Lotus 23B, 1963 23B | Conceptcarz.com - Pictures, Pricing, Information, Wallpaper, History

More Photographs Interior Photos Engine Photos

View more photos
Chassis Num: 23/5/56

This is a 100 percent original Jimmy Clark car. It was raced at Sebring and Daytona in 1964. In both cases it failed to finish.

This Lotus 23 was shipped on March 13th of 1963 to the USA, to D. Irish of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Chassis number 23/5/56 was fitted with a ten gallon long range tank for Sebring. Registered FIA specifications Arch Motors chassis A-31.

This car has been driven by David Irish, Robert Lamplan, Alex Ulman, Sergie Konorauft, Bart Martin, Judy Bonderant, Larry Haile, and Si Robin.

It was banned from the 24 Hours of LeMans and Collin Chapman never came back in later years.

Pete Lovely of Seattle, Washington - 1985 European Historic Champion and 1995 Monterey Historics under number 132 was driver of Lotus 23. Pete Lovely and Jimmy Clark are considered the greatest Lotus 23 drivers.

View more photos

This car was sold to Mr. W. Bradshaw in November of 1962, and was raced in Europe until the early 1980s. It was then brought to the United States. It was previously owned by Brian Redman and Bob Snodgrass of Brumos Racing. Mike Rahal (Bobby Rahal's father) bought the car from Brumos in 1987, and Mike raced it in vintage races throughout the country until selling it to Ed Henning in 1989. The car has just had a complete restoration, and is equipped with a Ford-Lotus twin cam 1600cc, 187 horsepower engine and a Hewland Mark IV five-speed transmission.

In 1962 Lotus introduced their next iteration of the compact, rear-engined sports cars, the Type 23. It was a derivative of the Lotus 19 which had been produced from 1960 through 1961, as well as the Lotus 20, 21, and 22 cars. The Type 23 made its inaugural racing debut at the Nordschleife in May of 1962. The Lotus was fitted with a 100 horsepower engine, but it was enough to propel the car to the front of the pack, ahead of the Porsches, Ferraris, and Aston Martins. At the wheel was the very capable Jim Clark who had brought the car to the front after the first lap, in the wet. Some of the other cars have as much as four-times the horsepower. Sadly, on lap 12 Clark was forced to retire when a damaged exhaust manifold leaked exhaust fumes.

The Type 23 was raced extensively in national and international races winning many class victories and often times beating large-engined competition. It quickly became a popular favorite with many racers and one of Lotus's best selling race cars of all time.

During its production lifespan Louts offered the lightweight car with a variety of options that included the Coventry Climax 750 cc four-cylinder engine and even a 12-cylinder Rotorvic motor for competition at LeMans. In standard form the Type 23 came equipped with an 1100 cc engine. A popular option was to upgrade to the Type 23B specification which included the 1600cc Lotus/Ford twin-cam engine. The Lotus 23B was given a stronger chassis tubes and fitted with a more potent Ford-based 1.5 and 1.6-liter Lotus Twincam engine.

In 1962 a Type 23B driven by Jim Clark easily proved its potential by leading the Ferrari and Jaguar cars at Nurburgring 1000KM before mechanical difficulty led to a crash. The cars dominated many of the races they were entered; even in modern times they still provide podium time for their drivers in vintage and historic racing events.

The Type 23 was constructed of fiberglass and outfitted with a Hewland MK gearbox. The suspension was comprised of double wishbones and dual trailing arms. The steering was rack-and-pinion.

Photos grouped by event
Mid-Ohio Vintage Grand Prix	Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance	Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca	2004 Jefferson 500

1963 Lotus 23B
Year	1963
Make	Lotus
Model	23B
Engine Location	Mid
Drive Type	Rear Wheel
Body / Chassis	Unit Steel
Production Years for Series	1962 - 1966
Combined MPG	0.00

Chassis / Engine Numbers Shown
Chassis Number	23-S-92
Chassis Number	23/5/56
Chassis Number	97

Performance
0-60 mph	6.9 seconds.

Engine
Engine Configuration	I
Cylinders	4
Aspiration/Induction	Normal
Displacement	1600.00 cc \| 97.6 cu in. \| 1.6 L.
Horsepower	170.00 HP (125.1 KW) @ 7500.00 RPM
Torque	139.00 Ft-Lbs (188.5 NM)
HP / Liter	106.3 BHP / Liter

Vehicle Spotlight

1963 Lotus 23B