View attachment 263535
Lotus Espirit-Yamaha
Race car by UK-based Terry Windle was powered by a mid-mounted Yamaha TZ-1500 (300hp) V8 engine. Formed by combining two TZ-747cc 4-cyl two-stroke engines, built by Roland Broadbent at Oxford Racing Services.
It's interesting that TZ750 engines started out as two TZ350 engines grafted together end-to-end! The Yamaha TZ750 completely dominated the AMA Formula 750 racing class, winning 9 consecutive Daytona 200's from 1974 through 1983. The great Kenny Roberts rode a Champion-framed TZ750 dirt tracker in the 1975 AMA Grand National series, and later recalled, “It became immediately clear that someone was gonna die riding such a bike, or cause someone else to die. I was at the top of my game in those days, but I really began to wonder what I’d gotten myself into.”