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1963 Lotus-Ford 23B Sports-Racing Two-Seater

Lot No: 212 - A Sale of Important Sports, Competition and Collectors' Motor Cars and Fine Automobilia
Goodwood Revival, Chichester, Sussex, 1 Sep 2006
Chassis no. 23/S/50
Engine no. 70/M6015A
Sold for £41,100 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

This Lotus 23B sports-racing classic is offered here after many years’ preservation on display in the Rosso Bianco Collection museum at Aschaffenburg in Germany. We believe that it was acquired by the Collection as long ago as May, 1986. It is evidently a beautifully rebuilt car which appears to be entirely typical of Colin Chapman’s most renowned small-capacity rear-engined sports-racing car design from the early 1960s.

The lovely little - initially1100cc - Lotus Type 23 sports-racing car was introduced for the 1962 racing season as a rear-engined derivative of the 1960-61 big-engined Lotus Type 19 in combination with experience gained in the rear-engined single-seater Lotus 20/21/22 designs of 1961-62. The Lotus 23 was an immediate success in the small-capacity class of national and International sports-racing car competition not only in the British home market but also virtually throughout the countries of Europe, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The Type 23 rapidly became one of the Lotus marque’s biggest-selling purebred racing cars, and it was not long before alternative engines were being fitted, as small as a 750cc Coventry Climax unit in one chassis intended to run at Le Mans – but prevented from doing so in favour of the rival French home-based marques by some celebrated scrutineering ‘shennanigans’ – and as complex as the amazing air-cooled 12-cylinder ‘Rotorvic’.

But between these extremes the most common and most successful option was elevation of the Lotus 23 1100 to the Lotus 23B 1500 with Lotus-Ford twin-cam power installed. Jim Clark led the 1962 ADAC 1,000 Kilometres sports car classic at the Nurburgring for many miles in the prototype such car, humbling the might of the works Ferrari team and Lightweight E-Type Jaguars before being overcome by fumes from a broken exhaust pipe, losing control of the car and crashing mildly.

Lotus 23Bs went on to achieve Champion status in almost every market in which they were sold and every racing arena in which they competed.

Presently very little is known about the provenance and history of this particular example, but it appears to be complete in all substantial respects, it plainly embodies considerable value in its 1980s rebuild and restoration and we recommend the closest inspection. Research into this car’s background is continuing as we go to press and further information will be available from the Motor Car Department and at the Goodwood viewing pre-Sale.