1957 Lotus Eleven Sports Racer

This car was finished August 17, 1957 as the first of 16 Series I chassis left over from 1956. The car has split swing axle, as all Series I Bevens do, but was the first of the Series I clubs manufactured in 1957. All of the late chassis in this series of cars were made as Eleven clubs with Climax engines and drum brakes. This 1957 Lotus Eleven Series 7 carries chassis number 377. It was purchased by Bill Burnett, from Jay Chamberlain in 1958, and drive to his home in San Jose.

Successfully competed at West Coast tracks including Laguna Seca, Cotati, Stockton, Sears Point, Vaca Valley, etc. It won the 1961 Georgetown Hill Climb and was shown on the cover of Sports Car Graphic in December of 1961.

The car was sold to Larry Ansden who raced in California and is responsible for the fiberglass nose from an incident at Riverside in 1962. It was then sold to John Bolander who competed with the car until purchasing a Lotus 23. he then raced for the Lotus factory in Cortinas with john Winkleman. 377 then went to Laurie Grube who, having driven Porsches, didn't appreciate the handling.

Carl Deboer purchased 377 from Grube and drove the car on the street and some track events before selling it to Fred Bistodeau. Bistodeau started vintage racing the car. He sold the car to George Bothillier who continued racing the car with CSRG and HMSA. A slight crash at Sears Point resulted in a restoration by Mike Duffy. Mike, a former president of CSRG, sold the car to Jim Bonney who continued to race the car with CSRG and HMSA, including the Monterey Historics in 1979. Jim sold the car to Jim Williams, Seneca, South Carolina (through Paul Chichester) in 1984 and Jim campaigned the car in the Southeastern US until the car was returned to California by the current owner Stewart Smith.