The Lotus 49 was a very successful Formula 1 racing car, designed for the 1967 season. It featured the then new Ford Cosworth DFV (Double Four Valve) 2995cc V8 engine, specially developed for Lotus. The 49 was a revolution in Formula 1 because of its then-unique configuration (seen first with the H16 engine in the Lotus 43 and BRM P83) as the engine acted as a chassis member. The Lotus 49 was one of the first F1 cars to use wings (Chaparrel had used them first in the Can Am series), which appeared partway through 1968. Originally these wings were bolted directly to the suspension and were supported by slender struts, however after several breakages which led to near fatal accidents, the high wings were banned and Lotus was forced to mount the wings directly to the bodywork. Both Jim Clark and Graham hill drove the 49 in the 1967 F1 season. Graham Hill found the 49 easy to drive and responsive, but the power of the Ford difficult to handle at first. The V8 would give sudden bursts of power that Hill had reservations about.

However, Jim Clark won its debut race at Zandvoort with ease and took another 3 wins during the season, but early unreliability with the DFV ended his championship hopes. It was felt that 1968 would be a better year after Cosworth perfected the design, and it was obvious the DFV and the design of the Lotus 49 was the way forwards. Clark won the first race of the 1968 season, the South African Grand Prix and the Tasman Series in Australia, but was tragically killed in an F2 race at Hockenheim. Graham Hill took over as team leader and won his second World Championship title, repeating his 1968 win at Monaco. The 49 also took Jochen Rindt to his first victory in 1969 at Watkins Glen, New York, before he drove the type to its last win in the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix. The 49 was intended to be replaced by the Lotus 63 midway through 1969, but when that car proved to be a failure, the 49 was pressed into service until a suitable car could be built. The 49 took 12 wins, contributed to 2 driver and constructors' world championships, before it was replaced by the Lotus 72 during 1970.