It’s No 5 the JPS that Emerson Fitipaldi was unfortunate to crash in, and can be seen in all its restored glory in another of ‘Classic Team Lotus’ RU-vid videos and it is stunning.
While it is true that those first dozen cars led to Monaco by the time Lotus got to the end of the nineteen sixties there were literally dozens of marks - and when those first charts of the lineage appeared. These days a racing team with hundreds of employees will produce one car for one formula. Colin and his small team could produce half a dozen cars in the same time. And go racing.
Chapman's own work made his approach to running a racing team extinct. The 78 and 79 made it clear that aerodynamics were a dominant force in racing car design. But maximizing the yield from aerodynamics meant that extensive analysis of physical properties was essential.
As young lads growing up in North Hollywood California we were influenced by our Anglophile Aunt and Uncle to the point of learning to drive on a 49 MG TC. We could only dream of Lotus Elites and Sevens. In 1966 we finally met one of the heroes we previously had only read about. Jim Clark at the Riverside Raceway. Then another couple of years later we attended the Questor Grand Prix where we saw Colin Chapman and Jackie Stewart. The legacy of Lotus is so important to racing and sports cars only equaled by Ferrari.
Nicely done! Shame there is so little footage from the Saturday event included in your final cut. Thanks for running these events though. Fantastic that my Little Lotus got to be in pride of place on the show lawn this year. Was an honour to be there again.
Incredible what Clive Chapman has achieved, I hope Geely appreciate what CTL has done to maintain Lotus's illustrious heritage and how important that is for the Lotus brand today.
Thank you very much for the video upload. Great to see! Brings back unforgettable and very fond memories of my time working for Lotus back in the late 80's and early 90's. I'm retired now and still a Lotus fan with two iconic vehicles in my garage!
I bought two new Lotus' in 1970 and 1972, an Elan S4 and Elan Sprint, at the tender ages of 22 and 24, respectively. Try getting insured for them in 2024! We still own the Sprint today after 52 years but it's in need of a thorough ground up restoration. I visited the factory three times during the seventies and was even interrupted talking to the Service Manager by CC himself! I was in awe of him having followed his career from the early sixties to his untimely death. On the last visit I had the Sprint converted to a Sprint 5 which makes it one of only a few 5 speed box conversions carried out by the Service Dept. We're hoping to start its restoration by the end of this year with a view to having it back on the road by Spring 2026. Would love to bring it to a future Garden Party. Very enjoyable video and I recognise the house frontage from the +2S 130/5 marketing brochures. Best regards.
I had a modern EV Lotus behind me today it just didn't seem right. To own a traditional Lotus you had be prepared to get your hands dirty. Owning an Elan was a love-hate and learning experience. 😅
Loved it, it brought back the memories of those times, particularly Brands, drove there many times back then. Just like in the film we and everyone else back always tested the cars on the public roads! We put bicycle lamps on our Lotus when we took it out at night to make it legal!
Great clips from the past. Goodwood and Brands have changed a bit.! Health and safety never mentioned, knock up a racer in the garden shed and go racing.... thought the sound track was confusing, unneccesary.....?
My father worked as a 'welders mate' , part-time, at Lotus in Hornsey, North London... i guess at the time when some of these cars were fabricated... he was the assistant cutting brackets & bits to weld into chassis & body.
