Seven remaining Lotus 49 racers set for British show

All seven of the remaining Lotus Type 49 race cars will be shown together for the first time in a special display at the Autosport International show, to be held January 12-15 in Birmingham, England. The grouping is being staged to honor the 50^th anniversary of the car’s race-winning Formula 1 debut.

Cars to be displayed include the R2/R11, R3, R5/R10, R6, R7, R8, and R12.

Raced between 1967 and 1979 by Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Oliver, Mario Andretti and Richard Attwood, among others, the Lotus 49 was responsible for the largest performance increase in Grand Prix racing, a 7.7 percent boost compared to the previous year.

The increase was due to the monocoque chassis configuration with the engine serving as part of the car’s structure.

Since the Lotus 49 made its debut, nearly all Formula 1 cars switched to monocoque chassis architecture.

The design was created by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe, who used a Ford Cosworth V8 as the engine in their revolutionary creation.

R2/R11

The Lotus R2 was driven to victory by Jim Clark at its race debut at Zandvoort in 1967. The car was also used in what has been considered Clark’s greatest performance, at Monza, where he lost the lead early on, worked to get it back, and then came in third due to a mechanical failure. Sometime later the car was re-identified as R11 and sold to Pete Lovely, raced by Mario Andretti, and restored in 2010 to the 1967 specifications. The car is still regularly raced by its current owner, Chris MacAllister.

R3

The R3 is known for being raced during the second half of the 1967 season by Graham Hill. It was sold to John Love to be raced in South Africa and has since been restored to its 1967 specifications and is currently owned by the Beaulieu National Motor Museum.

R5/R10

The R5 won its first race with Graham Hill behind the wheel at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1968. Mario Andretti used the car to earn the pole at Watkins Glen in his F1 debut race. It was then re-identified as the R10 and used by Jochen Rindt in the 1969 Tasman Series and also helped Hill take the victory at Monaco again in 1969. Later, the car was used by Emerson Fittipaldi in his first three F1 races in 1970.

R6 

Jackie Oliver drove the R6 in 1968 and raced it twice before suffering an accident in practice for the French GP.  The car was repaired in time for Graham Hill to drive at Monza and then raced it to victory in Mexico.  It was raced several times by Jochen Rindt, including his first F1 victory at Watkins Glen. It was then sold by Team Lotus in 1977. The car is now in the collection of Richard Mille.

R7

The R7 won its first races at the hands of Jo Siffert in 1968 and 1969 and then won again with Graham Hill in 1970. It was acquired by Geoff Farmer in 1999 and has raced occasionally, including a victory at the Goodwood Revival.

R8 

The R8 was Graham Hill’s Tasman Championship car in 1969 and then was raced by Richard Attwood at Monaco. The car was sold to Jo Bonnier and then went to Dave Charlton, and on to John Dawson-Damer, who conducted a restoration. The car is owned by F1 designer Adrian Newey, who restored it to the 1969 specification and got it ready for the 2016 Monaco Historique.

R12

The R12 was constructed by Team Lotus for the Ford Motor Company for use as an exhibition car. The first showing of the R12 was at the Racing Car Show in Olympia, London, in January 1969. It was later donated to Donington Collection and now part of the Richard Mille collection.