relative to that over it and pushing the tyres down harder onto the track. The greater force downwards on the tyres gave more grip and thus higher cornering speeds. Ground effect had the great advantage of being a low drag solution, unlike conventional wings, meaning that the increased cornering ability was not compromised by a decrease in straight line speed. The sliding "skirts" sealed the gap between the sides of the cars and the ground and prevented excessive air being sucked into the low pressure area under the car and dissipating the ground effect. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (born 9 May 1928 in London - died 16 December 1982) was an influential designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. ... Ground effect (or Wing In Ground effect) is a phenomenon of aerodynamics where the flow of air around part of an aircraft or a racing car is interrupted by the ground. ... For a solid object moving through a fluid or gas, drag is the sum of all the aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces in the direction of the external fluid flow. ...

The raw power of the Ford Cosworth engine was thus only part of the set-up. The 78 created a sensation and reasserted the Lotus F1 team's technology leadership. The team won 5 races that year, and 2 in 1978 while they developed the much improved Lotus 79. Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... A Ford Cosworth DFV on a Ligier JS11 Cosworth is an engine design and manufacture company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines for automobile racing. ... Team Lotus was one of Formula 1s most successful teams. ...

Drivers: Mario Andretti, Gunnar Nilsson, Ronnie Peterson Mario Andretti portrayed on the cover of Esquire Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American racing driver, arguably the most successful US citizen in auto racing. ... Gunnar Nilsson (November 20, 1948 – October 20, 1978) was a well known Swedish racing driver. ... Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson, (February 14, 1944, Örebro, Sweden - September 11, 1978, Monza, Italy) was a Swedish racing driver. ...

External links

• Lotus 78 - season results; race photograph
• 78 - race and pit photographs
• 1/20 scale model and pit photograph of actual car
• Aerodynamic Illustration - Explanation of Side Pod Aerodynamics

The Pontiac Matiz G2 (Mexico) is a subcompact car introduced by Pontiac in November 2005 for the 2006 model year for sale in the Mexican market. It is a successor the Matiz, introduced to the Mexican market in 1998. The Matiz G2 is intended to compete with cars like the Volkswagen Lupo and Ford Ka. The Nash Metropolitan of the 1950s was an early subcompact car. ... This article concerns the automobile; for the Native American leader, see Chief Pontiac. ... 2004 Volkswagen Lupo The Volkswagen Lupo is a city car manufactured by Volkswagen. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The small car was developed by GM Daewoo Auto and Technology in Korea and is sold in other markets as the Chevrolet Matiz. Daewoo Matiz (M100) The Chevrolet Matiz (also Spark) is a micro car made by GM Daewoo. ...