1961 Lotus 23

Colin Chapman is the heart and soul of Lotus, and racing is at the heart of Colin Chapman. In 1947, 19-year-old Chapman took a derelict Austin Seven and turned it into an immaculate special entry in time for the 1948 trials in England. This was the Lotus Mark I, which soon led to a Mark II and so on, until well-known drivers from around the world were lined up outside Colin's production facility. His first major success was the Mark 6 of which more than a hundred were sold, and they won hundreds of races.

In 1961, because of the tremendous success of the Lotus 22 cars the Formula Junior short mileage races, Lotus introduced the 23, a two-seater sports car. The car was designed to be able to accept a wide variety of engines ranging from a 997 cc Ford up to a 1.9-liter Climax. The car was the first to use the new Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine and left larger cars in the dust. It led the 1962 Nurburgring 1000K race for many laps when an exhaust problem put the car out of the race. The car's ability to leave the competition behind, however, helped it solidify its reputation. In the States, the 23 dominated the smaller displacement classes of sports car racing alongside the Lotus 19S. The 23B, and later 23C were introduced with stronger chassis to cope with the extra power extracted from the twin cam engine, and the 23's continued to be highly competitive in the U.S. and Europe through the mid 1960's.

This car is a street legal race car that has only seen the streets and highways of San Diego. It is part of the Collection of Xanthos Cars - North America, Inc.

Source - SDAM