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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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Watch some vintage F1 cars blast up a Japanese mountain road

Mon, Dec 28 2015

It's a rare treat to see classic Formula One cars racing anywhere, but watching them on a Japanese mountain road is absolutely sublime. The folks behind Motorhead from Japan took over the toll road's twisting stretch of tarmac to turn this impossible dream into a reality. The unusual opportunity of a closed mountain road would be a waste for only two vehicles, and there were plenty of drivers in amazing machines that wanted to blast up the hill. After the vintage F1 cars got their turn, some drifters in a Nissan GT-R and a Toyota GT86 added some tire smoke to the misty mountain air. A couple more GT-R racecars and some modern sports cars eventually joined them. Before the rain hit, this team had quite a party going on. This video features amazing camera work, but the music unfortunately drowns out the chance to hear these amazing racecars. If watching this leaves you wanting more, Motorhead released a video last year of another group of impressive performance vehicles on the mountain road.

Lotus cars to be 'Made in China' at new Geely plant, according to documents

Thu, Jan 17 2019

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — The Chinese owner of Lotus plans to start producing the British sports car brand in China for the first time with the opening of a new 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan city, company job advertisements and government documents showed. The previously unreported plans are Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's first move to shake up the British brand since its purchase of a majority stake in 2017. The move is in line with Geely's ambitions to build more up-market cars and throw off its reputation for copycat designs and shoddy quality. For Lotus, it could mean greater production volumes and new models such as SUVs to boost sales. "For Geely, going high-end can help it take more market share," said Alan Kang, Shanghai based analyst at LMC Automotive. "Geely needs to do that to better compete with global brands." Lotus cars are currently built in Norfolk, England. Geely and Lotus said in a joint statement that while Norfolk was Lotus's manufacturing home, a key part of the firm's strategy to revive the brand was expanding the brand's manufacturing footprint globally. "Details on additional locations and models will be confirmed in due course," the company said in an e-mail to Reuters. The planning authority of Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, last month approved Geely's plans for the plant. The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the authority's website. The Wuhan Development Zone, where the factory will be based, said in a statement posted on its website last month that production at the plant would include "Geely's Lotus project". The Wuhan Development Zone did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. The documents did not say when the plant would start operations. The facility is approved to build all-electric battery cars, electric hybrids as well as combustion engine cars like Lotuses. Job advertisements on Geely's website show the automaker is looking to fill at least 20 Wuhan-based roles for the Lotus project. LUXURY AMBITIONS While is not clear what portion of the new Chinese production line would be devoted to the British brand, greater production volumes would be consistent with Geely's stated ambition to grow the market for Lotus by broadening its line-up. Geely sold only 1,630 Lotuses globally in 2018. Lotus currently produces models such as the Evora and Elise.

Lotus readying Evora crossover?!

Fri, Dec 19 2014

If it seems to you like every sports car manufacturer is getting into the crossover game, that's because it's pretty much true. And now, we potentially have one more to add to the list, as Britain's Car magazine reports that Lotus – yes, Lotus – is proceeding with plans to build a crossover. Rather than build a new crossover from the ground up, however, Lotus is said to be developing a high-riding version of the existing Evora. It's tipped to keep its rear-drive configuration (rather than going with a proper all-wheel-drive system), with a raised ride height and more rugged styling. In that respect, it may emerge more like a Local Motors Rally Fighter than a Porsche Cayenne challenger. That may yet emerge as not such a bad thing as it may seem on the surface, but for those purists who'd balk at the notion of an off-road Lotus, the British automaker has other plans in store as well. The crossover would arrive on the heels of a refreshed version of the existing Evora, a potential convertible version of the same, and a hardcore, track-focused successor to the 2-Eleven is also said to be in the works. In the end, Lotus would only be the latest in a long string of established sports car makers to get into the crossover game. Porsche of course led the way with the Cayenne and followed up with the Macan, Maserati is set to follow suit, and last we heard, Lamborghini was still awaiting approval to build the Urus concept.