1963 Lotus Super Seven (series 2) Authentic Vintage Racer And Tilt-bed Trailer on 2040-cars
Topanga, California, United States
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My father vintage raced the first Lotus 26R S2 to compete at west coast vintage race events in the 1980s. When he deemed his 26R too valuable for him to race, he sold it to a collector in Japan and began restoring this Super Seven. He purchased the car from Jim Profit, of Racing Restorations in Long Beach, CA. First he stripped it down to a bare metal tube chassis. When the chassis met with his approval, it was powder painted black and re-skinned in fresh aluminum. Fenders were restored to more proper proportions. The car was built as a "street legal" (and road registered) racer in accordance with the rule set embraced by HMSA and General Racing. Original correct engine with period correct updates, original suspension configuration. A lot of thought and development went into this car. There are many subtle details which all serve a purpose. No expense was spared. Dave Vegher of Veloce Motors West engineered and built the motor (as well as a fresh spare full-steel motor which can be purchased separately). There are many ways to set up a race car ... choices in chassis set-up, spring rates, dampening, gear ratios, and differential set-up. Without giving away any competitive secrets, let me just say that this car is a well developed tool, it is fast, yet forgiving to drive. The car is so neutral handling and forgiving that it's eminent "drivability" makes even the occasional racer like me look like a "hero."
The Super Seven weighs 1052 pounds with half a tank of fuel ... Power is in the neighborhood of 140bhp ... weight distribution is 48% front to 52% rear, and 49% to 51% measured diagonally. The limited slip differential is a very special piece. It is a Hewland design that runs a 4.4 ratio and benefits from the most slick fully synthetic lubricant. Both my father and I have run different differentials ... the Hewland is magical. Since 1990 the Super Seven has always been clad in "Allegheny Maroon" ... my father raced it with a French Blue nose band. When I bought it and refreshed the entire car in 1997, I opted for a nose band of sea foam green. I am 6'1" and 200 pounds with a 34" inseam ... the Seven fits me like a glove ... it is a very comfortable work space. I am including a nifty light weight aluminum box tilt-bed enclosed trailer (single axle). It was reported built by Webb Webster for an Indy Car he had built. I bought the trailer from Don Ferguson of Paramount Forge and Ardun. The story was that he bought four or five 4 cam Ford race motors from somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, and they gave him the trailer to get them home. Weighs about 1000 pounds and the tilt-bed engineering is incredible! If you want to run at premier vintage race events in the same class with Lotus 26Rs, Ginetta G4Rs, Shelby GT350s, and 289 Cobras, then this Lotus Super Seven is both rare fun and reliably competitive ... AND a bargain price of admission. |
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Lotus and Aston Martin to hook up?
Tue, 30 Oct 2012This has been a tumultuous year for Lotus - to say the least - from the company being sold off back in January to its CEO Dany Bahar being fired in June to its questionable financial status and rumors of the British automaker being sold off to another automaker. First, we heard that Volkswagen was interested in acquiring Lotus and parent company Proton, a rumor that was later dismissed. Now Automobile is reporting that fellow Brit Aston Martin could be in the market to work with or possibly even merge with Lotus.
While this is pure speculation at this point, such a venture could prove to be beneficial for both independent companies. That's because with Lotus focused on lightweight, relatively affordable sports cars and Aston Martin producing high-end performance cars, there is virtually no product overlap between the companies. The article suggests that a person or company wanting to merge these two automakers would have to raise between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion in order to make a go of it, however.
We're not sure what to think of this latest rumor, but anything that can help get the struggling brand back to health at least has our interest.
Lotus Exige S gets automatic transmission option
Sun, 26 Oct 2014A vehicle as light and agile as the Lotus Exige is all about driver involvement, but those enticed by the nimble sports car's handling and performance who aren't keen on working a stick shift now have another option at their disposal.
Lotus has just announced the availability of an automatic transmission on both the Exige S and Exige S Roadster. For an extra couple thousand euros or pounds sterling, customers will now be able to order a six-speed automatic transmission. The two-pedal setup includes paddle shifters and Sport or Race modes that optimize shifting for "a more spirited drive."
Equipped with the slushbox, the Exige S Automatic is just as quick around Lotus' famous factory test track in Hethel, and even pips the manual version's 0-62 time by 0.1 second, now down to 3.9. Unfortunately, since the Exige isn't available Stateside anymore, however, American buyers can't get their hands on either version.
Lotus spotted testing more extreme Elise on the Nordschleife
Tue, 19 Aug 2014If we had a nickel for every version of the Elise that Lotus has rolled out over the years, we might actually have enough spare change to buy one ourselves. And we're not even talking about the entire separate models (like the Exige and Europa) that Lotus has based on the Elise's platform or the other automakers' cars (like the Tesla Roadster and Hennessey Venom GT) that have used the same. And now Lotus appears to be testing another one.
Spotted lapping the Nürburgring, what we're looking at here appears to be the track-bound Elise S Cup R, but our intrepid paparazzi by the side of the track tell us it's missing the switches for the battery isolator and fire extinguisher. In their place, this Elise is wearing an even bigger rear wing as part of an altogether rather aggressive aero kit - not to mention a rockin' matte red wrap.
All of these telltales make us think Lotus has something extreme in the works, and we could find out what exactly it is as early as the Paris Motor Show in October, so stay tuned and watch this space.