1965 Lotus Seven

Lotus founder Colin Chapman paired a racing-style tube frame chassis with a four-cylinder Ford engine resulting in a lightweight, simple, reasonably priced, high-performance sports roadster. It was an immediate hit following its 1957 debut, remaining in production at Lotus through 1972, and continued by Caterham to the present day.

The Seven was upgraded to the 'S2' designation in June of 1960 and was joined the following year by the Super Seven S2, available with a choice of Ford or Cosworth engines. Costs were kept to a minimum by being sold in 'kit' form, to be assembled by their purchasers or by independent contractors.

The Lotus Seven S2 featured glassfibre wings similar to those seen on the Seven America along with a revised nose styled by John Frayling. The Climax engine, however, did not fit the redesigned chassis so a number of alternatives were available from the 40 horsepower Ford 105E unit to the Cosworth unit found in the Super Seven.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2016