Rhino 3D model was a labour intensive project and only completed because of my admiration for this classic Lotus F1 racing car from the 1970s. Every single component had to be made individually including wiring, spark plugs and even nuts. The model took several months to complete in between various breaks.

The real car was driven to numerous championship wins by Clark, Hill and Jochen Rindt. It was a classic example of Lotus CEO Colin Chapman's engineering talents, being an innovative, simple and beautiful design. The two large NACA ducts provided aerodynamic downforce to the nose as well as ensuring efficient airflow for water cooling. It was powered by the famous Ford-Cosworth V8, a jewel of engineering and visible technology rarely, if ever seen in todays' cars. Later versions donned the first rear 'wings' and front spoilers that are still used in racing cars today. However the first high rear wings were eventually banned after a number of crashes that had been compounded by them. In one case the wing on a spinning car caused it to take off, leaping an Armco safety barrier and crashing into woods. Also the struts supporting the high wings were vunearable to snapping under the immense downforce exerted on them. At high speed this was particularly dangerous as maximum force was being exerted on the wings and should the supports buckle the driver would instantly lose control of the car.

A later version, below, rendered in Blender 3D using texture mapping for the tyres and HDR environment mapping for the background. This creates a more realistic effect making it hard to tell if it is a model or real car.