You Can Buy the First Ever Lotus F1 Car
Before the early 2010s split between two privately-owned Formula 1 teams claiming to be the real Lotus, there was just one racing team that bore the name. This was the real Team Lotus, the one that collected seven constructor's championships and 74 wins from the Fifties to the Nineties. The Lotus of Graham Hill and of Jim Clark had to start somewhere, and its foray into Formula 1 began with this: a Climax-powered Type 12 now listed for sale at auction.
This is not the first Lotus race car. It is Colin Chapman's first attempt at the big show in Formula 1. It was also the first-ever F1 entry for Graham Hill, a man legendary for both his moustache and his two F1 titles. Hill drove the car in qualifying for the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, a race he missed. Lotus ran it seven other times for Hill, sometimes as an F1 car and sometimes in the lower F2 configuration.
That makes this singular car the jumping-off point for the entire open wheel racing legacy of Lotus. Hill left the team's F1 program in 1960, but he returned in 1968 to both win a title with the team and compete in a few Indianapolis 500s.
Now, the car is set to be auctioned off in the principality where it once debuted. The Bonhams auction is set for May 10th, and if you have the estimated $310,000 to $410,000 it is expected to cost, it would make for one hell of a conversation piece.
Via MotorAuthority.
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