1956 Lotus Eleven Sports Racer

The Lotus Eleven is a landmark in sports car racing. Colin Chapman's most successful sports racing car, it dominated its class from 1956 to 1958. Based on a philosophy of lightweight, simplicity and agile handling, it was wrapped in beautiful aerodynamic aluminum bodywork. While developing the design, Frank Costin strapped himself on the hood of a Lotus Mark VIII while Colin Chapman drove him at high speed across an abandoned airfield so he could observe how tufts of wool were affected by the airflow.

Chassis 220 History
Chassis 220 was built as a LeMans model and was delivered new to the United States, according to Graham Capel's authoritative book, 'Lotus - The History Years 1956-58.' And that is exactly how it is presented today. Not much is known of its early history. In 1984, it was acquired by Jim Ellis of Cincinnati. He restored it in 1988 and reported that very little repair was required to the frame or body panels. Ellis displayed the car at the Meadow Brook Concours in 1991 where it earned a First in Class award. The next owner of record was Morris Gardner of Pittsburgh, who reportedly warehoused the car for 10 years until it was sold to Vince Irwin of New York. Irwin ran the Eleven enthusiastically on the track, and took an overall win at the Rolex Lime Rock Vintage Festival in 2003. Nick Grewal, a noted collector of Lotus competition cars, campaigned it in the Northeast. he took it to the 50th anniversary Lotus Eleven Reunion at the Sebring 12 Hours in 2006 and drove it to fourth overall at the 2008 Rolex Festival at Lime Rock Park. The current owner acquired the car in August 2008.

Initially, all Colin Chapman's Lotus Elevens were built with a swing-axle front suspension modified from English Ford components. These cars are general referred to as the first series of Lotus Elevens. The top-of-the-line Eleven version was the LeMans spec which featured an advanced DeDion rear setup.

The Eleven's enjoyed much success. At the 1956 24 Hours of LeMans, the works team of three cars did rather well, with Bicknell and Jopp finishing first in class and seventh overall. A little later that year, a special bodied Eleven was piloted by Stirling Moss and 'Mac' Fraser to a series of closed track world speed records at Monza. This small, 1100cc car covered 100 kilometers at 135 miles per hour with a fastest lap of 143 miles per hour.

In 1957, the Eleven had a class win at Sebring and Chamberlain and Fraser finished first in the 1100cc class at LeMans. Other Elevens finished second and fourth. A super-lightweight 750cc Eleven driven by Cliff Allison and Keith Hall was awarded the Index of Performance.

In 1958, the Eleven swept their class at Sebring, with the Weiss/Tallaksen entry finishing fourth overall.

This example is chassis number 220. It is one of about 150 first series Elevens built with total production around 270. Little of this cars early history is known other than it is a LeMans spec that was sent to the US when new. The history of the car picks up in 1984 when it was purchased by Jim Ellis of Cincinnati who gave the car a restoration during the late 1980s.

In 1991, Mr. Ellis put the car on display at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance where it earned a First in Class award. Morris Gardner of Pittsburgh was another owner of the car. The car was put in a warehouse for ten years before it was sold to Vince Irwin of New York. Mr. Irwin campaigned the car frequently with an overall win at the Rolex Lime Rock Vintage Festival in 2003. The current owner has continued its active racing career with a showing at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2006.

In 2008 this Lotus Eleven LeMans Spec was offered for sale at the 'Sports & Classics of Monterey' presented by RM Auctions where it had an estimated value of $150,000 - $190,000. It was offered without reserve and sold for a high bid of $126,500 including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2009