1968 Lotus Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car
Explore the 1968 Lotus Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car: programme history, design, verified rarity scope, specifications and credited photography.
The Lotus Type 56 explores a gas turbine and four-wheel drive within a wedge-shaped Indianapolis car. Its 1968 oval programme remains distinct from the later Formula One 56B branch.
History and verified programme identity
Classic Team Lotus identifies the Type 56 as the 1968 wedge-shaped, four-wheel-drive gas-turbine Indianapolis design. Its register lists four original Indy entries and a separate B/1 reference for the 1971 Formula One version. Those branches are retained separately rather than asserted as five original 1968 cars. The source describes the design as close to winning on its first appearance, but a potential result is not rewritten as a victory. The supplied photo explicitly names a museum Type 56 associated with Graham Hill’s 1968 entry.
Engineering and design
The turbine and four-wheel-drive arrangement give the Type 56 a different packaging task from the Ford V8 Indianapolis cars. The low wedge body makes that departure visible, although the photograph does not expose the whole propulsion system. Engine architecture, driven wheels and body form are connected design choices, but a modern exhibit cannot establish every original component or operating setting. Those details require technical and chassis evidence. The programme profile explains the supported gas-turbine identity while keeping later 56B Formula One use and current restoration condition separate.
The physical car in the supplied photograph
The supplied photograph shows an orange-red Type 56 with STP markings and number 70 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. Morio’s creator caption associates it with Graham Hill’s 1968 Type 56. The picture is a later display view of the historical car, not a photograph taken during the 1968 race.
A closer look at the programme
The museum view makes the wedge nose and broad orange body easy to distinguish from the narrow green V8 cars. Its STP presentation is a useful visual clue, but the source caption and register establish the actual Type. The image date remains separate from the race year written into the model description. This protects the chronology when a restored car or an exhibit carries a period competition number. The general profile can explain the turbine programme while an individual file establishes how the particular displayed car reached its present appearance. The Type 56 museum view makes its wedge front and broad orange presentation unusually clear. That shape helps a reader recognize a different Indianapolis experiment from the green Ford V8 cars. The historical propulsion still comes from the primary record; the exterior photograph cannot establish every hidden turbine component. Its creator’s Hill association and museum setting are retained as the specific image context. The later Formula One 56B branch remains separately dated, so a recognizable family relationship does not become an extra original Indy car or a merged competition history.
Collecting and chassis evidence
An individual Type 56 file should connect its register entry, period entrant and subsequent display or restoration history. The separate 56B development cannot simply be added to the original oval-car count. The four visible Indy entries remain a custodial reference, with completed fabrication and survivor totals unassigned. A distinctive turbine shape also requires provenance before an unknown display body is treated as an original racing chassis.
Related Lotus designs and meaningful comparisons
The Type 38 provides the earlier Ford-powered Indianapolis comparison, while the four-wheel-drive Type 63 offers another later experiment in a different category. The connection is the engineering question, not an identical engine or common manufacturing scope. Each programme retains its own powertrain and period.
Reading the sources
The programme sources and the photograph answer different questions. Manufacturer and custodial records establish the original model, Type, category and published production scope. The creator’s file establishes the pictured subject, setting and image permission. An individual chassis history can then add ownership, competition entries and dated repairs without changing the scope of the original programme. Build references are not survivor counts, and a later specification does not automatically become an additional newly manufactured vehicle. Where primary evidence does not establish a complete fabrication census, that field remains unassigned.
Specifications and rarity evidence
| Programme reference year | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Model / Type | Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car — Type 56 |
| Body / competition role | Four-wheel-drive turbine Indianapolis programme |
| Original programme | Indianapolis, 1968 |
| Propulsion | Gas turbine |
| Driven wheels | Four-wheel drive |
| Later branch | 56B Formula One, 1971 |
| Photo subject | Museum Type 56, Hill association in creator caption |
| Published build / register reference | 4 Indy entries; separate 56B entry |
| Independently audited completed tally | Not assigned |
| Count scope | Published source reference: 4 Indy entries; separate 56B entry. Scope follows the named programme or register; independently audited completed output and survivor census remain unassigned. |
| Original inventory status | LOT-058 — Verified |
Frequently asked questions
Does the 56B register entry describe another original 1968 Indianapolis car?
No. Classic Team Lotus identifies 56B as the 1971 Formula One version. Its separate branch is not added as another original 1968 Indy entry.
How is Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car classified?
This is a Team Lotus competition Type archive. It remains separate from Lotus road-car production. Customer cars, works entries and converted chassis need a reconciled scope before any complete fabrication tally is assigned.
Which technical details are established for the programme?
The primary record supports original programme: Indianapolis, 1968; propulsion: Gas turbine; driven wheels: Four-wheel drive. These are programme or explicitly attributed photo references. A particular surviving car’s engine, chassis repairs and competition preparation require its own dated documentation.
Does the photographed appearance establish factory originality?
The caption records a real creator-identified Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car subject and its later setting. It establishes the illustration’s scope, while original components, restoration work and individual race provenance require chassis-specific evidence. A competition number, current paint or museum display is not used as an originality certificate.
What rarity or archive scope is verified?
Published source reference: 4 Indy entries; separate 56B entry. Scope follows the named programme or register; independently audited completed output and survivor census remain unassigned.
Who photographed the supplied image?
Morio via Wikimedia Commons, under CC BY-SA 3.0. The original file and licence are linked with the image. Retain the creator, source and licence when uploading, exporting or reusing it; local retouching and synthetic enlargement have not been performed.
Related Lotus profiles
Sources and photo credits
Photograph: Morio via Wikimedia Commons original source, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source-provided thumbnail supplied without local cropping, retouching or synthetic enlargement.
Built in limited numbers
Published source reference: 4 Indy entries; separate 56B entry. Scope follows the named programme or register; independently audited completed output and survivor census remain unassigned.
Gallery
Specifications
Factory specifications may vary by model year, market and configuration.
Identity & production
- Official model
- Type 56 Indianapolis Turbine Car
