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1963 Lotus Super Seven (series 2) Authentic Vintage Racer And Tilt-bed Trailer on 2040-cars

Year:1963 Mileage:12038
Location:

Topanga, California, United States

Topanga, California, United States

 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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Auto blog

Lotus F1 confirms Grosjean, Maldonado for 2015

Wed, 19 Nov 2014

With the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix now just ten days away, the focus is beginning to shift to next year's Formula One World Championship, with more and more pieces to the puzzle falling into place. And the latest news comes from the Lotus team. The Enstone-based outfit has confirmed that it's keeping both its drivers right where they are for next season, with Romain Grosjean partnering Pastor Maldonado once again.
Swiss driver Grosjean, now 28 years old, made his grand prix debut with the team in 2009, returned as test driver in 2011 while winning the GP2 title, returned to the F1 grid in 2012 and has been driving for the team ever since. He's scored nine podium finishes to date, but has finished no better than his eighth place this season.
Venezuelan pilot Maldonado, 29, won the GP2 the year before his teammate, and moved up to F1 with Williams, for whom he drove for three seasons before switching to Lotus for this one. He shocked the field when he won the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012, but has only finished in the points once this season.

Stock Miata beats bunch of high-powered cars in wet 1/4-mile drag race

Thu, 06 Jun 2013

When is a stock, 167-horsepower Mazda MX-5 Miata quicker than a Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lotus Elise and a Porsche 911? When it's raining. Sort of.
Mazda Canada arranged a unique drag race to show off the fact that the Miata's optional power retractable folding hardtop can go from top-down to top-up in just 12 seconds flat. In this video, all six cars line up for a drag race, and it starts to rain (well, sort of - but you'll have to watch the video all the way to the end to see what we mean). The green flag is waved, and the timer starts as soon as the convertibles begin to put their tops up. But because the Miata's roof mechanism gets the car's roof back up a full 5.1 seconds quicker than the second-place car, the Mazda gets a serious advantage off the line for the actual drag race.
It's a fun video. And while we've spoiled the results (come on, the video was uploaded by Mazda, you knew the Miata was going to win), be sure to see how it all unfolds, below.

Lotus hands Pastor Maldonado a new Evora S in Monaco

Sat, 31 May 2014

Being a Formula One driver has its privileges. First off, you get to drive F1 cars for a living. You get treated like royalty and fly around the world. And if you're lucky, you might get a supercar thrown at you once in a while. It all depends on which team you drive for.
Fernando Alonso, for example, has had countless Ferraris, Maseratis, Abarths and Jeeps thrown his way. Lewis Hamilton was a little disappointed not to get the keys to that rare McLaren F1 LM when he won the championship. But Pastor Maldonado just got his hands on a new Lotus Evora S.
Pastor who now, you ask? Pastor Maldonado. The first Venezuelan driver in F1, Maldonado won the GP2 title in 2010 then made the jump to F1, driving for Williams for the past three seasons, impressively winning the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. Now he's at Lotus filling Kimi Raikkonen's seat, and took delivery of his white Evora - complete with 3.5-liter supercharged V6 and six-speed sequential gearbox - in Monte Carlo last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix.