56/3 returned ‘home’ to Hethel in November 2013. New owner Milton Verret, of Texas, wanted the car restored to running mechanical condition and presented exactly as she was on race day, back in 1968.
With its unique resources of mechanics from the day, the original design drawings and photographic archive, Classic Team Lotus specialises in restoring cars to exactly period specification.
Lead mechanic Lewis Cullington has spent hundreds of hours disassembling, researching, restoring and rebuilding the car. Team Manager Chris Dinnage and buyer Roger Yallop have played vital roles in helping Lewis to conduct the restoration to the highest possible standard. Lewis has been helped in particular by apprentice Keiran Cook and new recruit Paul Reed. As the deadline has loomed large it has been all hands to the pumps, with all at Classic Team Lotus getting involved, to have the car ready for its departure to the States.
Extensive research in the course of the restoration has confirmed the provenance of the car as 56/3, Graham Hill’s car number 70. Every detail is exactly in accordance with the original Team Lotus design, created by Maurice Philippe, working together with Colin Chapman. Detail features unique to 56/3 are evident and consistent throughout the car.
Clive Chapman observes: ‘Once again, the Classic Team Lotus mechanics have done an exceptional job to restore a very famous Team Lotus racing car. We appreciate the owner entrusting us with the responsibility and we have lavished the appropriate amount of care and attention on this extraordinary car. As we delved deeper into the restoration it was rewarding to discover every detail of the car being consistent with her history.’
‘Furthermore it has been a pleasure to establish a working relationship with both Vince Granatelli and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, both of whom have been extremely helpful and encouraging. Happily Vince and I have managed to avoid the ups and downs that were a feature of the relationship between our mercurial fathers…so far.’
The original Team Lotus mechanics from 1968 were reunited at Hethel, to be together again with the car with which they shook the racing establishment, 46 years on from when the car was first revealed to an astonished media, at Hethel.
Immediately after the Hethel reunion, 56/3 was flown to Phoenix, Arizona for installation of its gas turbine engine, which was undertaken by Vince Granatelli, son of the late Andy Granatelli, famous head of the STP Corporation who initiated the STP Lotus attack on the World’s greatest race, the Indy 500.
The dramatic wedge shape, dayglo red cars were reunited by the Hall of Fame Museum to celebrate the history of gas turbine powered cars at Indy. Classic Team Lotus was pleased to accept the invitation to include the 1971 Formula One type 56B version raced by Emerson Fittipaldi. Hopefully next time the 56B will be able to join in the parade…
Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Vince Granatelli paraded three of the revolutionary 1968 Team Lotus type 56 Indy cars at the 2014 Indy 500 before the 300,000 strong crowd, with the 33 car field already lined up on the grid.
The extraordinary noise of their gas turbine engines was almost drowned out by the cheering crowd as three of the Indy greats drove by in tight formation.
Parnelli Jones was driving car number 70 which was Graham Hill's car in 1968. Owner Milton Verret commissioned Classic Team Lotus to restore the car and he was proud to give her a shakedown run at the Brickyard, the day before the parade.
20 окт 2024
