Front air intake for the radiators was standard practice at the time, although the Ferris approach is distinctive. Ferris also adopted a typically Chapman attitude regarding the cockpit regulations, scheming a cockpit enclosure feature that would both reduce drag and improve airflow to the rear wing. (The Ferrari Can-Am design featured a similar approach and was considered acceptable.)
The most distinctive aspect of the design is the very long tail, at a time when such tails became a feature at Le Mans but had yet to appear in Can-Am designs.
Then the brief changed, when Can-Am caught up with the F1 regulations and banned high wings. The actual regulation was something of a grey area – just what Colin Chapman liked – which left room for significant rear aerodynamic devices, as long as they could be considered to be ‘part of the bodywork’. This led to Ferris incorporating a low-level rear wing, much in keeping with the approach adopted by other designers at the time. However, Lotus ultimately did not have the spare resources to pursue the idea and it remained on the drawing board.