1964 Lotus Type 30 Sports Racer

Designed by Colin Chapman and Len Terry and introduced in 1964, the Lotus 30 used a Lotus Elan inspired backbone chassis and a Lotus modified Ford 289 power plant that provided 350 bhp to the 1500 pound car.
The power was fed through a 5 speed ZF transaxle with gearing capable of 200mph. The chassis split into a Y at the rear to accommodate the mid-mounted engine, while at the front there was a cross member that housed the steering rack and provided the front suspension pickup points. Three rubber fuel tanks were installed, 13 gallons in the central portion of the chassis, and 9 gallons in each body sill. A total of 33 cars were produced.

This car, chassis #30/L/8, left the factory December 30, 1964 and was sold new to Homer Rader who owned Lotus Southwest of Dallas, Texas, where he competed with some success in USRRC and SCCA events. The car continued in the hands of Leroy Melcher Jr. Later 30/L/8 ran in the Can Am series. As the years passed, it would make an appearance in a major Hollywood movie, go on to be club raced, and eventually would even be road registered in the mid 1970's. In a five year effort from 1996 to 2000 30/L/8 was restored, but was not raced until 2006.

The Type 30 was Lotus' first attempt at using an American V8 in a sports racer.

The Lotus 30 combines all that can be frightening in a car into one package: a 1500lb car with huge torque,
no down force, and questionable handling. The driver is completely exposed from the waist up while the hips and legs are nestled snugly between two fuel tanks. Perhaps the only thing scarier than racing the Lotus 30 would be driving it on the road as David Taylor did in the 1970s. This was confirmed when the original vehicle registration was found taped to the back of the passenger's seat.