1963 Lotus Super Seven (series 2) Authentic Vintage Racer And Tilt-bed Trailer on 2040-cars
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. |
Lotus Super Seven for Sale
Lotus europa
1972 lotus elan sprint blue plate ca car nicely restored eexcellent mechanicals(US $51,995.00)
1972 lotus europa - twin cam
2013 lotus seven birkin s3 2.0 duratec irs profesionally built(US $36,616.00)
Leather exige s coupe 2d gray manual 6-spd rwd power door locks aero kit(US $48,991.00)
1969 lotus elan plus 2 coupe no reserve auction
Auto Services in California
Young`s Automotive ★★★★★
Yas` Automotive ★★★★★
Wise Tire & Brake Co. Inc. ★★★★★
Wilson Motorsports ★★★★★
White Automotive ★★★★★
Wheeler`s Auto Service ★★★★★
Auto blog
The Stig breaks into Lotus F1 HQ
Mon, 16 Jun 2014As Top Gear's mysterious test driver, The Stig has driven just about everything on wheels - and more than a few things without. But an F1 car? That still remains a rarity, even on Top Gear.
That all changes in this latest promo clip, though. The video shows what happened when his Royal Stigness arrived at the headquarters of the Lotus F1 team in Enstone, England, where he somehow managed to scan his way in past security and got his hands on a Lotus-Renault E21, the V8-powered single-seater that Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean drove in the 2013 Formula One World Championship - and which the Stig will apparently be driving on stage during the upcoming Top Gear Festival in Durban. If you're not heading to South Africa this month, though (or even if you are), you can check out the footage in the video below.
Elon Musk buys James Bond's Lotus submarine, wants to install Tesla powerplant
Fri, 18 Oct 2013Remember when we reported the long-lost-but-found-again Lotus Esprit submarine used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me had sold at auction in London for $966,560 (well, $863,000 plus a 12-percent buyer's premium)? At the time, the buyer's identity remained a mystery, but Jalopnik has reported and confirmed that the man with money to burn is none other than billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX. What's even more shocking (maybe not for Musk) is that he wants to install a Tesla electric powertrain in it and make it transform into a road-going car.
The story of the submersible Lotus' journey from movie star to prized possession of the eccentric Musk is remarkable. After filming ended in the '70s, the car was shipped to Long Island, NY and placed in a storage container that was paid in advance by the studio for 10 years. After the money ran out, the contents of the container were sold off Storage Wars-style in 1989 and won by an area couple. It was shown in public on occasion throughout the years, but its value remained a mystery until the gavel fell in London last month. While far from the most valuable Bond car to be auctioned off (that honor goes to the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball, which sold for $4.6 million at auction in 2010), the Lotus submarine is definitely the most unique.
Also worth noting is that the Lotus sub is more than just a prop. Without the aid of CGI, the film's producers needed an actual submarine that looked like a Lotus Esprit, and so they hired a company called Perry Oceanographic in Florida to build it and hired former US Navy Seal Don Griffin to pilot the sub during the film.
Lotus Esprit all but ready to go, but held back by management issues
Mon, 26 Nov 2012Brief and disappointing is this report from Autocar on the status of the Lotus Esprit: it is finally ready and sitting at the light, but the light might not go green for a long time. The good news is that from being a concept two years ago at the Paris Motor Show, the aluminum and carbon fiber revival coupe is "purportedly almost finished." It is powered by a twin-turbo, 5.0-liter V8 with something like 650 horsepower, boosted by a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and shifting through a seven-speed paddleshift transmission. Even with all that, the UK price is said to be around that of a Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet, and the car only needs "signing off and minor tweaking."
The bad news is that former company owner Proton couldn't stay independent long enough to see through the company's ambitious five-concept-car assault - led by then-CEO Dany Bahar who was hired explicitly to lead such a campaign - and was swallowed up by Malaysian auto supplier DRB-Hicom. For a brief spell Lotus had to shut down production for lack of funds. Then the new owner cleaned house, sweeping out Bahar and, according to the Financial Times just one month ago, the Esprit and every other concept with it. Just after the FT piece came out, Lotus denied the Esprit had been canceled. Still, according to Autocar, the management whirlpool is keeping the Esprit "far from becoming a production reality."
If we're honest with ourselves, we'll keep in mind that the Esprit has been slipping into and out of a terminal ether for what seems like decades. None of us knows what is going on inside Hethel HQ, but the fact that there really is a lightweight, twin-turbo, 650-hp Lotus Esprit finally ready to be produced has to be, in spite of all else, very good news.