Tiny Lotus Elan 26R overtakes TWO Ferrari 250 LMs at Sonoma 

Well... For Sonoma, I guess the Lotus Elan would work wonders. The track had plenty of twists and turns that favour the agile Elan... But, in places like Goodwood, or Le Mans, Spa, I'll pick the Ferrari. Still, if I were to be given a chance, in this particular situation, I'm sure I'll give the Ferrari a try anyway!

The Lotus. Not even close.

dunno bout that, those ferraris are worth 20 million and the Lotus......well.....20 thousand. I'd be driving them on eggshells too, but if you unleash them they should be quicker for sure.

@@philippbehrend5559 - The 26R will be closer to $150,000. Still a big difference in values, for sure!

A Honda CRX taught me how much fun a light car can be. Even with it being front wheel drive, if you did it correctly, you could get around a turn/corner at crazy speeds.

@@philippbehrend5559you think the lardy Fezza’s aren’t being thrashed for all they’re worth?? The Lotus 26R has the measure of the V12’s. BHP is vanity, BHP per tonne is sanity.

@@philippbehrend5559they might cost 20 £M but the Lotus shows that the Ferrari’s are not worth it

you mean remove weight? but srsly, great quote, and true as well

Indeed.

Oh, here we go again... The "why the Ferrari 250 GTO isnt eligible for the GT class because they didn't make 100 of them for homologation" story... If so, then Aston Martin, Jaguar and AC/Shelby would've been an even bigger cheat. Aston Martin only made 4-5 Project cars, from DP212-215. Jaguar only made 12 E Type Lightweights. And Shelby only made SIX Daytona Coupes... And yet, all of them raced in GT class, where, as you say, they needed to make 100 examples to be homologated... Can you explain why? Because I can...

​@@jcgabriel1569 Oh, here we have a triggered Ferrari fan it seems. I just wondered why none of the teams which lost to an illegal car, didn't try to contest that win. This goes for every car which wasn't eligible, regardless of brand. I don't care as to the "why", the question is why the competitors didn't make an issue of this, since it is a pretty big deal to win Le Mans. Especially if you financed the entry that lost to an illegal car.

​​@@Yvolve Unfortunately for you, I'm far from a diehard Ferrari fan, more like someone who hated often repeated motor racing stories that were simply untrue. Here's how it actually works, and before you disagree, I read the FIA regulations for the time period, for the World Sportscar Championship... True, to be eligible for homologation into the GT class, the manufacturer would have to make 100 examples of the car. And, here's something that would surprise you... Once the manufacturer had built 100 examples, they were allowed to make a variant with modifications to the design, as long as they can show and prove that it is a "logical evolution of the type". And, this "improved" variant don't need to be built in 100 examples. Now, Ferrari had fielded the 250 SWB at the GT class, they had made more than 100 examples by that time, and as a result, they can make an "improved" variant. Also, to add further, the 250 SWB is a part of the Ferrari 250 series of cars, of which Ferrari certainly made more than 100 at that point as well. And that is the GTO. It's not called the GTO, because they've already made 100 of these cars, hence 'O' for 'Omologato', it's because they've already built more than 100 SWBs, so they're now allowed to make this improved version. In short, it's the Ferrari 250 SWB that was homologated, and the Ferrari 250 GTO, as far as Ferrari and FIA is concerned, is just an improved variant of the 250 SWB, not a standalone car, and hence, didn't need 100 examples to be built. So, you're question as to why no one complained? It's because there's nothing to complain about, it's completely within the rules. Hell, everyone followed Ferrari's example! Like I said, there's the Jaguar E Type Lightweight, which were basically the improved variant of the normal E Type. Aston Martin Project cars were the improved variant of the DB4 GT. The Shelby Daytona Coupes were the improved variant of the AC/Shelby Cobra. And that also explains why FIA and CSI refused the homologation of the Ferrari 250 LM. Because no matter which way one looks at it, it's no longer a "logical evolution of the type", as stated by the regulations. The GTO still shares similarities with some features of the SWB, the 250 LM only share the same wheelbase...

Lotus did something similar on one of the many occasions when they needed money from the bank: They showed a car park full of finished cars which were obviously collateral for the loan. Except, only the outer cars were fully finished. Cars further in (deliberately made inaccessible by parking them closely) had engines missing and the innermost cars were just body shells on tressles.

@@PikestntColin Chapman and his scheming. He was such a legend!