Mario Andretti 1978 Poster
Regular price
$26.00
Before the Black Beauty that was the Lotus 79, Colin Chapman, Tony Rudd, Ralph Bellamy, Martin Ogilvie, and Peter Wright came to grips with ground effect on the Lotus 78, as used by Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson throughout 1977. The car’s low-pressure area in the floor was a tad too far forward, requiring a large rear wing which caused major drag issues, which in turn encouraged Cosworth to give Lotus “development” DFVs that produced another 10-12hp.
However, this power boost hurt reliability, and Andretti suffered several engine failures that would lead to him missing out on the World Championship, despite scoring four wins to the three of champion Niki Lauda. And despite Nilsson adding a fifth win, Lotus also finished far short of Ferrari’s points tally in the Constructors’ Championship.
The far more slippery Lotus 79 wasn’t ready for the start of the ’78 season, obliging Andretti and new teammate Ronnie Peterson to run the first five races (six in Peterson’s case) in the 78, as shown here. And it was still a sharp weapon: Mario took pole and victory in Argentina, while Ronnie took pole in Brazil and won in South Africa. Thus the Lotus 78 played a crucial role in Andretti’s drivers’ title and Lotus’s constructors’ crown (its last). And so, while the 79 earns most of the plaudits, its predecessor actually has the slightly superior win tally, 7-6.
Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper.
• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan
However, this power boost hurt reliability, and Andretti suffered several engine failures that would lead to him missing out on the World Championship, despite scoring four wins to the three of champion Niki Lauda. And despite Nilsson adding a fifth win, Lotus also finished far short of Ferrari’s points tally in the Constructors’ Championship.
The far more slippery Lotus 79 wasn’t ready for the start of the ’78 season, obliging Andretti and new teammate Ronnie Peterson to run the first five races (six in Peterson’s case) in the 78, as shown here. And it was still a sharp weapon: Mario took pole and victory in Argentina, while Ronnie took pole in Brazil and won in South Africa. Thus the Lotus 78 played a crucial role in Andretti’s drivers’ title and Lotus’s constructors’ crown (its last). And so, while the 79 earns most of the plaudits, its predecessor actually has the slightly superior win tally, 7-6.
Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper.
• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan
