10-Year-Old Adrian Newey Built Lotus 49 Kit and Labeled It His Favorite

Vidit Dhawan | 11/05/2024
10-Year-Old Adrian Newey Built Lotus 49 Kit and Labeled It His Favorite

Although Adrian Newey has undoubtedly established himself as one of the best aerodynamicists in F1 history, it all started for him at the age of 10. Back then, the Briton built the Lotus 49 kit and also labeled it his favorite creation at the time. Newey revealed the same in his book: “How to Build a Car“?

The departing Red Bull engineer explained how he “continued messing about with motor cars” back in 1968. He then described how he built the Lotus 49 kit, something even his dad couldn’t make despite the company claiming that one could finish it in a weekend.

Newey said,

“My favorite was a one-twelfth scale Tamiya model of a Lotus 49, as driven by Jim Clark and Graham Hill.”

He liked this car model because of the color of the livery – a mixture of red, white, and gold. The Briton believes that it also had the right details and was a fantastic model overall.

By the age of 12, Adrian Newey developed such an interest in designing cars that he was already “bored” of working on others’ projects. He wanted to develop something from scratch for himself.

This was when Newey began taking drawing more seriously. He took out pictures from Autosport, copied them, and added a touch of his own genius to it.

The Lotus 49 kit was one of the first cars designed by Newey – although it was a scale model – and he did so at just 10 years old. 55 years later, he drove an actual Lotus car himself around the iconic circuit of Monaco.

Adrian Newey drives Lotus 49B at Grand Prix Monaco Historique event

Monaco is currently hosting the 14th edition of the Grand Prix Historique, to celebrate 100 years of motor racing. In this event, racing cars of different eras are driven around to show how much motorsports has evolved since 1924.

Among the many who drew some of the most legendary cars of the past decades, was Adrian Newey. The 65-year-old suited up to drive on the Lotus 49B.

Motorsport Triple Crown winner Graham Will won the 1968 F1 World Championship with this car, and it was designed by Colin Chapman – founder of Lotus.

It was the first F1 car to use a stressed-member drivetrain to reduce weight. This was revolutionary, to say the least, as today, designers build all their cars in the same way.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Adrian Newey

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Vidit Dhawan

Vidit Dhawan, a Formula 1 Editor at The SportsRush, is intrinsically connected with everything around the sport — from the engine roar, the cacophony on the grandstands to the action. He fell in love with F1 during the inaugural Indian GP in 2011. After more than a decade of deep engagement with the sport, Vidit insists he will remain a lifelong fan of Fernando Alonso, and sees the future of F1 in Charles Leclerc. A sports fanatic from childhood, he discovered his passion for writing while pursuing a bachelor's degree in international and global studies. Vidit has written over 1,700 articles, ranging from news reports to opinions. He thrives covering live action, and loves to dig into the contrasting personalities in the F1 bandwagon and narrate their journey in life as well as the sport. Vidit also follows tennis and football, enjoys playing as well as coaching chess.

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