1968 Formula One season on the scene when Ken Tyrrell entered his own team using a Cosworth-powered car built by French aeronautics company Matra and driven by ex-BRM driver Jackie Stewart. Unsurprisingly the season-opening 1968 South African Grand Prix confirmed Lotus' superiority, with Jim Clark and Graham Hill finishing 1–2. It would be Clark's last win. On 7 April 1968 Clark, one of the most successful and popular drivers of all time, was killed at Hockenheim in a non-championship Formula Two event. The Scotsman had gone off the track caused by what was believed to be a deflating rear tire; 90% of the Hockenheim
Four-wheel drive in Formula One originally designed to compete in the 1968 Indianapolis 500 where it nearly won, but with USAC introducing a ban on gas turbines and four-wheel drive for the 1970 race, a new B variant of the car was built to Formula 1 spec with an eye to replacing the failed 63. With a Pratt & Whitney engine driving the trusty Ferguson-derived transmission without the need for a clutch or gearbox, the car made its Formula 1 debut in the 1971 Race of Champions with Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheel. He qualified seventh out of 15 runners, but retired after 33 laps