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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Aston Martin and Lotus each issue recalls

Sun, 14 Oct 2012

A pair of head-turning high performance cars are catching some attention off a different kind, in the form of safety recalls. Aston Martin and Lotus have issued recalls for the V12 Vantage Coupe and Evora, respectively.
Aston Martin's affects 169 examples of the 2009-2012 V12 Vantage Coupe. It concerns the tire-pressure monitoring system, and is less a malfunction than it is a compliance issue. The TPMS does not alert the driver until the front tire is more than 25 percent below the recommended cold tire pressure. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 138 states that the alarm must sound when tire pressure is "equal to or less than either the pressure 25 percent below" the recommended cold inflation pressure. To address the issue, Aston Martin will notify owners and reprogram the software, free of charge.
As for Lotus, 80 supercharged Evoras have been recalled, all built between February and September, 2011. The problem involves an engine-mounted oil feed pipe, which could rupture, causing loss of engine oil or a possible fire if the oil sprays onto a hot engine.

Lotus F1 apologizes for tweeting support for LGBT Olympians

Mon, 10 Feb 2014

The Lotus Formula One Team is apologizing after its official Twitter account posted this image of two men kissing in connection to the opening of the Winter Olympics on Friday, February 7. It claims that the original tweet was "unauthorized."
The tweet, which Lotus deleted later that day, can be viewed to the right and was promptly replaced an apology that said, "We would like to sincerely apologise for an unauthorized message posted on our Twitter account today & will ensure this cannot happen again." Responses to the kerfuffle on its Twitter page have mostly focused on confusion as to what the original tweet was and why it was removed.
While the Sochi Olympics have been controversial among LBGT groups because of Russia's laws banning so-called "gay propaganda," the country has a growing importance in F1. In fact, the first Russian Grand Prix is scheduled to run later this season on a circuit around the Sochi Olympic Park. Genii Capital, the team's owner, has business interests in Russia, and according to the BBC, the Lotus F1 team is working on a deal to with Russian mobile phone company Yotaphone to sell it 10 percent of the team.

Lotus responds to rumors of demise, promises 2016 MY Evora

Thu, 25 Sep 2014

It's not been a great week for Lotus. Seven days ago, the UK-based automaker laid off a quarter of its workforce, terminating "up to 325 jobs." And then, just a few days ago, it was reported that the company would be ending US sales of its well-received Evora due to the expiration of an airbag exemption. The Evora is the only vehicle Lotus sells in the US, meaning its end effectively removes the brand from the market.
That was apparently a bridge too far, though, as the company has issued defiant statement, claiming it'll be back, in both the US and Canada, for model year 2016, with an air-bag compliant Evora.
"I know that this will be welcome news to our thousands of owners and fans in North America, but the reality is that there was never any intention to leave. The North American market is vitally important for us and we intend to expand our dealer network and grow our sales volumes in the future," Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus said in a statement. "I would like to thank our fantastic Lotus following for their support over the years and remind them that we are working on many exciting products for the future. We will continue to explore our core values on how to make a sports car better by making it faster, lighter and maintain the pure driving experience."

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

Lotus Super Seven for Sale