It’s the swinging ’60s in London, you’re the daughter of an industrialist, your husband disappeared over the Amazonian rain forrest,...
Colin Chapman began building and racing his own cars in the late 1940s. Over the next 10 years, his Lotus...
Long ago when racecars used tires with tread, I owned a couple Lotus cars. While stationed in Germany, I bought a 1968 Lotus Europa and picked it up at the factory. After returning from Vietnam, I bought a 1956 Lotus 11 LM that I raced in the early ’70s. Then...
The Lotus Elan was launched in October 1962 at the British Motorshow, making next month the car’s 50th anniversary. The...
My racing started during the spring of 1962 at the Goodwood racing circuit, I was racing a Lotus Elite. I went on to drive an Elan and then a Ferrari 250LM with Peter Clarke. It was in the Ferrari that I did my first Daytona 24 Hours. I shared the...
The Vintage Sports-Car Club’s Race and Speed season opened in perfect style with an eye-watering 143-car entry for The Pomeroy...
When the farm owned by Helena Neethling’s father in the Riviersonderend district, about 100 miles due east of Cape Town,...
1970 Nomad-BRM Mk3 After the war years in the UK, a certain Churchillian spirit prevailed, which left many with an upbeat feeling, believing there was no goal too great, no mountain too high to attempt. It was just a question of self-belief and tenacity. Indeed, in typical inspirational mode, Sir...
1969 Chevron B8-BMW In my book, 2006 was a good year. Got my pensioner’s bus pass, had two cataract operations,...
With its revised and corrected rear suspension, the car is a blast to drive especially when steered with the throttle. Photo:...
The Elan, Lotus’s first road car with a steel backbone chassis and fiberglass body, debuted in 1962. Initially praised for exceptional road capabilities, it later spawned a racing version, the Type 26R, homologated in 1964. Weighing 600 kg, it boasted a tuned 1,558 cc DOHC “Lotus TwinCam” engine, producing more...
In May 1968, my former wife and I traveled by train, ferry and again by train from Pirmasens, Germany, to...
Birmingham, AL • May 19-27, 2012 There was little difference between early Lotus street and racecars. They drifted away from...
This year’s Cholmondeley Pageant of Power (CPOP), June 12–14th, will celebrate 65 years of Lotus, with a concours, parade and class on track all dedicated to the British marque. On Friday the 12th, visitors will be treated to the first-ever parade of all production Lotus models ever manufactured, organized by...
Ode to ’53 Dear Editor, Really enjoyed the review of 1953 by Mike Lawrence (March 2014)—a terrific season with so...
Racing has lost a great friend with the passing of Academy Award–winning actor Paul Newman. Brought into the sport by...
1964 Lotus 30 During his test drive at Silverstone, the author found that most of what he’d heard about the Lotus 30 over the years wasn’t necessarily true. Photo: Pete Austin Racing car enthusiasts, on the whole, treasure every innovative idea manufacturers have managed to conjure up. However, Auto Union and...
The 1972 Lotus Elan Plus 2S first supplied to the late Formula One driver Ronnie Peterson is one of the...
Mike Lawrence One of the delights of Vintage Racecar is reading the small ads and being reminded of the sheer...
It’s hard to believe that the bane of every Lotus Elan owner has just turned 25. It was early February, 1989, at the Chicago Auto Show, when Japanese car manufacturer Mazda unveiled a new, compact two-seat convertible roadster dubbed the MX-5 Miata. Prior to the unveiling of the Miata, Mazda...
The year 1962 was a big one. Not only was Seattle sporting its beautiful piercing tribute to the futuramic skyline...
Rare Lotus Collection to Market: A fantastic Lotus collection put together by one man, Deryck Norville, a former Cosworth engineer,...
When I were but a lad, my notion of a perfect Saturday was to walk down to the train station in our suburban village and ride the half hour into New York City, where I would spend hours upon hours wandering the marvel-strewn halls of the American Museum of Natural...
The ex–Geoghegan 1960 Lotus Elite The ex–Chamberlain 1960 Lotus Elite The 1967 Lotus Elite Twin Cam No matter what year...
I recently gave a talk to a collector car gathering in the Bay Area. The Q&A after these talks is...